Media 'Green Fatique' Slowing Environmentalists?
Josh Dorfman Reports on the Public Appetite for Sustainable Living
Aug 13, 2008
Josh Dorfman, author of The Lazy Environmentalist: Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living, and the man behind ModernGreenLiving.com, exudes excitement when describing rebates for water-efficient toilets, money back for Energy Star-rated washing machines, special deals for compact fluorescent lightbulbs, social networking platforms for ride-sharing, swap Websites for everything from video games to gear for parents-to-be. The trick now is to get journalists to make it news rather than buying into the notion that there's nothing fresh to say about the green revolution.
In contrast to beleagured reporters, Dorfman's convinced most Americans share his enthusiasm and are "just starting to discover they have some green choices," he continues. "There's no fatigue. There's actually excitment. I think that there's green fatigue in the media. They've put so much attention on covering green, they can't find any new ways to cover the story."
His hope is that this failure of imagination is temporary and that it won't be understood by the public as reason to ease up on the pressure to reduce waste, reverse global warming, and prevent further destruction of the planet.
In actuality, says Dorfman, the market for all things green has lots of growing room before it achieves maximum impact. "The green economy might have expanded to some $500 billion, according to some estimates, but we live in a $14 trillion economy; how much is $500 billion?"
The innovations he's seeing demonstrate that more and more people are finding out the truth about green living: that what's good for the environment is also in your own best interest.
"They go hand in hand," Dorfman says. "Lots of people get that. Lots of city governments get that."
The real hurdle for proponents of green living and green lifestyle choices, Dorfman says, is the public perception that green and eco-friendly products are more expensive than "regular" products, or of poorer quality. Even high-income earners who could easily afford to buy green seem to still be resisting.
"They say it's too expensive, but I think what they're saying is, 'It's too hard.'" It's not so much a price barrier as an issue of attitude and putting in the time to understand the difference between a green product claiming to be 'all natural' and one that actually is.
Dorfman says that's changing, though, and he welcomes the ongoing improvements in green markets brought about by green businesses that see a need to assure their existing and potential customers of the quality of their products.
Dorfman predicts that with renewed coverage of innovations that live up to their promises, the public will buy green in greater numbers and the prices will drop, removing one of the last impediments to broad acceptance of this lifestyle.
