Shades of GreenEmily Bazelon takes readers' questions about the motivations and values of the environmental movement.

Slate senior editor Emily Bazelon was online at Washingtonpost.com on Thursday, July 12, to discuss eco-snobbery and the motivations and values of the green movement. An unedited transcript of the chat follows.

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McLean, Va.: I enjoyed your piece, but I was disappointed that you referenced a quote from someone in the New Yorker without mentioning the context. Wasn't the guy who seemed punch-worthy Steve Case? If I recall correctly, Case—the former head of AOL—was being pretty pompous in general while marketing his new spa, and that quote was in keeping with his overall pretentiousness. It had less to do with his being green than it did with him being a giant windbag.

washintonpost.com: Spa Man (New Yorker, July 9)

Emily Bazelon: Nope, it wasn't Case. It was Ted Ning, a director at Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability.

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Maryland: Do you think promoting "green" products is coming back to bite environmental organizations in the butt? In other words, is it okay to up the ante on the American standard of living if all the buying is mostly green? Isn't it, in the long run, better to not get on the airplane multiple times a year than it is to buy carbon offsets, which just passes the responsibility onto someone else? I have a non-green friend who loves fine things and chooses her purchases very carefully and for lasting impact, and I think overall she buys less than most "greens" I know.

Emily Bazelon: You're right, this is a huge concern. Recycling is never as good as reusing, or not using at all, and carbon offsets aren't as good as not flying. That said, sometimes we DO buy new things, and so I think the promotion of green products is useful. You have to hope that people aren't buying a Prius as the 3rd car they'd have otherwise skipped!

You can make a similar argument about flying and carbon offsets—if you ARE going to fly, better to buy the offset than not. But you're raising a deeper point about incentives: does the existence of the offset make people more likely to take a flight they otherwise wouldn't have, or more likely for a company to build a new factory instead of cleaning up its old one, for example. I think that the jury is still out on that question. I'd love to read a good econ study about it.

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Maryland: Posting way early. Is the environmental movement going to call a halt soon to what the New York Times called "light green"? When I began supporting environmental organizations it was about living more responsibly, treading gently on the Earth, conserving wild spaces and curbing your consumption. Now it seems people again are given a green light (no pun intended) to buy as much as they want as long as it's "green." So as long as your new 7,000-square-foot house is "green" and you do your 70-mile commute via a massive highway infrastructure in a Prius, it's okay. And the big organizations are jumping on the wagon. I'm feeling abandoned by the movement and not very interested in sending checks that will turn into "advocacy and education" for guilt-free spending on a large scale.

Emily Bazelon: this is an interesting follow up to the previous comment about how to change norms. I guess the question is this one, at least from a pragmatic standpoint: Does the green movement gain more people, and political leverage, by striving for mass appeal, i.e. welcoming "light green"? Or does it turn off more people like you, by appearing to sell out? I don't know the answer but it's a great question.

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Washington: Even small and simple lifestyle changes turned into habit can make a respectable difference. Drive more slowly; spend money wisely; separate recyclables from trash; buy cloth bags to take to the grocery store; avoid waste and litter. Everyone could do this without noticing the difference in their happiness or pocketbook. It's pretty gross that suggestions of these type are seen as enviro-nazism by some—as well as insufficient enviro-nazism by others.

Emily Bazelon: Well that's pretty much how I think about this personally, and it was one of the premises of the Slate Green Challenge (check it out here). I do think it's important to do one's small part, as a matter of consciousness raising etc. I also think, though, as I said before, that larger-scale change requires political organizing and government involvement as well.

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Federal Way, Wash.: Does it qualify as drawing attention to global warming when Al Gore III gets ticketed for driving his Prius at 103 mph? Like, macho as well as eco-friendly? So, the Prius is a hot car?

washintonpost.com: Al Gore's Son Arrested on Drug Suspicion (AP, July 4)

Emily Bazelon: I know, that's why the Al Gore III arrest was such perfect late-night fodder. Why does the Prius need to go 100 mph anyway?

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Salt Lake City: Do you really believe the "minivan stereotype"? Our Odyssey shuts down cylinders when we're coasting and gets between 22-28 mpg (better than our Subaru). Also, by being able to carpool we help save emissions. And minivans are one of the safest vehicle types out there. It seems that by denigrating those of us who drive them, you've bought into just the image hyperconsciousness you're ashamed of in your decision to buy the Prius.

Emily Bazelon: Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to denigrate (esp in this piece, when I was being so self-consciously anti-smuggery!) I meant to say that I am not eager myself at this moment to become a mini-van mom, though I may well end up there, believe me. I get the advantages of the mini-van, esp the carpool point. I grew up in a family with a big honking Buick station wagon. (I'm one of 4 kids.) I sort of long for the days of kids in the way back myself, but I realize that wasn't as safe. Sigh. Anyway, my point is that at this point in my family's life, we don't need a minivan, and so I think we made the right call with the Prius. But that's just us.

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Punch-worthy: I agree that anyone who starts off his listings of moral righteousness with "I do yoga with my wife every morning..." is someone I would want to punch. The "more-sensitive-than-thou" branch of the environmental movement always has been hard to contain, but every movement/religion/office has them. It only becomes a problem when they become the voice of the group—the very issue you tackle in your article.

Emily Bazelon: well, yes, agreed. and thanks!

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Washington: Re: Suave. From the Amazon Web site: Bottle made with 25 percent recycled plastic. Bottle coded for recycling. Check if facilities exist. Biodegradable formula. Made in USA.

Emily Bazelon: I dunno. There was an awful lot of soap bubbles in that water! But maybe. in any case now I'm really glad we didn't stick our noses in.

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Spacepod vs. Jellybean: When the Prius was redesigned as a hatchback, that was it for us. We got one because we think it looks cool (and needed to replace a 12-year-old car). A silver one that we dubbed "our little spacepod." We liked the futuristic-looking design. So yeah, we bought it for external validation, but of our sense of being futuristic and on the cutting edge rather than just because it's a hybrid (and yeah, we chose it over the Civic hybrid). I'm not sure that's the same as making a public statement like "ooh, look how green we are." I am amused, however, that I've heard from people who don't like the Prius looks so much that to some it looks like a big jellybean on wheels. I chuckle at the thought of myself scurrying around in my big silver jellybean, and now when I see the new light green ones, I can't help but think they do look like giant lima beans.

Emily Bazelon: I love the lima bean image! hey, there's nothing wrong with clever marketing. Toyota has been smart.

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