From the Field
It's Not Easy Being Green
Anne Gillette, 28, explores what being green means today - the challenges, opportunities, and virtues involved. Anne currently works for the State of California promoting the use of alternative sources of energy.

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I have a confession to make (I think I can do this as a Baha’i, since I’m not looking for forgiveness).  I still get junk mail.  I haven’t asked the Direct Marketing Association or anyone else to take me off their list.  I’ve seen the numbers: according to the EPA, junk mail is responsible for the demise of 100 million trees per year, and one day’s worth of junk mail could heat 250,000 homes.  I recycle, I compost, I carry a travel mug with me to the coffee shop, and my day job involves forcing utilities to buy power that comes from the wind and the sun, not coal and gas.  Cutting out junk mail is right up there on the list of “easy things you can do to save the earth”.  But no, I’m holding out for that one great credit card offer with the perfect combination of no annual fee, a low APR, and a truly exceptional rewards program.

And climate change happens.  It’s a seemingly innocuous decision.  I’m only one person, my share of the world’s junk mail is really quite tiny, the ecological benefit resulting from my valiant, time-consuming effort to get myself off those mailing lists is likely also quite small and, to boot, American Express might be trying to reach me.  Multiply such thinking by 6 billion, however, and we have a serious problem on our hands.

We do have a serious problem on our hands.  If the majority of scientists are right, we are already seeing the effects of human-induced climate change and have a limited window for action before those effects cause suffering on a large scale.  Policy has an important role to play in heading off such a catastrophe.  Market regulation, for example, can force entities to “internalize” costs (like the damage caused by increasing CO2 emissions) that would otherwise be “external” to their decision-making processes.  One of the fascinating aspects of the climate change problem, however, is its universal nature.

Politicians and “evil” multi-national corporations are not to blame for climate change.  I, in my junk-mail laxity, am to blame for climate change.  What’s more, carbon dioxide emissions are directly involved in nearly everything I do and every product I consume.  So, another confession: I’m snacking on an apple right now (I really am.  I swear this wasn’t planned).  It’s organic – very good, very hip.  From Chile – doh!  Why did I buy this apple?  It was probably cheaper than the local apples.  Did I notice that it was shipped to my market from Chile?  Maybe not.  Did the price of the apple include my apple’s pro-rata share of the cost to capture the CO2 emitted by the airplane that brought the apple to my market?  Most definitely not.

Baha’u’llah wrote, “O Son of Man! If thine eyes be turned towards mercy, forsake the things that profit thee, and cleave unto that which will profit mankind. And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself.”  Buying the cheaper apple may have profited me a bit.  Did it profit mankind?  Maybe so.  Maybe the Chilean apple farmer needed my business more than the California apple farmer, and that benefit outweighed the cost of the CO2.  It’s not clear-cut.  The point, however, is that the potential effect of my apple consumption on the fortunes of humanity likely never crossed my mind.

The consumptive life that I and most Americans take for granted is enormously carbon-intensive, and while it may profit us in the short-term, it appears to be doing outright harm to mankind.  Only through conscious, concerted action will we start to make the changes needed to address climate change.  Will this action involve some sacrifice?  Most likely, yes.  But if we Baha’is are unwilling to sacrifice for the good of humanity, who should be?  What actions will we take, given our understanding of the importance of giving up that which is lower – in this case, perhaps some of our most carbon-intensive activities or profit – for that which is higher – perhaps that which profits mankind by reducing CO2 emissions?

You’ve probably seen lists of things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. One of my favorite resources is Energy Savers.   Perhaps the most important thing we can do, though, is to think.  Think about our consumption of the earth’s natural resources (self: How much carbon dioxide has been/will be emitted during this product’s life cycle?  How many other resources have been used to make this and deliver it to me?  ); reflect on our waste of those resources (self: Is this going to be in a landfill by the end of the week?  Is there a less carbon-intensive or less wasteful product that I could buy instead? Can I do without this altogether?); consider what profits mankind (self: What are the implications of my purchase?  Does it profit me/others enough to justify the possible harm to mankind?); and remember that “the betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct”.  Giving up my search for the dream credit card just might be my pure and goodly deed for the day.

About the author: Anne Gillette is an analyst with the California Public Utilities Commission, where she helps to implement California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard program.  Anne has a master’s degree in International and Development Economics from the University of San Francisco and received a BA in International Health and Development from Mount Holyoke College.  She has served as Assistant to the Director of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly’s Office of External Affairs, and more recently worked for The World Bank on health programs in Central Asia.

Comments

[Will]

There's a lot of great links at the end of the interview with Peter Adriance in this issue. Also there's a great blog that I like with lots of practical things you can do around the house that save both the environment and money--http://www.greenisthenewpink.org.

[D Dunmire]

Very insightful. The thought that comes to my mind is that if I KNOW to make one choice over another I will readily do it; however, it is my lack of KNOWLEDGE and perceived choices that is potentially damaging. Consumers need to be informed, but how?