Environment - The Green Way to Impress the Neighbours

Not so long ago it was relatively straightforward to keep up with the Joneses next door: all you needed to do was stay one step ahead with the latest electronic gadgetry, go slightly farther afield for your annual holiday, and then make sure your car was one registration letter fresher than theirs. Job done. But nowadays, it’s gotten all complicated…

And it can only be a good thing. It seems obvious signs of conspicuous consumption have finally given way to a competition to see who can be the greenest. Where once dinner parties were peppered with talk about exotic foreign holidays and the latest in high-tech gadgetry, today’s way to get one up on the neighbours is to brag about your contribution towards saving the planet.

Indeed results from a recent poll by Norwich Union claim that 9 out of 10 people admit telling what amounts to ‘little GREEN lies’ once the dinner-table conversation turns to green issues. Green ‘one-upmanship’ is becoming something of a popular pastime, with over 75% of those polled admitting to scoring green points among friends and neighbours. So intense is the feeling about being seen to be green that over 50% of those polled believe drink-driving is MORE socially acceptable than living in an obviously anti-green way.

It’s part of human nature to want to win favour with our fellows, and with the ever-growing sense of environmental awareness, it’s no surprise that people are becoming keener than ever to express their green credentials for all the world to see.

The Norwich Union survey (entitled ‘Be Good Guilt’) highlights another issue: although people know they should make the effort to help the environment, many are unsure just how they should be going about it. One psychologist commented: “We want to be ‘good’ but often are too busy…this can lead people to lie about their environmental actions — or inactions — or even to give up trying altogether, as it all seems too much to pack into our already too-busy lives. People are feeling a great deal of anxiety, irritation and fear that what they are doing is not enough or is wrong.”

Ed Matthew, of Friends of the Earth, added: “This survey shows that people are clearly concerned about the need to take urgent action on climate change.”

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[ The Green Way to Impress the Neighbours ]