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003: Green Lists

All about green lists and sustainable living tips

Listen now | 23 minutes, 6 seconds

Every spring, right around earth day, magazines from Glamour to Sports Illustrated publish how-to lists on green living. Can ordinary people really help save the planet by doing just a few simple things? Listen in as the Eco Chicks sort through this year's green lists in search of the doable, the far-fetched, and the overlooked in sustainable living tips.

Published on Feb. 11, 2008 at 10:04 a.m., as part of the The Little Green People Show.

Comments (8):

Julia McBride commented, on January 19, 2008 at 11:01 a.m.:

I liked it a lot. And Bill laughed. Have you had any marriage proposals yet?

Missy Kunze commented, on January 19, 2008 at 11:02 a.m.:

Very interesting program. One of the things I never hear about is what can we do to encourage companies to use recycled pieces in their products. The City of Chicago only recycles a small amount of what seems should be more. Is there a list of companies that we can contact that should be using more??

Jill commented, on January 20, 2008 at 11:43 a.m.:

Missy, good point. I'd start with companies where you're a customer--that's who matters to a company. The employee charged with receiving and responding to your suggestion will take you more seriously if you're a customer. You're the source of that person's paycheck.

Let us know if you have any luck -- or any funny stories as a result.

(While we love green successes most, amusing anecdotes are a close second.)

Missy Kunze commented, on January 20, 2008 at 12:53 p.m.:

Most of the people you meet while shopping don't have any idea what you are talking about, or don't care. We need to reach the large coprations to show them we care and convince them it can be done.

Jill commented, on January 22, 2008 at 10:05 p.m.:

I didn't really mean shop clerks -- but I also didn't really think through to whom one would direct such comments. Part of me likes the idea that a letter to a company president would make a difference (actually all of me.) But a big part of me doesn't believe it possibly could.

What do you think the way would be? Infiltrate from within? Become best friends with someone who shapes company policy? Get 400 of your friends to join in a campaign? Or just be solo and persistent?

Missy Kunze commented, on February 6, 2008 at 1:38 p.m.:

Get the name of the Companies Public, like on a website, where there is a link to those companies so people can easily make themselves heard about it.

Amy commented, on April 22, 2008 at 12:09 a.m.:

I think that there's a question of accounting for impact that's not being addressed.

For example, a major Midwest-based consumer product goods manufacturer has very expensive ads right now with a founding family member, now a senior exec, lauding all they're doing to be environmentally responsible, when all I see as a consumer are the rows and rows of store shelves this company takes up with its one-use only, disposable cleaning supplies, and their plastic food boxes and baggies that most people use only once and throw away, when in fact they can be washed and reused.

Although, given the recent concerns about plastics, maybe not even worth buying to reuse!

In the immortal words of Clara Peller, where's the beef??

Unless we are able to change people's behaviors, which is a combination of awareness and also of what choices are offered to them to begin with (modern packaged goods / consumer marketing is the root of so much evil!), along with economic incentives to produce less junk), how are we going to convince anyone to bring their own travelling cup to Starbucks? To not toss the battery in the trash? To take their IPod back to Apple, and so on.

There are creative markets being created now in Chicago for pollution via the offshoot of the CBOT -- government policy + economic incentives + awareness works. The bottle deposit laws work in states that have them. We need more thinking like this to generate action.