Drawing the Line
Today’s post comes in response to an excellent comment on an earlier post by Lauren titled “Environmentalism’s Socially Awkward Side.” Please read the comment here before reading this response.
Many of the changes that I have been highlighting in this blog have a win/win structure. That is, they tend to both benefit my health or finances along with the environment. For example, buying music online is normally cheaper than driving somewhere and purchasing it at retail, and also eliminates all of the energy waste involved in producing and transporting (essentially obsolete) physical media. It still took a switch in expectations and perspective, however, to change my pattern from buying CDs to buying digital files. Thus I think it is a great topic to write about because I believe that by pointing out the efficiencies involved I might encourage others to undergo a similar shift in perspective.
Not all environmentally friendly actions have this structure. Oftentimes purchasing an environmentally sound product results in a higher bill, not a lower one. For example, buying FSC-certified lumber will set one back a few more bucks than buying lumber harvested without regard to sustainability. (Note that in some grand sense the FSC lumber is probably less expensive to the future global economy when all of the externalities are factored in, despite one’s increased share of the burden.) In these cases it is necessary to draw a line past which one will not make the financial sacrifice for environmental gain. Other environmentally friendly actions come at the expense of quality of life or convenience. For example, taking cold showers or forgoing the use of a car are decisions that negatively impact one’s comfort and perhaps even happiness. Again, it is necessary to draw a line past which one will not make the quality of life sacrifice for environmental gain. Obviously, since I am engaging in this project, I should draw the line very close to the environmental gain side of the equation. In general, however, it seems unreasonable to expect even “concerned citizens” to make some of the financial and quality of life sacrifices strident environmentalism would dictate.
I have certainly compromised on cost over the course of this project. The most salient example of this occurred when I was purchasing some towels and bedding. Clearly the environmentally conscious behavior would involve buying organic cotton towels and bedding, as cotton is one of the nastier crops in terms of pesticide use, etc. Unfortunately, the substantial price difference moved me to purchase conventionally grown product. On the other hand, I have spent more in some cases in order to purchase a more environmentally sound product. All of the toilet paper, facial tissues and paper towels that I buy are made from 100% recycled material, whitened without chlorine bleach, and so on. The price difference in this case is much less significant, and therefore I feel better able to make the green choice.
Quality of life sacrifices are somewhat harder to analyze. Avoiding driving, hot showers and crab cakes can be frustrating at times, and the environmental benefits are intangible. I could go much further in my asceticism, though, and forgo things like refrigeration, movies and paper products in general, so clearly I am drawing a line. A good example of an approach without compromise is No Impact Man. His is an extreme example of environmental asceticism that I find fascinating if not broadly applicable (it’s difficult to bike to work from the suburbs).
In general, then, I think it makes sense for this blog to pay ample attention to the “no-brainers” like drinking tap water, driving more efficiently and turning off standby electronics. Hopefully, given the win/win structure of these activities, the barriers to changing one’s habits will be relatively low, and the changes will actually get made. The impact of these “easy” changes can still be substantial: if every household in America replaced just one lightbulb with a CFL, it would save enough energy to light over 3 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road (according to ENERGY STAR).
I certainly wouldn’t expect the general public to make many of the changes that I am making, but if they made a few, and saved some money and the environment in the process, that would be progress.