Green idealists fail to make grade, says study

[JonQ]

People who believe they have the greenest lifestyles can be seen as some of the main culprits behind global warming, says a team of researchers, who claim that many ideas about sustainable living are a myth.

According to the researchers, people who regularly recycle rubbish and save energy at home are also the most likely to take frequent long-haul flights abroad. The carbon emissions from such flights can swamp the green savings made at home, the researchers claim.

Stewart Barr, of Exeter University, who led the research, said: "Green living is largely something of a myth. There is this middle class environmentalism where being green is part of the desired image. But another part of the desired image is to fly off skiing twice a year. And the carbon savings they make by not driving their kids to school will be obliterated by the pollution from their flights."

Some people even said they deserved such flights as a reward for their green efforts, he added.

. . . .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/24/ethicalliving.recycling

[Naturyl]

1. This is not news to me.

Real "green" living is very low-income living. Anything else is fooling oneself.

[tama]

3. True, but there are also other aspects n/t

[JonQ]

5. How do you mean?

nt

[cobalt1999]

2. No one wants to mention the elephant in the corner either

Children.

The decision to have children makes what car you drive, what you eat, where you fly for vacation, or what recycling decisions you make pale in comparison.

People are no where as green as they think they are.

[tama]

4. As for me

before I got children, I was only "green". With children, it began to dawn to me what responsibility - multigenerational responsibility and participation to cycle of life and death and life on this planet - really means.

Also, the readiness to give one's life to one's children if necessary, is the most natural thing for any parent. It's an experience that helps to reduce feelings of self-importance and egotism.