The Tipping Point: Why Most Green Tips Suck

John A Ross

There are a TON of tips that a simple Google search will find.  People are always asking me for tips, and saying it would be great if I could include even more tips here . . . and it drives me crazy.  The reason it drives me crazy is that the tips are biased (and most, to be honest, are just stupid).

Of Course It’s a Natural Place To Start

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not suggesting that the people who want tips are stupid or suck.  I was at that point in my life, too.  I wanted to know how to start doing the right thing, just like these well intentioned people do.  So, I spent a LOT of time researching tips, and trying them here and there.  And, quite frankly, they made me feel really good.  They were easy, inexpensive ways to start out.

But, I eventually realized that I really didn’t care that much about some of the tips.  So, I stopped doing them.  In fact, the only tips that really lasted were the ones that helped my son’s asthma.  Cleaning products, especially fragrances that aggravated his wheezing, are one example.  But I think this lasted because it had a more specific, real, and emotional cause than, say, cleaning Zip-Loc bags does for me.  And that’s when tips really work, and I’ll write more about that later, and I’ll share the science to back it up, too.

Tips Are Biased By Others’ Goals

Getting back to my point . . tips are biased by the author.  For example, on one tip website the author writes,

“Regardless of how much money you have, it’s always good to save money where you can, at least so you have it for other things!  ”Brown bagging it” or taking your lunch to work or school, rather than buying every day, can definitely save money.”

And also,

“There are several websites that are now selling reusable lunch kits that come with an assortment of containers to go in your lunch box.  These are very pretty with all matching pieces.  If you’re rich, by all means, this may be something you want to spend your money on . . . I prefer the flexibility and cost of a more ad-hoc system.”

The “ad-hoc” system, by the way, is to use Tupperware and paper bags.

Why I Don’t Like Tips

So, I really dislike these tips, and most tips in general.  So, let me explain why.

First of all, do you really have to be “rich” to buy your kids a lunch box?  Or is this just an attempt to make the reader feel a little guilty and like a doofus for considering an option that the author does not prefer?

Second, I do not think it’s always good to save money anywhere you can.  I’m a dad to two kids under five, I have my fulltime job as a professor where I also teach more classes per semester than a typical professor at my university does, I’m part of a weekly radio show on sustainability, I write this blog, etc.  And my wife is just as busy and just as tired as I am.

I’m not able to scrutinize my purchases to that fine grained detail where I’m calculating the difference in price between my kids’ lunch box and accessories compared to Tupperware and brown bags.  And, more importantly, I do not think anyone should.  I mean, get real.  This is like making the argument that you’ll save a significant amount of money by not buying lattes.

When I Do Like Tips

I argue, and will attempt to persuade you, dear reader, that tips are crap until you tie them to specific goals.  For example, if my first goal is my family’s health, is using a plastic food storage device the best tip?  If my goal is to simplify and buy fewer things, would a less durable, plastic food storage device be the best tip?  If I were really looking to save money, is it to be found in purchasing Tupperware?, or in refinancing my house to save hundreds of dollars per month, whose savings could be used to purchase a new Energy Star refrigerator or furnace – which would save me even more?

If you identify the goal, you can THEN identify the tips.  Until then, you’re simply like a cat chasing the flashlight beam across the floor, up the wall and over the sofa at the whim of the six year old holding the flashlight – except instead of the six year old, it’s a blogger.

Bias

So, is my post about biased-tips biased itself?  I guess so . . . but I’m going to present tips bundled together in a way that support specific goals.  Many of these goals may not be mine.  Hopefully, some will be yours . . . and in so doing, the tips you choose to use will last longer AND make you feel like you’re doing something.  Because you will be!