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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2012)
Artjfàulture aced @ clackamas. ed u Wednesday, April 25, 2012 The Clackamas Print?) Author fields discussion with ‘Green Washed’ consumers By Patrick Q uinn The Clackamas Print Gan we save th é polar bears just by using our dollar differ ently? Kendra Pierre-Louis, • author of “Green Washed: W hy We Can’t Buy Our Way to a Green Planet,” Would respectfully dis agree. Last Wednesday, Pierre- Louis appeared at a book signing at Powell’s City of Books on Burnside, where she spoke brief ly of her new book and its mes sage before fielding questions from an eager and opinionated audience. “eco-friendly” market and. the myriad o f products and com modities within it:-aluminum water botdes, certified’ organic produce, the Toyota Prius, etc. Many Americans; Oregonians very much included, see these products as perfect solutions to the pressing issue of pollution or climate change or whatever, but Pierre-Louis’s book asks a differ ent question, a sort of thesis that can be found right on thè book jacket: “Although this green consumer movement certainly has many Americans consuming differently it raises an im portant and rarely asked question: Is this c o n s u m p tio n really any better for the planet?” The answer, according to the author, is a definitive “no.” At the - signing, Pierre-Louis took time to discuss the hid den costs and impacts o f many o f America’s most favoTed and trusted planet- saving products. Aluminum water bottles, for example? are Usually made from virgin mate rial, fresh aluminum that had to be mined, shipped, processed, easier to see how the recent Surge in the production o f envi- ronmeUtally-sensitive things like the Klean Kanteen has become ah environmental issue in and of itself. As the a u th o r s e e s i t , t h e problem has very little to do with what we’re buying. The real problem is the fact that we, as individu als and as a culture, are still viciously and constantly consuming. The previous state ment, as Pierre-Louis would discover from the attendees in Powell’s Pearl Room, is one that raises more questions than it provides answers,, and perhaps one that diehard g re e n *'* c 'o n - | s ’u m - e rs' are hot happy to hear. After opening the floor for questions, the patrons in folding chairs quickly took on the appearance of high-school defrafs .feun members. Hands l SWttli1 3 P e a ^ ^ ^ <’ahdMffeW'*ihst w T n e1sum e^orTm s" econom ic manifesto can proo- in to b o tile f o q n , a n d s h ip p e d a w e r e g e n t ly s m ilin g n o t 2 0 m in ably be gleaned from its sub title. “Green Washed” deals with the recent emergence of the third time before finally reach ing ‘ yoUr local sporting goods store. W ith this in mind, it’s utes prior were now sporting looks of disagreemerit and disap proval. first couple of sentences; patrons would often swiftly and a little defensively provide rebuttals to whatever response had been given them. Calling it a debate would imply a stoic formality, ahd the word “argument” is only a step away from “shouting match.” Seeing the author field one bar rage of questions after another, sometimes from individuals and other times from coalitions of two or three, was not unlike watching a fencing match. Each attacked swiftly and defended vehernendy, but always stopped before any blood was drawn, which, in the end, turned out to be for the better; after run ning out o f questions, members of the audience thanked Pierre- Louis for the riveting discussion and gradually took their leave without sticking around to buy a signed copy. The "subtle, competitive -atmosphere that had found its way onto the third floor df ecolA Portland’s largest bookstore had mostly evaporated, ahd while ogy ¿an d its arrival was sudden and quiet, social jus it almost seemed inevitable. In tice. Pierre-Louis, admit s a ¿city with as many Prius taxis tedly nervous from hav- and New Seasons Markets as i n g to speak in public in the Portland, the suggestion that first place, provided clear, logi “buying green” isn’t enough to cal answers to audience ques- fully assuage the .guilt of today’s tions, and did so at a ferocious conscious consumer is« more A woman seated in the back, having raised her hand approxi mately 0.6 seconds after hear ing the word “questions,” asked something to/the tune of, “Well, what do you propose as a solution?” This timeless clas sic o f a question, presented to every critic of consumetism and supporter o f environmen talism at some point in their lives, sparked something- like a discussion that w o u l d carry on for'T- . the re m a in der of the event and mean- - der through spheres of econom y, I t h a n .e n j > u g h t o . w a r r a n t s o m e a question and answer period would be lackluster, and more importantly, only true for the discontent. “Green Washed” is available for purchase at Powell’s Books follow us on Find Us On Facebook: The Clackamas Print fûfficiaü Earn Your Degree in Bend Oregon State University - Cascades7' I @ClackamasPrint Freeman York Student | Energy Engineering Management U f e : OSU-Cascades is a small university? powered by the resources of Oregon State University. 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