Easy Environmentalism: How to Go Green Without Going Overboard

by Liesa Goins

Feeling like an environmental oaf? Blame Noah Wylie. You can’t even enjoy a little downtime with a marathon of Myth Busters or The Real Housewives without Wylie showing up in a World Wildlife Fund commercial telling you how the polar bears’ homes are melting.

Watching those clumsy little cubs flounder in the slush is enough to compel anyone who knows the meaning of “carbon footprint” feel like the only way to save the environment and baby bears is to trade in your car for a Prius. But making environmentally responsible choices doesn’t have to involve extreme measures.

“There is a perception that green choices require sacrifice,” says Josh Dorfman, host of The Lazy Environmentalist on The Sundance Network. “There needs to be more awareness that green technology involves better design and smarter living not just sacrificing luxury and comfort or wearing Birkenstocks and tie-dye.”

The idea that greenness is an entire lifestyle can be daunting—and counterproductive. “The problem people have with making green choices is the pressure they feel to do it all and be perfect when it comes to the environment,” says Sara Snow, TV host and author of Sara Snow’s Fresh Living (Bantam 2009). “Perfection isn’t a realistic goal for anyone—it’s more important to do something and do it consistently.”

In other words: going green doesn't mean giving up a comfortable lifestyle, or even ever having to wear hemp. There are other ways to add Earth-friendly habits to your life that don’t involve low-flow toilets or recycling rain water. Here are some of the experts’ suggestions to enjoying life’s pleasures with a clear, green conscience.


Avoid a guilt trip.
There’s enough hassle with travel—like wedging your knees in between a row of coach seats and whether or not your shaving cream is FAA approved—you don’t need to feel like you’re adding to global warming when you just want to get a tan.

Don't bother purchasing carbon offsets for your plane trip, says Dorfman. Instead, he suggests checking into hotels that make an effort to recycle, use green products and even employ green power sources. He recommends the chains Fairmont, Kimpton, and Starwood’s new Element hotels.

Your destination can also be green. “A vacation can be environmentally responsible if you pick an ecotourism destination,” Snow says. And this isn’t glorified camping. These locations can be found in Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Mexico and are still high in luxury (spas, room service, and beachside rooms as well as indoor plumbing are included). But what makes these types of resorts special is that they conserve resources, improve the community, and are self-sufficient.

Granola-free green
You don’t have to know what quinoa is or have ever tasted tofu to adopt an ecoconscious diet. “Grass-fed beef is basically a solar-powered cow,” Snow says. This usually means the cattle didn’t eat grain that was sprayed with pesticide or fertilizers; it wasn’t transported many miles before getting to your plate; and it likely wasn’t shot up with anything Manny Ramirez might take.

In addition to being better for the environment, grass-fed beef is leaner and better for your health. These steaks have more of the healthy omega-3 fatty acids and less artery-clogging fat.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of grass-fed red meat, it’s like the difference between having fresh-squeezed orange juice rather than the stuff from concentrate. You get better taste, it’s easier on the Earth, and it’s better for you—a win-win.

Green is the new black.

Fashion isn't futile. It can be good for the environment. Buy "vegan" and ecoaccessories instead of leather products. The chemicals used to tan leather (which preserves the skin) pollute rivers. But the major impact your shoes can have on the Earth is adding to greenhouse gasses. The land required to raise cows for their hides requires cutting down trees, which help regulate temperatures on a global scale.

Snow is a fan of the utilitarian chic bag line Noon Solar. Their products are made from biodegradable, nontoxic materials with a built in paper-thin solar panel that can charge your iPhone. Mainstream designers like Cole Haan make all their products from recycled leather—all of the hides used in their products are byproducts of the food industry.

Recently Nike, Adidas, and Timberland have agreed to stop importing leather from Brazil, where Greenpeace alleges 80 percent of the Amazon rainforest deforestation is due to raising cattle destined to be your sneakers. And check out Zappos.com for their large selection of vegan shoes and handbags.


Surf for seafood on your turf.
Our appetite for dishes like shrimp cocktail and Chilean sea bass has decimated many species' populations. Demand for certain types of seafood leads to overfishing and often promotes industry that pollutes sensitive ocean habitats, Snow explains. But does this mean you have to skip Lobsterfest or eat your swordfish steak with a side of shame?

Of course not. Instead, Dorfman suggests consulting the Monterey Bay Aquariaum’s Seafood Watch guide. They even have an iPhone app that lists the seafood options that are the most ecoconscious based on where you live.

Spend to save your conscience.
Americans need stuff, so most of us aren’t going to quit consuming—the best, albeit least realistic, way to erase your carbon footprint. But you can spend your cash on stuff from stores powered with renewable resources.

You don’t have to load up on recycled toilet paper or tofurky to help the green movement. But you can shop at a store that makes green choices. Check out the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership list for retailers that make use of alternative energy sources like sun, wind and water rather than petroleum or coal. And check out Newsweek's Green Rankings to see how America's biggest companies stack up. So even if you’re buying radiation-orange cheesy poofs to pollute your insides, you don't have to worry as much about polluting the Earth.