“Buying green, saving green, acting green,” is the new mantra hummed by numerous amounts of people in the world today. Becoming environmentally conscious has grown to a state where everyone shames those who leave a light on when they leave a room or when they leave the tap on a second too long when brushing their teeth. Can abiding by these rules solve our never ending issue of climate change? An overwhelming no can arise from that. Green consumers these small acts are enough to reach their goal of helping slow down the end of the world, although it may be the reason climate change is getting worse.
Many who choose to buy green are distracted from the large corporations who fabricate “ecofriendly” products so that they are able to make a large profit. “One can almost imagine the big energy companies secretly applauding each time we distract ourselves from the big picture with a hectoring list of’5 Easy Ways to Green Your Office. ” (Tidwell) Green consumerism will enable the continuation of climate change because it blinds consumers of the large corporations who pollute the most. Nearly everyone who has a chance to be a green consumer in the past decade has become one.
A green consumer is someone who invests their money into items that will not cause anymore damage to the environment in comparison to nonecofriendly products, an example of this is someone buying an electric or hybrid car instead of one that runs off gasoline. Though, with green consumerism comes with greenwashing, which is uncommon but it still has its occurrences. Greenwashing is when businesses sell a product that is considered green or eco-friendly, but it truthfully is extremely hazardous towards the environment. Before the 2015 lawsuit n car emissions against Volkswagen, their cars were considered a better choice in automotive transportation because the emissions released into the atmosphere were said to contain less toxins, when in reality Volkswagen’s emissions were just as bad as any other diesel vehicle. Looking at corporations like Volkswagen, many people are able to see the effects of greenwashing and the fallacies that may hide behind green consumerism. Those who consider themselves green consumers should already view climate change as a moral issue that needs to be acted upon as such, especially by those who pollute the most.
Those who represent the majority of green consumers are most likely using green products so that there is a chance that there is a world left for future generations to inhabit. Mandating how many emissions big polluters can freely release into the atmosphere is where we need to start. “Instead, most people want carbon reductions to be mandated by laws that will allow us to share both the responsibilities and the benefits of change. ” (Tidwell) The reality behind saving the planet is that nothing will authentically get done without laws holding back those who are damaging the most.
Green consumers taking action against these corporations is the first step in slowing down climate change. Green consumers who choose to spend their time checking leaking faucets and double-checking to make sure they bought laundry pods that are “phosphate-free” and “certified biodegradable” are blinded by the misconceptions of ecofriendly products. These consumers feel as if they are doing enough towards their part in solving climate change with these small tasks, when they are truly not doing enough at all.
Green consumers should feel obligated to help regulate large corporations, “All who appreciate the enormity of the climate crisis still have a responsibility to make every change possible in their personal lives. ” (Tidwell) People who consider themselves environmentalists need to go beyond buying green, they need to change all that they would consider harmful. When those who are able to help the environment the most are distracted from the larger picture, less will be done in the process of stopping the large corporations from continually polluting.
Admittedly, green consumers are capable of stopping climate change by actively using green products and by helping pass legislation to minimize the amount of emissions being released into the atmosphere. Though, if green consumers decide to do this, they need to verify that the green products they are using are environmentally friendly. Even with large corporations saying that their items are environmentally sustainable, those who continually purchase ecofriendly items are still distracted from how these items are made.
The majority of people in the United States have kitchen appliances like refrigerators, some may be advertised as more energy efficient, like those from GE and some may be the cheapest option they could get. Even though appliances like those from GE label themselves as the better option when buying green, there are still drawbacks that come with production. “The steadily declining cost of refrigeration has made eating much more interesting. It has also made almost all elements of food production more costeffective and energy-efficient: milk lasts longer if you don’t have to keep it in a pail in your well.
But there are environmental downsides, beyond the obvious one that most of the electricity that powers the world’s refrigerators is generated by burning fossil fuels. ” (Owen) So, those who choose both to buy green and pass legislation to slow down climate change against polluting corporations, just may be buying products from those they are trying to stop. Others may argue that the polluting corporations should be blamed for climate change because they are the ones destroying the atmosphere.
In addition, they may argue that it is not the consumer’s fault that climate change is occurring if they are trying to help by using green products. If these statements are considered true, why is climate change still rising? In order to help save the planet, which needs to be seen as a moral issue, we need to all help to stop large polluters. ‘We all got into this mess together … Don’t spend an hour changing your light bulbs. Don’t take a day to caulk your windows. Instead, pick up a phone, open a laptop, or travel to a U.
S. Senate office near you and turn the tables … ” (Tidwell) Alone, buying green products from large companies, then putting the blame on them when they choose to expand and pollute using money you provided to them by purchasing their items, is backwards. If they continually receive a profit, they will only pollute more. By taking the time to search for ways to help on a larger scale instead of using that time to determine which showerhead will be more efficient, we will ultimately help save the planet.
Green consumers who actively blind themselves from corporations will evidently cause climate change because they are distracting themselves by buying what they consider green. Instead of getting sidetracked in the new fads, the left of lights, the energy efficient refrigerators, focus on what can be done to help stop pollution. Do not get distracted by flashy LED light bulbs or the faucet that keeps dripping because in the end, you might be benefitting who we need to stop.
