Readers,
Below is a fellow environmentalist's take on our Launch Party @ City Village Blog I would like to point out that Mr. Chase has many valid concerns and although he neglected to really pry into the roots of some of his critiques (because he would have seen a deeper green there), we would like to commend his acuteness for some of the real problems with the current state of "green"
I see this as a strong learning opportunity, not only for us at Envirolution, but for all of you out there. Every step we take towards a sustainable future will be criticized and have its fair share of skeptics. However, the most important thing for us to remember is that we must really walk the talk, and we must never let nay sayers block us from our dreams. Envirolution is, at the core, an inspired generation of people, from all backgrounds, who choose to look at the current situation as an opportunity for us to work together and become the greatest generation in history. Not because we were daunted by the task in front of us, and not because we are really any greater than other generations. But because we chose, at this moment, to do the right thing, and work for our dreams. We dream that we will come together, for a healthy, equal and sustainable future where people can thrive as well as the natural earth. It is not beyond our reach and it is not some high in the sky dream. It is simply a choice in the matter. And who decides the future but you?
Please read Mr. Chase's comments and consider them for your own future endeavors.
Piggy-Back Environmentalism
Perhaps naively, I had assumed that by the time the term greenwashing had been invented, activists, consumers and captains of industry would not be foolish enough to give in to its fraudulence. Nonetheless, greenwashing is one of two discouraging trends which are interacting and building on each other with dire consequences.
Little else needs to be said about greenwashing except to remind folks of the error of buying into propaganda intended to assuage the quasi-environmentalist in so many of us.
The second trend however, what I’m calling piggy-back environmentalism, is the industry springing up in the for-profit and non-profit sectors of acquiring and disseminating widely available information about living more sustainably. At its best, piggy-back environmentalism performs the extremely useful act of providing environmental information to consumers where our schools and government-funded institutions have dropped the ball. Unfortunately, piggy-back environmentalism is at its worst most often, when it serves as advertising for run-of-the-mill products and services claiming to be “green” - giving in to the temptations of greenwashing. Third-party advertising is no substitute for an educated consumer with first-hand knowledge of a product or service.
Not all products and services sponsored by piggy-back environmentalism are phonies, green-washed versions of environmentally destructive products which have been around for years. I'm treading a fine line in making the argument against greenwashed piggy-back environmentalism, both because many useful products and services are furthered in their reach and consumer base through piggy-back environmentalism, and because this blog is source of information and discussion on environmentalism - a prime an example of piggy-back environmentalism. However, this blog will never attempt to influence individual purchases beyond recommending, tirelessly, the use of the precautionary principle when making any purchase.
I experienced piggy-back environmentalism at its most egregious this past Friday night at the kick-off party for a new .org, Envirolution. Envirolution bills itself as a young and hip networking and information website and group for promoting sustainability in standard profit-driven career fields. Admirable in concept, we know from the book Natural Capitalism that "greening" our economy will require a remaking of products, services, delivery methods, and resource extraction such that profits can still be made, albeit by different means. The notion of sticking to our current extract and consume model while simply believing ourselves to be "greener" as supported by Envirolution is greenwashed piggy-back environmentalism.
At the party I met individuals working in finance, energy engineering, software engineering, law, and marketing, all looking to make themselves feel better about making money in fields whose practices are fundamentally unsustainable. At the most, the night amounted to group therapy with a total lack of real solutions or positive changes entering the discussion.
The kick-off party itself was anything but sustainable, its organizers choosing a swanky west-side night club, purchasing carbon-offset credits for energy use rather than simply conserving energy, distributing gallons of fine alcohol, and even patting attendees on the back for taking cabs to the event - if they shared the ride with someone else.
Particularly discouraging was the light in which "20- and 30-somethings" are portrayed by the 20-somethings who founded Envirolution. The fallacious prime directive of "make[ing] money while contriute[ing] positively to society" illustrates Envirolution’s founder’s weak understanding of some of those now in their 20s and 30s and their role as environmentalists. If today's youth cannot wake up to the current environmental crisis by any means other than partying in the face of dire environmental destruction, we are in a sorry state indeed. Assuming that such parties are the only way to attract a younger crowd to environmentalism is debasing in the utmost degree.
