Why Going "Green" is Actually Bad for the Environment

If you think that going "green" is going to save the Earth, think again. It turns out that eco-conscious people are more likely to overconsume, thanks to human nature:

Lucas Davis, an energy economist at the University of California, Berkeley, has published a study showing that after getting high-efficiency washers, consumers increased clothes washing by nearly 6 percent. Other studies show that people leave energy-efficient lights on longer. A recent study by the Shelton Group, which advocates for sustainable consumer choices, showed that of 500 people who had greened their homes, a third saw no reduction in bills.

"Subconsciously, I think this is just part of human nature," said Jason Holstine, owner of Amicus Green Building Center in the Kensington. "It's like, 'If I just do a little, I'm off the hook and my conscious is clear. Give me a pat on the back, and thank you very much.' Then it goes too far."

"They think, 'I'm being a good person, I can do more of this stuff and still come out ahead,' " said Frank Zeman, director of the Center for Metropolitan Sustainability at New York Institute of Technology. "Although the problem is that they will never come out ahead. This goes to the heart of the sustainability challenge."

Link (Illustration: Marc Rosenthal)


I can see that. I catch some blowback (notes on car and comments from hybrid drivers) because I have an old large vehicle that gets poor gas mileage. But people don't know that I usually bike to work and don't travel much at all. We take a smaller Toyota Corolla that gets like 35 mpg if we go anywhere more than an hour away.
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I live amonst hard-core greens,I see lots of posturing,buying crappy items ie. electric scooters,electic lawnmowers,etc. I see them dropping that they walked or biked somewhere into the conversation.
We actually had a "keep up with the Jones's" thing happening with chicken coops.
Everbodies in fear and worried about not appearing green.
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this is somewhat rubbish. some (many) of us do these things for reasons other than to clear a conscious or green-ego.

other facts seem to be missing here as well. 6% of a laundry load is what? an extra pair of socks? it also doesn't mention what percentage of energy they have used differently in that situation. (i dont know the numbers) but it may very well be that the 106% washing with an energy efficient washer still used less power than 100% washing with a regular washer.

dont get me wrong, if the point of this article and study is to make those people who do end up just using more think harder about how they are effecting the environment then that's great. but the opening paragraph makes it sound more like it's trying to scoff at those 'damned elitist greenies'.
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People make rationalizations like this all the time, it's no different than people who act like a complete tool on every day but Sunday. They pride themselves being a great person on one day, but completely disregard their negative behaviour on any other day. I give; therefore I am entitled to take my share (and the amount they take depends completely on the individual). It's human nature.
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Aliens Cause Global Warming: A Caltech Lecture by Michael Crichton

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/07/09/aliens-cause-global-warming-a-caltech-lecture-by-michael-crichton/
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Every time I do something "green" or eco-concious I step back and I pause, and I think to myself...
EVERYTHING i just worked for, sacrificed and did... was just offset by some trailer trash mom popping out their 5'th kid.
But you keep pluggin' away anyway... its madness.
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Pieces like this are predictable and tiresome and beneath Neatorama. Leave such to Fox News. I don't come to this site for negative tripe. A few more like this and I'm gone.
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@toontune - actually, the article was published in the Washington Post, a liberal bastion if there's such a thing.

The studies cited were done at the University of Toronto and UC Berkeley.

It's worthwhile to point out that the concept of cognitive dissonance (the tendency to harden one's belief when it's challenged, or even proven wrong by evidence) is pretty universal: both liberals and conservatives have it.
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This article has a hidden message. It really isn't about calling out elitism in going green. They are saying you aren't really green until you sacrifice for the cause.

It is sort of ironic. They imply they are shunning extremism, yet they want us to be more extreme. It isn't enough to buy green products, we must conserve the absolute amount we can.
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