From the Mind of Meegs

This is the kind of thing that hacks me off.

I was flipping through a magazine over breakfast today (too lazy to make my traditional trek down the stairs and to the end of the driveway for the newspaper, and really had no desire to read about the Cubs loss anyway). While flipping, I came across an article whose premise seemed simple and perhaps even clever. In this, the prime season for garden parties, why not go all the way and throw a garden party that is truly green? The basis for this article was a "green" garden party thrown by some minor and inconsequential member of the illuminati.

So guests drank organic vodka and ate salads made with locally grown tomatoes while milling about on the grounds near their big-ass house that probably has about 3 bedrooms for each person living there. I'll bet the detrimental environmental effects avoided by using organic vodka probably aren't even enough to offset the energy wasted keeping that monstrosity powered for a half an hour. This is somewhat akin to planting a single rose in the middle of a skunk farm, and then congratulating yourself for improving the air quality.

Our problem is overconsumption. At least, it's a contributing factor to nearly all of our contemporary ills. Destruction of the environment? Overconsumption. Obesity? Overconsumption. Poverty and inequity? Overconsumption.

And yes, I know that all fat people are not fat because they are pigs. And I know that losing weight isn't just a matter of putting down the donut. I say that as someone who's been down that road and come out the other side. But overeating is a huge (no pun intended) contributing factor to obesity, which in turn is a huge contributing factor to all manner of health problems.

And yes, I know there's corruption and laziness and all those other Republican-approved causes of poverty. But we also have to confront the massive overconsumption of resources by a small, small percentage of the population. That too is part of the equation.

I'm not trying to discourage people from using locally grown tomatoes or putting in energy-saving light bulbs or whatever. Those are little things, but little things do add up. What I can't stand is the way these things are used as inoculations. We do these things and feel virtuous and even get a pat on the head for doing so, and meanwhile we excuse ourselves from having to confront the real problems. Why downsize to less than a billion square feet when we can get that same rush of self-satisfaction simply by asking our housekeeper to use natural cleaning products when scrubbing the floors?

It's the same thing with the whole (Red) campaign and other initiatives that promise donations if only we'll buy <insert name of non-essential product here>. In this case, it's even more devious. Locally grown tomatoes and organic vodka simply allow us to ignore our overconsumption. We pretend the problem isn't there. But with these sort of campaigns, suddenly the problem becomes the solution! We can defeat the effects of overconsumption by consuming even more! What genius!

I think this is why people tune out celebrities when they preach about the environment. I don't care how many Priuses they drive. The palatial estates, the constant jet-setting and the collection of non-essential items imported from God knows where at great cost--all these mean that your average celebrity, however eco-conscious, does far more damage to the environment than some backwoods redneck who couldn't give a flying frick about the environment. And we know this. However ill-informed people are on the environment, they are not dumbasses. They can smell hypocrisy from a mile away.

But then, this isn't just about pointing out the faults of the rich and famous. If we leave it at that, then we're no better. Just like the rich can justify gross excesses with a little organic vodka, we can justify our own excess with a little bit of "at least I'm better than the next guy." That's also an inoculation, and it does the job more effectively than a whole bushel of locally grown tomatoes.