The Grass is always Greener
Published on January 30th 2007
In the words of Kermit the Frog, being green isn’t easy.
And he has a point.
When it comes to the environment, most of us want to do our bit and know that somewhere down the line we’re going to run into trouble if we don’t. We do our best to switch lights off and recycle plastic bags, be economical with paper and use environmentally friendly cleaning products.
The trouble is that more often than not, being green involves extra effort, compromise and something else to remember. And in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, regardless of how good our intentions are, convenience, comfort and things that will save work rather than create it usually win the day.
It doesn’t help matters that green acts don’t reap visible or immediate rewards. We’re not going to be paid, praised or promoted for having a shower rather than a bath or for composting our potato peelings and banana skins. The rewards of being green are intangible; it’s all about the feel-good factor and knowing you’re doing what you can to protect the future. Which is incentive enough for some but not, on a sustained basis, for most.
Ultimately when it comes to the environment, everyone has to find their own, sustainable way of chipping in. One of the most effective approaches to being green is to get into good habits with small things like turning the tap off while we’re brushing our teeth, printing only the e-mails that we really need to and buying energy-efficient light bulbs. None of these involve major self-sacrifice or lifestyle changes and they can be easily incorporated into our daily routines. And once we’ve done them enough times, they become second-nature and without thinking we’re ticking a few green boxes.
Of course there are plenty of people who have the time and inclination to go the extra green mile and there are an infinite number of things they can do. Promoting and getting involved in car-sharing networks and speaking up in favour of environmental initiatives are just two examples.
Now is the perfect time to green up our acts. Green is in and it’s being leveraged left, right and centre at all levels of society. Politicians are making carbon emissions a cornerstone of their manifestos, newspapers are packing their pages with green issues and supermarkets are making it easier for us to do our bit by introducing recycled packaging and recyclable plastic bags. We are all learning a new greenspeak and phrases like ‘carbon footprint’, ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘carbon offset’ rolling off our tongues
Needless to say however, it remains to be seen whether words translate into actions and green is more than just the latest talking point. In true parking spirit, we’ll just have to watch this space.
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