Thursday, February 22, 2007

What's the opposite of a Green Corner?

Buying organic food ‘can harm the planet'

This article, and the posts in response, highlight the problem the poor average consumer faces when they want to do the 'right' thing. For a start, 'ethical', 'environmental' and 'organic' often get lumped together, when in fact it seems they can often be mutually exclusive.

My greatest concern is the establishment of camps at various extremes, who will inevitably stake claims on the profile high ground of a media industry thirsty for such positions.

But in pandering to these, moves to a slow but steady supply of validated, accurate information, and encouragement to engaging with proven 'better' practices get sidelined and overwhelmed. And to most who have other things to worry about than chewing over the minutiae of such issues may just not bother and carry on with what they know. Which serves the future poorly. And I criticise 'green is good no matter what' advocates and especially profit-orientated bandwagon jumpers for giving a rich source of counter ammunition to those who wish to maintain wasteful or polluting ways for whatever reason (usually profit, though to be pragmatic an expanding population does require intensieb farming techniques to be used)

Just remember: green cannot be viewed in back and white.

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