WEE Can’t Afford To Be Green July 1, 2008

I got excited when I saw the new “Wee Generation eco-diaper bag”. I thought, that will be perfect for my daughter who is having her first baby this October! Until I saw the price tag. What in the world would make it cost $200? Okay, so 100 percent of profits benefit Healthy Child Healthy World. That’s laudable. Plus, the first 500 bags come with Seventh Generation baby products. I guess you’re out of luck if you buy bag number 501. The bag is made from designer upholstery fabric made out of 100% post consumer recycled plastic bottles (Cradle-To-Cradle Certified fabric by Designtex). Judging from the comments on their blog, most other moms thought the price tag a little steep too.

Let’s talk reality here. My daughter also needs a crib and mattress, bedding, car seat, stroller, baby clothes, and diapers among many other things. Oh yeah, and she still has to buy groceries and pay the rent. A fancy-smancy designer green diaper bag is not at the top of the wish list. I’ll be honest, if I bought absolutely everything green, first I would go crazy trying to research the greenest possible option and second, I’d go broke because buying green is invariably more expensive than “regular” stuff. I’m like anyone else, I have to pick and choose what I think I can afford and have to let the rest go. In other words, I do the best I can.

Maybe it’s time to Get Ready to Rethink What it Means to Be Green:

1. Live in Cities – Urban Living is Kinder to the Planet Than the Suburban Lifestyle. That makes sense, urban density equals efficiency. My cousin, who lives in NYC, hasn’t owned a car in decades. My step-son, who lives in southern California and bought a house where he afford it, has a 1 hour commute to work depending on traffic. Which is more energy efficient?
2. A/C Is OK: Air-Conditioning Actually Emits Less CO₂Than Heating. It takes less energy to cool a house by 1 degree than it does to heat it. Thank goodness, it would be pretty unbearable to leave the AC off when it’s over 100 degrees outside.
3. Organics Are Not The Answer: Surprise! Conventional Agriculture Can Be Easier on the Planet. Well, that depends on whether you buy local or not and whether your diet is the typical American, meat-heavy diet. Ever since the biggest ground beef recall in history, I just can’t stomach eating a hamburger. I always think of it as crawling with sh*t.
4. Farm the Forests: Old-Growth Forests Can Actually Contributeto Global Warming. What many people consider old-growth forests are actually pioneer and early-successional species or even second-growth, a forest that was cut and then replanted. Forests are successional with a climax forest being a temporal phenomenon. Natural catastrophes – tornadoes, hurricanes, fire, insects, and disease – tend to topple climax communities. The fact is, animals such as moose, deer, woodcock, ruffed grouse and a variety of songbirds prosper only in a young forest. Woodpeckers, porcupines, squirrels, and other songbird species are typical of old stands. Both can be managed.
5. China Is the Solution: The People’s Republic Leads the Way in Alternative-Energy Hardware. This one makes me cringe. They’re dealing with air and water pollution as a result of industrialization and all the while they’re becoming the number one exporter for green products.
6. Accept Genetic Engineering: Superefficient Frankencrops Could Put a Real Dent in Greenhouse Car Emissions. Plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years. Optimizing food crops to feed 6 billion people on this planet is a good thing. I do object when companies like Monsanto patent their GE seeds, forcing farmers to sign “technology use agreements” meaning they can’t reuse seed from this year’s crop. All so they can monopolize the market in the name of greed.
7. Carbon Trading Doesn’t Work: Carbon Credits Were a Great Idea, But the Benefits Are Illusory. My opinion, carbon offsets are feel-good trade-offs and don’t resolve the real problems. If you really want to do something, plant your own tree.
8. Embrace Nuclear Power: Face It. Nukes are the Most Climate-Friendly Industrial-Scale Form of Energy. Yeah, but I still don’t want to live next to one. Unfortunately, wind, solar and water power have not proven themselves to be economically feasible nor sustainable.
9. Used Cars — Not Hybrids: Don’t Buy That New Prius! Test-Drive a Used Car Instead. The energy savings of a new car might not offset the energy required to make it. Additionally, personal economics means you should pay cash for your car.
10. Prepare for the Worst: Climate Change is Inevitable. Get Used to It. ”The worst that could happen is the extinction of the human race”, says planet Earth in an article dubbed I’ll be just fine, says Planet.

Resources:

• Seventh Generation: WEE Generation Diaper Bags Are Here!
• Wired: Inconvenient Truths: Get Ready to Rethink What It Means to Be Green

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