Sudha's Snack:
It's Not Easy Being Green

by Sudha Narasimhan

Global Warming. Polar ice caps melting. Hybrid cars. Carbon footprint. These are just some of the phrases I have heard in conversations in the past few months, if not years.  Yes, I saw An Inconvenient Truth and thought it was a truly remarkable film. I am reminded every day on the news of America’s gargantuan use of oil and other natural resources, for our own selfish consumption. Yesterday I saw Greenpeace volunteers asking for people to sign a petition for Congress to pass legislation for pesticides to not be used near lands considered “untainted” by humans. Huh?

If it is not one message being sent to us, it is another. One is besieged with as many as 100 environmental messages a minute. Do not get me wrong- I love the sense of awareness out there; media and word of mouth are powerful tools that can send the right message across effectively. I think what is irking me are the environ-MENTAL people, and the judgments and doom-and-gloom they bring. You know, those insanely zealous human beings that heroically ingratiate us with their statistics, happily point out our fallacies when we consume Styrofoam, and give us the look of death when we are at the supermarket, choosing plastic.

You might be saying, “Sudha, how could you criticize people for wanting to be more conscious of the Earth and its resources? Can’t you see the world is getting warmer? Shouldn’t people be held accountable for their practices?” Absolutely; just do not be sanctimonious when everyone (including you, Mr. Green-All-The-Time) pollutes, in one way or another. Cut me some slack, even if my attempts may seem feeble! We cannot help it, we are consumers. Unless you live on an island, alone, eating coconuts and wearing banana leaves, you will waste and consume.    

As one person, I do believe I can enact change, be an aggregate for a better world, save a few trees/animals/humans in my own way.  I just cannot handle every cause, and be a 100% living, breathing, walking example of environmentalism, 24/7. It does bother me when I do remember to not ask for a plastic bag, and it is given to me anyway. And it is even worse when I give it back, and it is thrown away.  I touched it for 5 seconds!  Do I have leprosy?  Did I just plant the smallest bomb known to man in that CVS bag? OK- now we’re getting into another subject altogether….