Another trend?
This week on the "Colbert Report," Stephen Colbert pointed out that CNN's Planet in Peril had put out "13.8 million square feet of planetary peril into circulation through the USA today," to promote the show; CNN put a large folding poster into the USA today, complete with a high gloss finish. Colbert's satirical sense of humor coyly pointed out the irony of the advertisement.
Is sustainability just another trend? In the editor's note of October's issue of Dwell magazine, Sam Grawe begins his statement explaining that he is tired of sustainability. Later, he clarifies himself explaining what he meant was that he "[hates] the spectacle of green's ascent to fad-dom—blowing it up until it floats away…" He frustratingly points out that there should be someone other than an actor (like Kiefer Sutherland and his message about making "24" carbon neutral) doing something to enforce living a more sustainable life. As a society we have been aware of the hole in the ozone for decades. We should have been thinking globally a long time ago. Grawe explains "Tackling environmental issues through design is at the very core of [what] makes design good…" October's issue of Dwell is focused on people trying to work with our planet and changing the way they live their lives without the "pomp and circumstance." It's one thing to talk about sustainability and another to take action by changing the way we go about living everyday.
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October 19th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Excellent post. More people need to adopt this point of view and ground talk of sustainability in the reality of the world we all live in. It has largely become a “me too” exercise instead of actually permeating our culture in a deep and meaningful way. In a lot of ways, green washing has become a very effective marketing tool.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:40 am
In a similar vein, I couldn’t help but note the irony last night of NBC’s “green week” being sponsored by Ziploc Zip ‘n Steam bags. The commercial concluded with the line: “when you’re done cooking, just throw the bag away”.