brownpenny's Profile

I didn't find the article so hopelessly depressing that it drove me to drink. I agree with the first commenter, "villifying consumption" isn't the worst thing going on here. We do need a serious conversation about consumption.

But just as the WaPo article relies on exagerrated examples of green shopaholics, your own statement that "we don't have enough space to all become subsistence farmers" is hyperbolic in the extreme. Let's abandon the poles and meet somewhere in the middle. We do all have to consume some things; we do need alternative products to fill the void left by those which contribute to environmental degradation. We also need to look seriously at why our culture seeks satisfaction at the bottom of a (plastic) shopping bag.

Maybe the reason why you find this article so depressing is that this is a site that is mostly product promotion? (And, I presume, dependent on advertising?)

Instead of that organic beer, maybe the Re-Nest writers could find some inspiration and a challenge in the earlier commenter's call for help. SFGail said: "We need to re-envision our lives, our values, and personally, I could use some help with that."

Maybe it's time for a Re-Nest sponsored "Green Cure"? It could address not only what cool "green" products we can buy, but also why we are buying things to begin with. It could look at the wide range of approaches aimed at our collective shopping frenzy: from buying organic & fairtrade, to bartering, the Compacters, the simple living movement, the slow movement, the "buy handmade" pledge, etc. These all encourage mindful consumption, but we don't need a "movement", a pledge, or a label to create a community based on improving our world. It's about values.