Greenwashing?
Now that I’ve learned to separate all my garbage, (help… just what can I throw away?) now I have to be on the lookout for “greenwashing“. This is where marketers sin by fooling people that their product is green. Paper vs plastic… who’s the greenest.. how green is the new question. Off with their heads!
It got me thinking…
China is probably the biggest threat to the environment – cars for billions, low standards, etc…
Try buying anything at the Bay, Sears, Wallmart, etc., that isn’t from China. It’s a game my wife and I play when shopping and never win.
So if you want to be really green, ignore the ads and quit shopping. It’s a quick way to force everyone cut back.Kind of hard to spend when your pay is under pressure from a rapidly declining economy.
Trying to decide how green everything is will drive you nuts. Common sense is probably the best guide.
Proof the green movement is king here in Vancouver only takes a quick search of “Vancouver green” It yields 458,000 results. Not sure what the fear of greenwashing is when you’re up against a force of opinion like this.
Other than the fanatics, the biggest single factor really changing things is high energy prices… and it’s taken its toll on everything. It’s put auto manufacturing in Canada in dire straits – and trying to save it is going to be an uphill battle. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near Oshawa. (Can you say Flint, Michigan)
I’ve considered changing my ways. My car and SUV both get a bit over 20 miles per gallon – 40 would be better. But as we have a family of 4 (me being 6’2″), a Prius doesn’t seem to be an option. Plus 30K for one would buy me gas for 4.5 years. So if I get, say, 3x better mileage, that makes the payback at 6.5 years.
I am thinking I should wait for 2-3 years and get a real car of the future instead of one that is guaranteed to become obsolete in a year. (Anyone remember the Ford Pinto from the last gas crisis?)
Hopefully it seats 4 comfortably for a trip over 15 minutes.
Off to spend my $100 cheque (or I could send it to the “environmental non-profit” on the link…lol).
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