07 January 2009

Being Green - Just as Dead as a Dodo?

I saw a piece by Chris Elliott in MSNBC. One section in particular caught my eye:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28425799/

Being green is perhaps a bit passe this week...

So how about what Chris said: here is his piece:

Don’t allow a travel company to cash in on your conscience.
Being green shouldn’t be a reference to the color of your money. But it often is. Several airlines, including Air Canada, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America, now offer programs that allow you to offset your share of carbon dioxide emissions from a flight — for a small fee. Sounds awfully tempting. But it’s absurd. Think about it: Would you be willing to voluntarily pay an extra $30 to your pharmaceutical company to clean up one of its toxic dumps? If anything, you would think twice before buying another one of that company’s products. Which is exactly what travelers ought to do when faced with an offset option: run to the competition. Travel companies should be offsetting their own carbon, not guilting you into paying yet another surcharge for it.

I really agree with him - although I do choose to offset but not to the vendors. I offset through Terrapass.

So think carefully before you buy the Green BS. With oil now rising again will we hear a new noise around Green or will it be lost in the GFC (Global Financial Crisis)?

You be the judge

Cheers

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