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Last weekend we made it to the Green Festival in San Francisco. It was packed. But despite the impressive turnout, we left unimpressed with the festival's progressive spirit. This Green Festival's theme seemed to be "Buy Green."
The scene was stricken with young folks in all their flyest "green" gear buying eco-friendly jewelry, clothing, and trinkets. Don't get me wrong. If someone is going to buy a new shirt, it is much better that it be made with organic fibers, sustainably manufactured and if it touts a message promoting environmental awareness, even better.
But rather than questioning and curtailing our consumption habits which devour our planets supply of limited resources, with manufacturing that spews pollution and greenhouse gasses that are derailing our planet's climate, we simply continue to consume without any guilt because the product manufacturer brands it as green.
Mitigating climate change means radically shifting our way of living, in particular with regards to the goods we consume. While it is understandable to derive pleasure from buying enviro-slogan t-shirts at the Green Fest once a year, let's not kid ourselves to think consuming green is saving the planet.
If our generation's young environmental activists truly want to help thwart ecological crisis, we will do what our parent’s generation did: Use old clothes, make our own jewelry, grow a garden and cook at home.
Unfortunately, these practices are not widely embraced. Having been raised in a materially abundant society, many of us have never had reason to give much thought to the areas of recycling materials, fixing things, or being creative in practical living matters.
What was once the norm has now become forgotten. Our grandparents' generation lived through the Great Depression. Children were lucky if they got a coat at all, let alone a new coat every gift-giving occasion. Our grandparents' generation learned how to make do with what they had, being creative and industrious with the humble materials they acquired. Our generation has been taught the opposite lesson. The combination of cheap fossil fuels and cheap out-sourced labor have made the production of finished goods so inexpensive that to fix a simple machine or appliance costs more than buying a new one.
What we're saying is that it might be time to sit down and make a hand bag out of old seed packets and duct tape? Wouldn't it be cool to sew a blanket made out of all your old t-shirts? Wouldn't it be rewarding to come home to your own artwork on the walls? In the end, we'll cut down on accumulated junk and put our creative brains to better use. Less stuff, less carbon, more fun, more freedom; sound good?
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You're missing the point.
The Green Festival is about supporting a transformation to a socially and ecologically benign economy. While most of us could likely reduce much of our consumption through re-use and re-invention, we will still need some new things.
Don't be cynical. If you feel it's too commercial, maybe you're insecure about your own consumption. There's plenty that's about living lightly there. Just look for it.