Negative Effects of Going Green

The trend to adhere to more environmentally friendly practices such as switching to fluorescent bulbs and driving electric cars is referred to as Going Green. Recycling material goods, using alternative energies and buying local goods are all components of the Green lifestyle. The purpose of this overhaul of lifestyle is to heal the environment of the damage that has been done to it by human existence. A noble cause indeed, but one that could possibly have negative side effects.

Significance

The global environment has been affected by all life forms. The relationship between nature as an ecosystem and humans has become less than symbiotic, with humans abusing the ecosystem --- in the view of hard-core environmentalists. As humans, we need to cease thinking in terms of conquering nature and learn instead to live within its ecosystems.

Effects

This line of thinking is the catalyst behind Going Green. Causes such as global warming, the plight of the polar bear and its Arctic home, and the potential water and food shortages address world needs. We must think in terms of global health. But Going Green has also become a lifestyle. We live Green, we buy Green and we grow Green. It is at this localized, individualized level that we can gain an understanding of the negative effects of Going Green.

Cost

The cost efficiency for the individual is backwards. Adding solar panels to a home might help save the planet, but can the average family afford such installations? They can't and that's why we don't see every home with solar panels attached to the roof. Not only is the initial cost prohibitive, the payback is slow. Government rebates and financial incentives might entice the average person to consider a solar installation. But when he realizes that the payback, when the system actually pays for itself, is an average of 14 years, the rebates and incentives might lose their effectiveness in his way of thinking.

Result

Solar panel installation isn't the only Green choice that most families can't make. Electric cars are another example of a high upfront cost and slow payback. The result of this is the public perception of Green being a lifestyle of the wealthy. In response to this, campaigners continue to emphasize the individual's role in saving the planet. They advocate such practices as purchasing fluorescent lightbulbs and buying locally grown organic foods. So if the average person can't afford the big changes, he can at least make little changes; he's just a little lighter shade of green.

Fluorescent bulbs

Fluorescent bulbs use less energy. They last longer and so reduce the number of light bulbs necessary over a lifetime. But fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury, and when we toss them into the wastebasket, we are contributing to landfill waste and groundwater contamination. For fluorescent bulbs to be a Green choice, they have to be properly recycled. This means that everyone who uses them needs to store our burned out fluorescent light bulbs until we take them to an outlet that collects used fluorescent bulbs for responsible recycling.

Buying local

Shopping at the supermarket means, for the average person, searching out the most cost effective way to feed the family on a few dollars. When we compare the costs of locally grown organic tomatoes with those of tomatoes from wherever, the decision becomes less about being Green and more about how much green is in our wallets. The consequence of this campaign to buy "Locally Grown Organically Grown" foods has resulted in higher cost to the consumer for those products. These foods have taken on a boutique attitude and like solar panels and electric cars, have become more about lifestyle and less about saving the planet. It's definitely a trend.

Consequences

No doubt --- we do need to alter our human ways in order to heal the environment. But the concept of Going Green has become an economic tool for profit. Companies that label their products Green can charge more for them. Local governments implement recycling programs, programs that raise our taxes. And as we rush to purchase our expensive, new, energy efficient, naturally processed and eco-friendly goods, we dispose of our old ones --- in garbage cans and landfills.