To think that the idea of 'saving the planet' and over use of terms like 'Eco' and 'Green' are unhelpful?

[jaggythistle]

I like to try not to waste energy because, well it's a waste - of money and of resources. (I am fairly crap at it but see the logic )

I like to recycle things becuse it seems nuts to chuck everything in big holes in the ground. Especially plastics where a lot of the feedstuffs come from fossil fuels too.

I don't feel like I am being 'green' or any other cobblers, just doing something logical.

The advertising bandwagon jumping Eco/Green-this that and the next thing seems to thoroughly put some people off and make them instantly lose interest. (Don't even talk to me about carbon footprints - my least favourite phrase)

AIBU to think it might all have been a bit more successful over the years if we just said 'Stop bloody wasting stuff and you'll save money, you know it makes sense' or something?

[Tortington]

yanbu. i work along the same lines as you - saving the planet is all a bit wishy washy liberal yoga tree hugging dreadlocky tie dye bollocks

but recycling is just logical

[jaggythistle]

wee name change there eh?

I'm observant, me.

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

YANBU. I think 'save the planet' is a pretty misleading concept. The planet is quite capable of adapting and saving itself and has a several billion year CV to prove it. It's all us pathetic little wriggly things clinging to the surface that might struggle if average temperatures rise.

And yes, like any other term that starts out with sensible intentions but is then pounced on by the marketing types, 'eco' and 'green' have been overused to the point of nausea. I turn off lights because I'm a stingy old bugger... and I don't buy packaged food for much the same reason. New slogan for saving humanity therefore... 'be a stingy old bugger and get rid of that bloody patio heater while you're at it'

[chicletteeth]

I agree with this.
Why chuck it in landfill, when you can still chuck it somewhere less damaging.

I don't consider myself as saving the planet, just as you say, being logical.

[MillyR]

Is this an argument over semantics?

You say that you don't want to waste energy because it is a waste of money and resources. You say that your recycle because you don't want to throw things in a big hole in the ground. You do these things because they are logical.

That is a massively long winded way of saying you do it for ecological reasons. A lot of ecology is about how the use of resources and how energy cycle through the ecosystem. It is simply quicker to say ecology.

I can see that the slapping of 'eco' on a range of products, often for the most spurious of reasons, but I for one would rather just use the word ecology rather than go on about logic, energy and resources, which effectively means ecology anyway!

[MillyR]

Sorry, I missed a bit out of a sentence! I meant that I can see that slapping 'eco' on everything for spurious reasons is annoying.

[jaggythistle]

I have nothing against the word ecology.

Just 'buzz' words/phrases overused in marketing like 'Eco' and 'Green' as stated above.

I feel that it turns off some people who have heard these terms in adverts and newspapers to the point of being fed up and not hearing them and the sensible information behind them.

They are also used in derogatory fashions - see 'eco-fascists' (eh?) on the 'do you really want to recycle' thread.

I'm a chemist not a biologist so maybe that's why it never occurred to me to sum it up with ecology though. :)

[jaggythistle]

Ignore that post above then, because that's what annoys me!

[MillyR]

I wouldn't claim to be an expert on marketing, but it does seem that products follow trends. Trends inevitably fall out of fashion. I'm sick of everything that wants to have some kind of vaguely environmental claim attached to it calling itself green and plastering pictures of leaves, forests, planets, or smiling people in Kenya all over it. It is often confusing and misleading, and people see it as marketing and lose interest.

But that is all the more reason why people like you should insist on talking accurately and logically about ecology and resource use! Otherwise it will just become a word with no more meaning than Heinz.

[jaggythistle]

I do actually go on a bit.

There is an environmental working group type thing at work and I reckon I'd last about 2 minutes before exploding, going by the emails that come out.

[jaggythistle]

I think these particular trends may hang around a bit as they have also been adopted by governments, who i guess are notoriously bad at talking a lot, using buzz-words and not being especially logical. :(

[jaggythistle]

(the working group would be all carbon footprinty i mean)

[KatyMac]

I prefer 'sustainability' but that has it's own issues

[MillyR]

JT, but that is why you should be involved in such a group! You could keep pulling them back to the actual science involved.

[jaggythistle]

Am currently reading their meeting minutes to see how annoying it'd be.

All the most overbearing people at work are on the committee it seems though...