Monday, March 10, 2008

The New Soccer Moms...

are ecomoms.

She’s not just a little bit green - after all, we’re all a little bit green in the age of the recycling bin. She’s Green with a capital G, as in knowing-your-carbon-footprint green. And whether she’s hobnobbing with celebrity Ecomoms like Laurie David, Sheryl Crow or Robin Wright Penn, hosting an Ecomom party or simply topping up the compost pile before Pilates class, she’s the new new-mom and her concerns about toxins in the home, organic produce and low-impact living have come to dominate the pages of parenting and lifestyle magazines.

I'd noticed this trend in blogs, parenting magazines, and even on the morning talk shows. Ecomoms are everywhere and they are telling you how you should live.

I'm not against conservation or using healthier products. I don't want my family drinking water tainted with poisons and medications, either. But many green products are ugly, inefficient, and too expensive. As I've discovered since trying to switch to more organic foods, it's almost impossible to feed a family of four or five easily. And maybe that's the ecomoms' point.

Many environmentalists are blunt about it: don't have kids. You're selfish if you do. And if you actually think having children is a blessing, you'll be called idiots or worse.

It's difficult to reconcile the underlying philosophy of environmental practices (have fewer people) with the free market philosophies of those exploiting environmental concerns. Which is why I don't pay too much attention to these trends.