Faetra Petillo: It Ain't Easy Being Green

By Guest Blogger Faetra Petillo - October 7, 2008 I'll be honest, when Al Gore spoke the truth it didn't so much inconvenience me but scared the living crap out of me. Before Al, I wasn't exactly the greenest in the garden. I'm famous for buying multiple bottles of water per day, leaving my lights on, running the dishwasher and washing machine with two items in it, and a die hard fan of the 24/7 AC. There was even this time when I thought a gas guzzling SUV would be a REALLY awesome thing to have. When I was a kid, being environmentally friendly meant that you recycled and you didn't litter. That's it. The only time we stopped and reflected on the planet was on Earth Day. There were murmurs of electric and fuel efficient cars in the works, but they seemed about as real of a possibility (or a necessity) as having a personal space expedition or a robot that brought you juice in bed. Solar energy was reserved for science projects. If you wanted organic groceries, you had to actually go to a farm, not your corner bodega. After I watched An Inconvenient Truth I, like many others, thought I HAD to do something. I walked out of that movie feeling like I has committed terrible injustices my whole life and needed to the time to make up for years of crime. I had to chip in to save our planet in any way possible. So I went online. I went to Al's website along with many others to see what I could do, thinking maybe it would involve adding one or two more steps onto my already existing "recycle" and "don't litter" list. I was met with a checklist longer than my college thesis. But I did it. It was at this point when I began to realize that reversing years of habit and approach to the environment would not only inconvenience us in every way possible, but it would also be long road uphill. Some days, it's hard.  Take last week. I walked four Avenues to the organic grocery store only to get there and realize that I forgot my cloth grocery back in my apartment. Not wanting to add an extra five dollars onto my food tab for another bag I walked all the way back to my apartment to grab my bag and back. Let's just say there was nothing friendly about my approach to the environment by the time I got back to the store. And for another moments honesty, I can't help but feel sometimes that corporate America has seized upon and exploited our need to save this planet, and lately I find myself questioning spending the extra two dollars (especially in a crippling economy) on "green" cleaner as opposed to grabbing the old Windex or Ajax. I wince at Whole Foods when I line up to pay three times as much for my organic apple than I would at the Associated Supermarket. Are these things helping the environment as much as they are harming my bank account? I hope so. In the past few years we've proven as a people that we can rally, we can be inconvenienced if it's for the greater good, we can do what we can as individuals to save our government. We were never a coalition of the unwilling. I will eat Ramen to afford Seventh Generation. Once we realized there was a serious problem, we've done what we can to fix it. But isn't there anything our government and corporations can do to soften the economic blow? Why is wind energy more expensive in the areas it's available? Why are green cars and green car insurance more expensive? Why are organic groceries still only a pay day luxury? You know what Whole Food gives me as a pat on the back for bringing my own bag? Five cents. When you charge three dollars for an apple, five cents is an insult. I understand (and I hope) that there is a logical explanation to this. I don't want to feel like my fear is being exploited and I'm paying with added effort and dollars to gain back peace of mind. But there's still so much more we can demand, so much more we can ask of those in power to REALLY change it. We've done what we can (and we should continue to do so) and now it's time to demand things on a greater level. It's time that being green became the norm and not a luxury. Wind energy, green cars, green products, organic produce...these things should accessible and affordable and we should be harder on the corporations that aren't complying. And here's a crazy idea- why not reward people with a little more than five cents for their efforts. Or on bigger level- why not a tax break for corporations who will supply green products and services for the same cost as regular ones? The world is a big place and a big thing to save. It's easy to feel that your sacrifices aren't adding up or making a difference. But we are fortunate as Americans that this November we are given the opportunity to have a big voice and we can make big changes. The way we approach the planet as a country is a huge issue in this election. Know your candidates. Know what they stand for and how they plan on paying for the salvation of Mother Earth. We can buy the expensive light bulbs and apples, remember to turn off the lights even if we can't barely remember to brush our teeth and grab our keys (guilty), and conserve our water- but unless we vote for the big issues we're never going to see the big change. Faetra Petillo is a playwright and journalist living in New York City. She is a writer and editor for BroadwayWorld.com. Her plays include "Rise/Reconcile" "Last Stop" and "We've All Cried on The A Train". She received a BA in Creative Writing and Theater from Fordham Univeristy at Lincoln Center.