Environmentalists rightly focus on greening the consumer, but with somewhat of a 'hell be damned' thought about the expensive upfront costs that often come with greening. Some rough estimates from my local shopping hubs here in Brooklyn: Seventh Generation Toilet Paper, 4 rolls at about $5.95, Scott Tissue, 4 at around 99 cents each; CFL lightbulbs, one for $4.95, regular bulbs, one at $1.25. For a person who lives paycheck to paycheck (and I, a freelancer, have good practice at this) if it comes down to the ability to buy multiple lightbulbs and at least two rolls of the unrecylced toilet tissue, or just a lightbulb, well, I often go with the former. This decision comes despite the fact that I know CFL lightbulbs will save me money on my electricity bill, or that Seventh Generation really couldn’t be better. The cost of going green, and my paycheck, often trump my sustainable heart. And therein lies the problem: we need to find a way to make “being green” part of our daily lives.

At the recent Greener Gadgets Conference in New York City, this same point came up at the panel on Green Design for Good. One voice that stuck with me was that of Mark Bent. Bent is the founder of SunNight Solar, and he works with the U.N., the U.S. military, and the governments of developing nations to hand out solar powered flashlights. The flashlights use nickel-metal hydride batteries that last for at least two years and are rechargable, and the light casings themselves are durable for many more years than that. These flashlights are used in rural villages and refugee camps, and protect their owners from animals, thieves, and sexual assault, according to Bent. And they are made out of non-earth friendly ABS plastic.

"I'm willing to live with ABS plastic because I can get people to read," Bent explains.

His point, echoed by others on the panel, was simple and clear: if it comes down to producing a "green gadget" or improving people's quality of life (or improving "humanity" as the panel explained it), they're going with the latter. Bent is not willing to give up improving the human condition for a flashlight that won’t last as long because it's made of biodegrable plastic. That is not to say that he doesn't WANT greener projects -- he's already taken steps with the solar panels and batteries -- but until we can create a recyclable plastic that lasts as long as ABS plastic, he's sticking with ABS, even if it doesn't get a green star rating. His flashlight casing quandry illustrates the same point as my CFL lightbulb dilemma: greening the consumer is a grand idea, but we have to make sure the process fits comfortably into our daily lives. Perhaps unfortunate, the fact of the matter is that if being green doesn’t gel neatly with our day-to-day experiences, no one will do it. In being reminded of this point at Greener Gadgets, I couldn't help but think of a recent article I wrote about social robots.

Social bots are machines that researchers are predicting will become part of daily lives. The robots would putter around your house, washing dishes or maybe delivering medication; or perhaps they may actually sit down with you to watch and discuss the nightly news. These beings would come fully programmed with a knowledge of social etiquette, so they wouldn’t make us uncomfortable. They will know not to walk between us and the television while we are watching, and they will know which side of the hallway to walk down. One researcher I interviewed explained that as a conceit, social robots will only become popularized if they blend in. If using them causes us to change our routine, they will be too much of a bother and we won't want them. Just like the social robot, the green product needs to blend in. We need to not know that it’s green. That means a green item needs to cost the same, and last just as long; it should not cause us to sacrifice a quality of life, whether that’s living safely in a remote village, or getting the most from my (infrequent) checks.

[Waiting for the day when green gadgets blend in. Photo credit: my digital-sidekicks by gochie*, http://www.flickr.com/photos/demachiyanagi/119301212/]