Transcript 無投影片標題 - CNEC Christian College

Environmental Education
Lecture Notes: 1.8
Green Consumerism
Content
 Introduction
 Why green consumerism is needed?
 How to implement?
Introduction
[1]
 Our considerations in daily consumption:
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price, durability, effective date, composition and
functions, etc.
many problems that consumers may ignore easily
 Every consumption behavior would consume
resources, including:
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raw materials used for making the product
energies required during the process
treatment processes after disposal of the products
Introduction
[2]
 Many environmental problems arise:
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global climatic change
destruction of rainforests
ozone layer depletion
 People begin to realize that our environment may not be
able to withstand interminable demand of resources by
human
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Both government agencies and private organizations pay
more and more attention to the environmental protection
environmentally-friendly products are produced and sold in
the markets, and accepted by consumers
 The concept of ‘Green Consumption’ and its trend are
then put forward and promoted
Why green consumerism is needed?
[1]
 Enlarging of man-made environment and the
deteriorating of environment
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human rethink and become more concern about the value of
health
recognize the importance of environmental protection to the
sustainability of human
researches on Environmental Health urge human to concern
that the consequence of pollution would make all members in
the society suffer
 As a citizen of the earth, we need to “Think Globally,
Act Locally”

change our personal behavior and take action to improve our
surrounding environment
Why green consumerism is needed?
[2]
 To prevent damaging of the environment, we do not
need to stop consumption, but depends on the ways that
we are consuming

Through consumption behaviour, we could urge producers and
the government to alter the process of production and the
framework of operation
 One of the objectives of Green Consumerism is to alter
the operational model in the current economy.
 The “Green Products” that are now produced and
promoted
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following the conventional system of production and
promotion
making huge amount of wastes and severe pollution
Examples include heavy packaging, as well as energy wastes
in transportation
How to implement?
[1]
 Principle of consumerism – Reduction in
Packaging/Plastic Bags
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Choose products with bulk/economic pack
Choose products with minimal packaging
Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) or reuse plastic
bags
How to implement?
[2]
 Green Label
 The need to research on the establishment of an
environment-protection labeling act:
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no commodity regulation in Hong Kong requiring the
environment-friendliness information to be printed on
merchandise
no clear or standardized definition on the concept of
environmental-friendliness
not easy to examine and endorse green products with claims
on their friendliness to the environment
safeguard local consumers, and foreign markets in the future
consumer’s knowledge on “Green Products” is limited
there is no policy to justify the reality of environmental
product around the world
How to implement?
[3]
 Common“environmentally-friendly”wordings:
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Recycled
Ozone Friendly
Environmentally-Friendly
Biodegradable
No Animal Test
Green consumerism at home
 Choose products with higher energy efficiency :
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Refer to the energy efficiency label for appliances such
as refrigerators and air conditioners
Choose washing machines and dryers that require less
electricity and water.
Select alternating current over direct current
 Choose detergents that do not contain toxic
chemicals
 Reduce the use of chemical pesticides, turn to use
natural pesticides
 Reduce the use of disposable articles
 Reduce the use aerosol products
 Choose Unbleached/White Toilet Paper
Green consumerism in office
 Choose of energy-efficient appliances:
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Computer with energy-saving mode and automatic shutdown functions
Printers and photocopies that handle double-side printing, with various
modes that adjust levels in ink use
Air conditioning systems that consumes less energy, or systems with
automatic adjustment features
Use fluorescent lighting, energy-saving light bulbs
 Reduce the use of paper:
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Select paper of lighter weight for editing and printing documents
Avoid using papers that are over-lightened
Use recycled papers
Documents should be kept electronically to reduce the use of paper.
Using solar-powered calculator and refillable stationery
Avoid using correction liquids
Avoid using disposable plastic or paper utensils
Switch to electronic media such as electronic mails (emails),
electronic greeting cards, etc
Green consumerism at school
 All the suggested measures mentioned in “Green
Consumerism in office” can be carried out in schools
 School picnic:
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Avoid artificially processed (either flavoured or coloured)
food and beverages and those with excess packaging
Avoid using throwaway utensils and consuming food with
throwaway packaging
 Reduce the amount of unnecessary decoration in
classrooms
 Consider reusing bulletin board’s decoration materials
Discussion
 Some people claim that ‘Green consumerism
distracts from the root environmental
problems’ and ‘Indeed no consumer product
contributes to environmental health. The best
only cause less harm.’ Do you agree with this
idea? What are your opinions?
Relevant Websites
 Green Shopping Magazine
(http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/)
 Greenpeace (http://www.greenpower.org.hk)
 Sustainable Development Links
(http://www.gre.ac.uk/~at05/micro/links/sdlinks.htm)
 Green Kids.com (http://www.greenkids.com/gkout.html)
 Electrical and Mechanical Services Department
(http://www.emsd.gov.hk/emsd)
 Consumer Council
(http://www.consumer.org.hk/ccweb/urllist.nsf/EnglishNew?O
penView)