KEY POINTS:
The number of people willing to put their money where their mouth is on green issues is growing, according to researchers.
More than half the population - 50.9 per cent - have bought a product or service from a company because it supports a worthy cause or charity.
We asked if you are turning green. This forum debate has now closed. Here is a selection of your views on the topic.
Rachel
Absolutely. I drive a Toyota Prius and enjoy that fact that not only am I running a cleaner burning car but I also spend significantly less than my friends on fuel each month. I think its everyones responsbility to drive a more efficient car - or better still to use it less and walk more or take public transport.
Global warming is natural
I wont be buying a hybrid car because the manufacture of these supposedly environmentally friendly vehicles is anything but. A Hummer is more environmentally friendly than a Prius as the manufacturing of the batteries alone has resulted in a dead zone around the mine where the raw materials for the battery are taken from the ground. These raw materials are sent around the world first to Europe to be smelted and then to China for more processing and finally back to the Prius plant in the US.
Terry Creighton
Being a conscious (green) consumer is the only sustainable choice. The environmenbtal stresses we are placing on our world with a "consumption at any cost and to hell with the consequences" are steadily crippling our ecosystems, depleting key natural resources and contributing to climate change. If we want a decent quality of life for our children and grandchildren we need to start thinking about what we spend our money on, what products, processes and practises we are implicitly supporting. Its about time we started thinking in the same way about what we do with our investment dollar as well.
Andrew Atkin
One thing that has always frustrated me was the way environmentalist never gave actual perspective. They always said things like "thousands and millions of tons" and always spoke emotively (like the end of the world was coming) yet never threw anything into perspective so I could see how bad the eco-situation really was. I now know why - because very often there is no real problem at all, but they (eco-warriors) want you think there is for political reasons. For example, I saw on the Pen and Teller show some time ago that something like a thousandth of the USA land area will be covered over with landfill from USA rubbish, over the next thousand years. Thank you Mr Pen and Teller - perspective at last! Also, modern landfills in the USA dont leak and are quickly forested over once they are full. We, the public, should start demanding that environmentalists communicate in perspective as opposed to just emotivity with "impressive sounding figures" - then I will be happy to go Green (or Greener).
Peter White
My family is making a concerted effort to reduce the amount of rubbish we put out on the curb. We recycle, reduce and reuse whenever possible. Whenever the weather allows I use my motorbike to work rather than the car and my partner communtes by train. We have a responsibility to look after our environment if we want to leave a legacy which shows more than our greed.
Lisa Clarke
I am definitely "going green" if possible, where money and options allow. We can choose of what kind of society and environment we want to live in and personally I would rather live in harmony with nature, than fight against it or try to exploit and control it. We are not the masters of this planet, we are the guardians and part of a unique and diverse eco-system which we have the responsibility to protect. Let us choose to live in a beautiful "Garden of Eden" rather than a dirty, polluted mess. Enough said.
G
I am not going to go stupid about going green. I am certainly not going to turn my brain to neutral when making purchasing decisions. Many of the products which are supposedly good for the environment have negative downsides. Hybrid cars may have some environmental pluses in the operation, but their manufacture, ad the components used in them are not so environmentally friendly. I think more important factors in my decision making are moral and ethical considerations e.g. exploitation of people
