going green? or going snob?

like nigel farndale, the author of the article, turn your nose up at eco-snobs, someone slap my wrist for my attitude toward those that aren't as or even striving to be as eco-friendly as me. i'm guilty of my ears perking up to someone in the market line refusing a paper bag while the woman in front of me gladly takes the offered bag. (at my local safeway here in san francisco plastic bags are no longer offered as a means to transport your groceries. it's paper or your own bag.) it's happened so many times. and what about those that walk by the recycling bin in the office and dump their empty water bottles in the trash can? shame on them? or shame on me?

farndale's article hit home with me and now i feel bad. take a read yourself. if you're going green, good for you, but be careful to avoid rubbing it in the face of those surrounding you. like some folks said in the comments of a treehugger.com article, going green should be treated like a religion. if you try to convert someone into changing their ways and thinking differently about the environment, you won't be successful by shoving it down their throat. my mother always taught me to lead by example and actions speak louder than words. in this day and age, those words of wisdom still ring true.

emily bazalon, a writer for slate.com, wrote another view of appearing or teaching a version of eco-snobbery: she fears what her family's purchase of their prius might mean to her children. her article is both witty and realistic.

don't puff yourself up thinking you're all that just because you reuse and recycle or drive a prius. join me in relieving the world of a few eco-snobs, myself included.

caring for our oceans.

going green isn't only about changing light bulbs and taking public transportation. it's also about caring for our oceans--they're part of this earth too.

while taking a stance for our oceans may be a bit more difficult there are still plenty of little things you can do.

beware of your plastic bags. so often they end up blowing in the wind; floating off to an ocean and joining the ever-expanding trash vortex. they'll float upstream and downstream attracting sea animals who think it's plankton.

the same goes with other plastic containers--water bottles, the plastic netting that holds your 6-pack together, etc. if we're not careful, the plastic will end up in our oceans contaminating our fish supply and the overall food chain.

we as humans need to be more aware of other creatures on this planet. we may be the supreme being, but drought and hunger doesn't choose favourites. in the end, we're all part of the food chain. what we shove down some poor animal's mouth could very well turn toxic and kill us in the end.

read the greenpeace ocean defenders blog.

note: a close friend of mine works for greenpeace and went to the northern shore in hawaii and assisted her co-workers in gathering all this trash within only 100 yards of the beach.