6 foolish ways to go green

By Sally Herigstad

We all want to save the Earth. Every day, however, we're bombarded with conflicting information about just how to do that.

Valli Bindana, a co-owner of multimedia-film maker KreativeVistas, went online to look for reusable grocery bags. She was amazed at the "green" things for sale, including bedsheets, clothing, even a key chain made from a recycled bicycle chain -- for $32.

Bindana says: "I think the best way to go green is to stop using so much stuff. Why buy another shirt if you have so many already?"

It's easy to be lured into a purchase you wouldn't make otherwise or to make conscience-driven choices that actually backfire on the environment. Here are six ways that can happen:

Buying green for the sake of it

Much of the advice we hear is from people or businesses that seem to define "going green" as going after the green in your pocket, preying on your impulse to do good.

"Some businesses are capitalizing on people's desire to splurge with a clear conscience," says Erica Sandberg, the author of "Expecting Money."

New parents are particularly susceptible to over-shopping, and expensive organic, environmentally conscious baby gear is the rage. No one wants to expose their precious child to toxic chemicals, and we all want to save the planet. But buying something you don't need is always wasteful, no matter how it was produced.

Before you pull out your credit card, think: "Will buying a T-shirt made with bamboo fiber really help save the environment?" Buy a T-shirt because you need a T-shirt, not because you want to save the planet.

Choosing the wrong products or technology

To get the most good for your money, select technology and products carefully. For example, buying a green product at a hardware store but not matching the best product for the use accomplishes nothing. A low-flow toilet that requires three flushes hasn't saved anything.

Kathy Greely, the director of the Commonwealth Community Energy Project in Pennsylvania, says, "Despite common knowledge to the contrary, replacement windows are typically the wrong thing to do to improve energy efficiency."

If you have old, double-hung windows that leak air, it makes sense to replace them, Greely says. If you have single-pane glass less than 50 years old, it's probably not the best place to spend your money. You're better off adding insulation to the attic and sealing holes in the house. Your power company can do an energy audit on your house and tell you how to do the most good for your money.

Sometimes new technology can create more problems than it solves. For example, ethanol was exciting when it looked like we could grow our own energy. Now we know that it takes a tremendous amount of energy and water to grow corn and convert it to ethanol. Trish Riley, the author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Living," says: "Corn ethanol presents a lot of problems. It doesn't make much of a dent in addressing our energy needs. And rising prices for corn are a disaster for people who depend primarily on corn for food."

Spending too much to save too little

We're often told that we should be willing to pay more for something to go green. Most of the time, however, you should be able to save the Earth and your money at the same time. That's because the more something costs, the more total energy it probably took to produce it and get it to you.

Take solar panels, for example. A complete solar energy kit still runs around $15,000 or more. How much energy do you have to save to make up for the energy used to manufacture something that sells for $15,000? Will the panels last that long? Yes, you can get tax credits to offset your cost. But from a total energy standpoint, if an energy source doesn't work without government subsidies, it doesn't work. Perhaps it will work in the future. But for most of us, solar panels don't make sense yet. Greely recommends simple, cheap, less sexy steps such as air sealing first.

Continued: Making fuel efficiency inefficient

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