In the last poll I asked for your opinion on  living green (environmentally friendly). After receiving many comments (and questions regarding the definition of “green” for the purpose of this poll), I’m not surprised that 75% of the respondents try to be “green” most of the time, being concerned about their impact on the environment.

What surprised me is that only 8% of folks answering the questions think that “green” is just a fad and a way of squeezing more money out of people. In my opinion there is a lot of green washing out there, and we should be doing an in-depth research before buying goods that claim to be green, sustainable, recycled, etc. My special concern goes to products with high embodied energy ( which are transported long-distance, e.g. overseas). One of such is bamboo, in which case the benefits from using this rapidly renewable material are outweighed by its embodied energy (transported mostly from Asia).

Only 17% of the poll’s respondents say they would like to be eco-conscious, but they think it is time-consuming and expensive. I guess, nowadays almost everyone realizes that “living green is not even an option” (I’m borrowing from one of the answers). It actually does not matter if you believe in global warming or offsetting your carbon footprint.

In the words taken from another comment: “Hopefully, when today’s very young [reach] our age, they won’t have to answer polls like this because it will be the way they live”. I’m sure it will be so, especially when we’ll be a good example for them.

So, for all of us in doubt, here it comes:

I know, I know, it says “ecology” and not “green”, but what’s the difference? What really matters is the approach: “WE” instead of “ME”. I try to make all my everyday actions responsible. Before acting, I ask myself: will this hurt someone or something? Will my children be able to show this to their children? Will the next generations’ lives be as long and beautiful as ours? Where will this product I’m buying end its life?
Those are very simple questions, coming straight from the heart. Does it matter if you know EXACTLY what “green” means? Stick around – I’ll try to show you here on this site. I don’t know all the answers, but I do know a lot. I don’t think there are many “green purists” out in the world. I’m not one of them. But I know how to teach my children how to respect the Earth and future life. Would this be a definition of “green”?

P.S. Please show this cartoon to your children and grandchildren. I’m sure they will enjoy it. Mine did!