Before we kick off summer with Memorial Day barbeques this weekend, it’s important to remember Spring 2007 was when the incubating third wave of environmentalism finally hatched in pop culture.
If you passed by any newsstand in April magazines from Elle to Sports Illustrated had green issues giving quick tips and tricks on how we could play our part. TV got in on “doing good” in May with the amazing Planet Earth, Sundance Channel’s The Green and even American Idol’s own charity-themed show. Just as our heartstrings and conscious seem to have been pulled enough, companies are declaring their greenness in droves.
Where does this leave ordinary people whom just want to go about their lives, avoid cancer and feel like responsible citizens? It should leave us hyper aware and charged up to change the world. For some “conscious consumers”, it does. For the rest of us, it might make us replace a few light bulbs and recycle more frequently, but it will ultimately leave us overwhelmed by green clutter and ready to give up.
If you are part of this group, you probably are enduring “Green Fatigue”. The whole idea of green fatigue comes from the world of consumer electronics. As James Surowiecki points out in next week’s New Yorker, when we buy cell phones, cameras or even toasters these days, we are often seduced by choice and information but in practice prefer simplicity:
When the subjects were given the chance to customize their product, choosing from twenty-five features, they behaved like kids in a candy store. (Twenty features was the average.) But, when they were asked to use the digital device, so-called “feature fatigue” set in. They became frustrated with the plethora of options they had created, and ended up happier with a simpler product.
With all the buzz around going green, it seems like a million options exist whether its organic cotton or hemp clothes, local organic foods, energy efficient light bulbs or hybrid vehicles. Frankly we can’t necessarily afford to take all of them now. Even if we did, we wouldn’t necessarily have the carbon footprint of an eco acetic.
So what’s the answer? Whether it’s technology or greening our lives, we feel overwhelmed when we stop asking why and start accepting everything we’ve been told. However, simplicity requires being able to decipher what’s worth hearing. It requires looking to the plethora of green products and services and asking why. Why is one option necessary or better than another? Why is the process for consuming something the way it is? Why doesn’t a service exist?
Now this might seem silly. But it takes five minutes to send a clever email, and the processes can be empowering. I’ve found in writing The Eightfold that asking questions can often reveal more about a company than I ever expected. For example, I recently emailed Apple regarding its environmental policy after a visit to the SOHO store. That day was particularly hot and the air conditioning was on with the doors open.
While I understand this is standard retail practice, it still seemed like a terrible waste of energy. I emailed the store manager and was told it wouldn’t happen again. Still he hadn’t told me why it happened in the first place. So, I emailed Apple’s corporate headquarters and followed up with two phone calls. It’s been a month, and I’ve not received a response.
My lesson? Apple may make environmental statements when Greenpeace twists its arm, but that doesn’t mean it’s ready or is able to explain them to consumers willing to ask why. If I ever was overwhelmed by green proclamations I now know how far Apple is willing to go to defend its position – not very.
The point here isn’t to attack Apple. It’s to demonstrate that we no longer have to accept green marketing at face value. Companies will not necessarily provide the perfect green solution, but good green companies should be willing if not enthusiastic and passionate to share their thoughts and hear your ideas. Once you start asking why, you will quickly be able to cut through the clutter to find your personal green pathway to a simply green clutter-free world.
The Eightfold Apple Experience
Earlier this spring, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi created the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Although it has no legislative-making power, it can study and make recommendations on the problem. This week it took on an American icon: the Smithsonian Institution.
Trafalgar Square in London is not known for its green credentials. For those of us that have walked its open expanse, there's very little organic material beyond the gum stuck to your shoe to tred on. Being a large intersection of foot traffic, it's naturally a stone and concrete affair. Starting today and continuing until tomorrow, however, Trafalgar Square is getting a green makeover. 
It seems that desperate times call for desperate measures. Even somewhat weird measures.
