Safefertilizer’s Weblog

The “Green” Fog

There is an almost overwhelming, indecipherable amount of advertising, promotion, and product-hawking of so-called “green” products.  On Sunday, June 15, 2008, The New York Times ran an article, still available online here about all of the environmental/green “noise” blanketing planet earth.  They do not describe the greenness as a fog, but that is how it appears to me. 

The Paradox of Choice

If you read about taste tests and grocery store sample programs, most notably in the book The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz, you will find that more information and more choices do not necessarily make us happier, but in fact, make it harder for us to make decisions.  The availability of too much information does not make it easier to decide, but rather paralyzes us with indecision, and give us feelings of helplessness.

“Green” Information Overload

The article in The New York Times describes such a phenomena happening with “Green” products, information, warnings, etc.  Sometime, a couple of years ago, “Green” became less of a way to identify something good for the environment and was stolen by marketing executives, advertising companies, and focus group facilitators.  Suddenly, everything is “Green,”  everything is somehow “natural” and healthy.  (Even if it isn’t.  That’s called “Spin.”) As a result, two things are happening:

1) Consumers are on overload, and are tuning out

2) Products and practices that are better for the environment are getting lost in the debate

Finding the Golden, er, “Green” Mean

The Golden Mean is the ideal center, the place where all is in balance.  With such a wealth of information available, selecting the right, environmentally friendly choice that you can live with is more important than ever.  There is a lot of misrepresentation about the good and the bad, in regards to environmentally friendly products.  In order to make the best choice, find the most reputable sources possible, and the experts in the field.  Read contextual information about the products you might choose, and then decide.  When possible, go with the natural, recyclable and less-damaging item, as far as you can understand.  Not throwing away is always better than throwing away.

How Natural Fertilizer Fits In

Well, this is, after all, a blog about natural fertilizer and natural gardening.  On our main page Natural Fertilizer Reviews we provide reviews for natural fertilizer and seaweed fertilizer products.  We also provide researched and cited articles and book reviews about the latest in natural and organic gardening.  We provide products, but we also provide information to help you make the choice that is best for you.  Check it out!  Let us help you navigate through the “Green Fog.”  At lease in the area of lawn and garden fertilizer.