An All Consuming Passion
Earth Day 2010 is history, and I cannot help but wonder how much we as a society have progressed
in becoming better stewards of the environment since Earth Day 2009.
ED2010, not to be confused with the Erectile Dysfunction Conference later this year, created plenty
of chatter. This observation is based on the unusually high number of news releases that appeared in
my email box during the week preceding the big day. Many of the communiqués were plain silly. Perhaps that
demonstrates we are creating “green jobs.” Unfortunately, they all seem to be in the field of public relations.
This ED was memorable for the receipt of my first ED card. (The greeting card company shall remain anonymous
to protect the innocent.) Of course, the card made clear that it was produced with 100 percent recycled paper.
At first I thought this was an indication of environmental stewardship progress. Later I realized that cards
made of recycled paper are so-o-o-o-o 2009! That’s not progress. Make ED cards from recycled carpet or
crumb rubber from waste tires. Crumb rubber cards could be reused as erasers. That’s progress.
Another possible indication of environmental stewardship progress was the general decrease in municipal waste
going to landfills in FY2009. The trend had been reported by government environmental agencies in the
United States and the European Union. However, while reuse and recycling are gaining traction, the reports
attribute the decrease in dumping as much to the economic downturn as anything else. Essentially, we are buying
less new stuff, so we have less broken old stuff to throw away.
Good or bad, some government agencies and recycling companies are trying to stimulate consumption by offering
consumers financial incentives to recycle. RecycleBank uses this model, and the firm seems to be announcing major
municipal clients monthly. Using RecycleBank, consumers place their recycling bins at curbside; the volume of
recyclables is automatically recorded; and the participating consumer receives “points” in a database. The points
can be used to buy more stuff.
Encouraging consumption via environmental programs is not exclusive to RecycleBank or the United States. Japan’s
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) uses a similar model. It awards Japanese consumers “eco-points” for
buying more energy-efficient televisions, refrigerators and air conditioners. According to the latest METI data,
more than 11.5 million Japanese consumers have been accepted into the government run eco-points program.
Once accepted, Japanese consumers can use their eco-points as rebates toward the purchase of greener appliances
or to get store and restaurant gift certificates, prepaid gift cards, travel vouchers, and select products. As an
alternative to consumption, Japanese consumers can donate the value of their eco-points to an environmental
organization of their choice.
As it turns out, donating to an environmental organization might be low on the typical Japanese consumer’s mind
(perhaps the typical American consumer’s mind, too) because only 0.01 percent of the eco-points have been redeemed that
way. That brings me back to the question of whether we as a society have made real progress over the past
12 months in becoming environmental stewards.
Since ED2009, how many residents of this planet who were not already practicing environmental stewardship stepped
up to the plate? Are environmental programs that provide financial incentives to encourage greater consumption
going to increase true stewardship?
I don’t know the answers to those questions. But I do know that ED2011 is only 11 months away, so I need to get
started on designing my crumb rubber Earth Day card. Got any waste tires you could spare? I’ll trade you a
$10 McDonalds gift card. (Remember to compost your food scraps!)
I’m Bruce Popka, and I’m a little green around the edges.
You can email Bruce with your comments at bruce@raymond.com.
