The Green Movement--- Is it relevant???

Today, it seems everything is going green. Cars. Food. Gas. In my opinion, the green movement was never that great or necessary and I never saw how it would change anything. It was just a way for people and companies to appear they cared about the environment because it seems like the right thing to do to avoid being looked down from other people and in company's cases, consumers. Simply put the green movement was a guilt trip about the damage that had already been caused by the world's careless and filthy habits.

After reading an article in the new GQ magazine (July 2008), I found a new perspective on the green movement and a truthful acknowledgment that makes since to going green that was not rooted in wishful thinking. The truth is that planet will never be 'saved' because we go green, but there are ways to improve our living through green methods that will simply make our individuals lives better and more efficient.

The article also makes since of company's and industry's goals in selling us product and the reasoning for so many company's going green recently. This excerpt from the article sums up why green is better for us personally and will, in turn, help the environment.

"The industry's goal is not to make us happier; it's to make us 'think' we are happier by buying more stuff. The tactic clearly works, but it's unsustainable. Which is why it's hard to believe that we can solve a problem of overconsumption simply by consuming 'greener' products. A better solution is to try to see the beauty in consuming less-or as designer Dieter Rams succinctly put it: "less, but better." Having fewer (and better) objects means there's less to make space for, less to clean, less to feed--consider it the luxury of reduction."

From this perspective, living green makes sense. We do not need to by new products tha t are "green" to save the planet, when the planet is way pass being saved. Besides people are more inclined to do things for themselves so looking at going green as a means to improve our individual lives may in fact make people more willing to join the movement. It has for me.