Green Living

I'm doing things a little differently with this issues analysis. At the beginning of this term when I chose my 11 research blogs, I tried to compile a list of blogs that represented different facets of the environmental conversation. I imagined that the various areas of coverage each blog maintained would give me a well-rounded research group, and provide me with plenty to discuss in my posts.
Over the course of the past month, I've come to realize that, though choosing blogs that have disparate areas of coverage may provide me with a variety of perspectives, I can't expect each individual blog to always have relevant articles concerning the research topics I've chosen.

Perhaps the most dramatic example of this occurred during my "Presidential Candidates" analysis, when I discovered that not one, but several blogs did not have any pertinent articles that I could cite in my write-up. This left me with a couple of gaping holes in my analysis. Here I was, trying to present a complete summary of my research blogs' discussions concerning the 2008 election, and a number of my chosen blogs weren't even hosting discussions regarding that topic. True, a lack of specific coverage can be significant in its own way (more on that later), but it hindered my ability to provide a full overview of each blog's stance.

This last topic is an attempt to fill those gaping holes. This time, instead of choosing an "across-the-board" issue that will get me the best results on the most blogs, I've selected several blogs that I feel were underutilized in my previous analyses, and chosen an issue that corresponds best with their areas of coverage. As a result, I will not be running an issues analysis on all of my 11 research blogs. Instead, I'll only be doing a write-up on five selected blogs.

The issue I've chosen is a specific aspect of green consumerism. Many environmentalists advocate reduced consumption, but some bloggers believe that global warming can be defeated (at least in part) by consumerism and market-driven forces. The mass appeal of green products is growing every day. This drive has given rise to a phenomenon known as 'green chic'--environmental high style, which is intent on increasing market demand for green products. From my understanding, it's a bit like the chicken and egg scenario.

There's no question as to whether "style" influences green products. So I've decided to take a look at what products EcoGeek, The Lazy Environmentalist, TreeHugger, Grist, and EcoStreet are showcasing. I think a discussion of these products will necessarily reflect on some of the market trends behind the concept of 'green chic'.

• EcoGeek: It turns out that the EcoGeek really loves his cars, which is great, because I think a discussion of motor vehicles is a perfect place to start my analysis of green style. Americans love their performance automobiles--a car, after all, is more than a car, it's a status symbol. So its pretty obvious that alternative fuel automobile-makers have been trying to break into the high-end automobile market. For the past few years, it seems that any successes have been on a (very) limited scale. For example, GM recalled their EV1 battery-operated vehicle in 2003, after the company determined the car was no longer financially viable. Enter EcoGeek, which has been reporting on the industry's attempt to rejuvenate the high-end green car market recently with these articles.
  
• The Lazy Environmentalist: TLE is a literally a goldmine for green chic, which makes perfect sense, given that part of Mr. Dorfman's modus operandi is to introduce readers and listeners to "cutting-edge, eco-friendly products and services" Since Dorfman is the owner of a green furniture company, I started my investigation there. Yeah, yeah, I know that Vivavi's website hardly qualifies as Dorfman's 'blog', but since he linked the two websites so intricately, I decided that in this case my infractions could be forgiven. Anyway, check out some of this really pricey, but green, furniture. Dorfman is really banking on the idea that green-minded consumers will shell out some extra cash for eco-friendly furniture. Dorfman's company also donates 1% of their profits to environmental NGOs, which is a little extra enticement for green shoppers.
• TreeHugger: The venerable blog Treehugger has a number of different links for fashionably-inclined environmentalist. They have helpful tips for shoppers to take into consideration, and link green retailers to their website. Their "How to go Green" section is particularly well-done; it's a whole series of articles featuring practical green consumer alternatives. As far as 'green chic' goes, Treehugger has more or less dedicated another whole section to it. The Fashion and Beauty section even has short interviews with "eco-models." How's that for green chic?
• Grist: Like Treehugger, Grist has a lot of relevant articles on green clothing fashions. If you want a little sample of some of their discussion points, check out the article on Natalie Portman's vegan shoe line, or (my personal favorite) this short write-up on the impending doom of the fashion industry. This article on 'Fashion with a conscience' is also interesting.
• EcoStreet: EcoStreet has some really great articles on green gadgetry, but they also have their fair share of fashion-related posts on their blog, as well. Check out this post on "2008's Most Desirable Eco-Gadgets"--I think the speakers that are made out of 100% recyclable material are my personal favorite. Here's another cool article on some artsy low-energy light bulbs, and if you want more, this article on eco-Wi-fi might work. I think EcoStreet and EcoGeek prove that green consumerism has even permeated the tech industry.