Thursday, May 7, 2009

Interactive Thursdays


GOOD MORNING!
Wake up peoples!


I am so tired.
And my coffee sucks ass because we ran out of milk when it was my turn to get the coffee. THIS IS MY LIFE.

I have decided that I want to do some sort of weekly thing with you guys since sometimes I feel like I ramble about my somewhat boring life a lot and I want a weekly trend piece. So I wanted to try it out and see if it works and if my blogger buddies like the idea. Otherwise I will think of something else.
I am going to start a discussion, ask a question, name a topic, and then talk about what I think about it, and then you talk about what you think about it. :) It's my interactive Thursday thing!

Topic this week:

Going Green -- is this a legitimate help to the Earth? Or is this just a bs marketing campaign?




My opinion:
Don't get me wrong, I am a true believer in make the Earth a cleaner, healthier place to live for everyone. I don't litter, I try not to waste as much as possible. I try to do as much that I can... recycle, etc. But I am not going crazy.

I don't use as many plastic bags as i used to. I believe that polluting and littering is not good. But i think the whole "go green" movement is really to scare the public into buying these products that are "safer" and "healthier" and "environmentally OK".

I am not against the whole idea, I just think that the media really doesnt NEED to use scare tactics to get the point across.
We should WANT to have a cleaner earth, cleaner air, save the trees, save the animals, don't litter blah blah.
I also think there are more important things that people should be focusing on and I wish that media could use scare tactics to get people to invest in the people that live on the Earth --like starving children, or homeless veterans, abused women in foreign countries, and people devastated by natural disasters. I believe that is more important to invest in people. But that is only my opinion.
I don't do as much as I could, one day I am hoping to go teach English in another country and bring whatever I can to them, clothes, food etc. I am always donating bags and bags of clothes to good will.
Think go green was an idea that the media blew out of proportion. Like they always do. And it worked. Fine. I understand that; but I think that there are other things that need to be focused on a little bit more.


Opinions! Comments! Answers! Good topic? Bad?

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25 comments:

Fidgeting Gidget said...

Ok, so don't judge me...I do think that going green is great, but here lately, the trend in Canada is to charge 5 cents for every plastic bag you get when you go to the grocery store. I did buy the reusable bags, but do you think I ever remember to stick them in the back of my car? No! And I also think that if you have bags from somewhere else and you use them in another store, people look at you like you're a traitor or something. :)

Children of the 90s said...

I think going green is great in theory, but in practice it's more of a marketing fad. Every committee I work on wants the theme of everything we plan to be "going green", and it gets a little tiresome. It's just sort of become a buzzword instead of a way of life.

It's good that people are more aware, but it seems like some people just want to be "caught" going green--whether individuals or companies--to show everyone how environmentally-conscious they are. It still helps, of course, but there are lots of other less visible ways to help the environment that are not as trendy.

JAMIE said...

Here's my take:

If the planet is, in fact, going to hell in a handbasket, then I guess we better do our part to try to fix it. I have no idea if it really is or not. You hear really convincing information in both directions. So, I'm with you in that I try to do my best to save a little energy, and recycle more. And I hope that if we really are in trouble, the right things will happen and the whole world will work together to fix it. That's my two cents!

Teach.Workout.Love said...

Thanks for sharing!!
We were def just talking about the whole being charged for plastic bags and remembering the bring "ur" shopping bag into the grocery store! And i am sure people might be like, "that is a A&P BAG U CANT USE THAT HERE!!!!"
And i also think it is starting to die down... We did a special section in our paper on "Go Green" and it generated less than half the amount of money it did last year; it is just an over talked about topic.

Kristina said...

So I'm a huge environmentalist, I've gotten a lot of friends and co-workers to make small changes in their life. I do it because I like it and it makes me feel good, not because in the month of April, NBC changes the color of their logo green and has the Today Show do a weekly segment on green living. I think its lame that there's a lot of companies that completely abuse the whole environment thing. Its pretty simple stuff: reduce, reuse and recycle. If people are just more thoughtful on their impact then a lot of good will be done. There's my POV.

WarriorHeartGypsySoul said...

I agree that scare tactics are not the answer... It's as simple as getting people into the habit of recycling and doing all the little things that make a huge difference.

Anonymous said...

I grew up in California, so recycling was just...what we did. When I went to college in Iowa, I was furious that there wasn't *any* way to recycle on campus. It was ridiculous. I'd see people throwing out REAMS and REAMS of paper...and it made me want to cry a little. I started using canvas shopping bags in France, because they charge you for the plastic ones. Back home now, we don't get charged for plastic bags but you get a 3 cent DISCOUNT for bringing a reusable bag. I think that approach works better for most - look, SAVE MONEY! Instead of, hey, here's a FINE!
I think that it's good that people are more conscious about their impact on the planet now, but at the same time...being "green" is so trendy that most of what it's about is image. Look at me, my shirt has the recycle symbol on it. :) Also, I worry that all these efforts to "go green" aren't done very sustainably and a lot of them, actually, do more harm than good. If you're consuming more energy in your effort to buy green things and shop organic and all that, is it really better? I don't know...
Fun idea for a weekly post!
{oh, and I found you via all the wonderful 20sb bloggers out there!}

Fannie said...

That's great, I love what you're doing with the whole weekly thing !

My point of view pretty much resembles yours, I reduce, reuse and recycle as much as I can but I don't go crazy over all the new "eco-friendly" products. Plus, the recession has forced everyone to cut back on their consommation in general! Less buying useless stuff, less throwing away useless stuff!

Teach.Workout.Love said...

It is definitely a marketing scam no doubt. People are using it as an excuse to sell their products. In our office we recycle all of our paper because we use SO much of it and its a little ridiculous to throw it all out!

In other 3rd world countries, the roads and sidewalks (what there are of them) are filled with garbage and litter and crap. It is sad to see --i wish they would clean it up... its not that hard.. but thats just life.

Mara said...

Going green is real, and good for the Earth, but not by purchasing more crap that ompanies claiming to be eco-friendly are shoving down your throat.

Unplug things. Recycle. Compost. Reduce water pollution by creating a rain garden to act as a filter for storm water. Pick up garbage in the streets.

the girl in stiletto said...

great idea! :) i recycle as much as i can. weird thing about irish recycling is that, they don't recycle plastic bottles. i don't know why.

paddle to shore said...

I do believe in 'going green'
Mostly with my food [I dont eat animal anything] and with NEVER purchasing plastic bottles!! I wish they would take plastic bottles off the shelves... NOW! Glass bottles are healthier and better for the Earth.

Also, Novelista... Good job on your first interactive Thursday:)

Melissa said...

I recycle as much as I can, turn off lights and the water.
Yayay for being Eco-friendly!

Unknown said...

I think this is one of those things that people talk about, but nobody is as interested in putting anything into action. I mean, nobody in my city recycled until they started charged two dollars for a trash bag (then, of course, recycling became THE thing to do so you had your expensive trash bags went that much further). It's just too much trouble for a lot of people to get behind ... change is something that many are reluctant to get behind.

The Snarky Narwhal said...

I think that "going green" is a fad and that if you really look into some of the products half of them aren't green at all or as green as they claim to be.

Yes, not littering and wasting and killing the environment is a good thing, That is not a fad.

I think some people forget the big picture and just worry about how much "greener" they are compared to so-and-so instead of why they should and the reason they are.

nicole mountz said...

Ok first let me say your holler post was hilarious. And I think your weekly topic would be a great idea! I am just like you I buy less plastic, recycle etc and I think everyone SHOULD do those things but if we put half as much time, energy and money into other areas of our world we'd go a long way. I love that the green effect is big and has spread the word but it's time for the media to focus on other important things.

NiyyaNoire said...

i straddle the fence on those go green topics... thanks for visiting and subscribing to my blog girlie.

Teach.Workout.Love said...

Thank you everyone to contributing your thoughts and ideas to my new fun idea for Thursdays! I cant wait until next week because i have MANY new ideas to talk about!

Ps - i use my same water bottle every single day! Go me ! :)

Anonymous said...

omg there are so many wonder full comments that add so much to this.

it seems like if they care so much about you "going green" as ell they could make it more affordable! we cant afford to use the better cleanning products and such or we would!!!

also i never see recycled paper for sale in say walmart or target. like lined paper ya kno? you have to go to expencive boutiques. its like a luxury to use recycled things.

and if its recycled, it should be cheaper anywas right? we cut ot half the production process right? idk...

i live in california too they charge a fee for plastic bottles. i agree why don't we go back to using glass? like the milk men who brought the milk to your door and when your done you put the glass back out to be reflled? they should do something like that. and encourage it by making it cheaper because cummon it would be alot less waste and it would probably do something for the economy by offering more jobs for people. ppl that have to fill the glass bottles.

Teach.Workout.Love said...

SO TRUE.... how are you going to expect people to go green when its so damn expensive!!?
GREAT point!

Just like its hard to eat healthy, becuase its easy to eat crap, since its cheaper..

That can def be another topic for another day!

Angelique said...

I mean yeah it is probably a marketing scam but if it works who cares? So it's trendy to be organic and "green"...but that's good right?

We are a society who cares what other people think..it's just the way it goes. I think it was smart to make it trendy and cool and get the celebrities to jump on this bandwagon, because we care what they think. Why else do we buy those dumb magazines and crap?..

This is the one trend I really don't mind following :)

Anonymous said...

personally, i think that the whole "save the earth/go green" thingy is becoming more of a fashion statement and/or a marketing device for companies. what the world needs is a worldwide awareness and everyone (and i mean, everyone!) should take action to save earth (go vegetarian, reduce plastics/fuel/energy consumption, etc). we don't necessarily need to purchase all those "go green" products to save earth for the most effective thing to do is to make a change out of our habits as well as our mentality. think of going green/saving the earth globally and start acting locally (at home). :))

p/s; this is a great topic! :))

Teach.Workout.Love said...

very true... it is def a fashion statement... and if the celebrities are doing it... it must be cool
They need to start donating stuff to charities and adopting animals from shelters so that will wear off on everyone too!

Sadako said...

I agree. It gets way too faddish. Also some people go entirely overboard like washing plastic forks and knives and food containers and COLE SLAW containers, even (sigh, yes, I have a family member who does this!).

Teach.Workout.Love said...

LOL i mean i dont recycle that much.... sometimes its too much!!

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