Living LuxEco: More is More Green

By Christopher David Kaufman, Internet Entrepreneur and LuxEco Advocate

We have crossed a line. Its not a big fat line yet, in fact its just a finger drawn in the sand along an imaginary pristine beach near a fantastically clear blue ocean not fully realized. But today if you are interested in being green, sustainable and living a more healthy life, the statement “Less is More” rings false. In fact, I demand you let that mantra go!

Those of us interested in clean energy, healthy and non-toxic environments have, depending on our age, been told that weneedtodomorewithless. That we as a “Consumer Society” need to buy less, create less, just stop making a human imprint on the face of the earth. Humans are bad for the earth, our corporations are destroying everything and why bring anyone into this world where polar ice caps are melting, CO2 is rising, and landfills are out of control.

Since 1959 Nixon vs. Khrushchev  heralded our consumer society in the 1950’s against the Russians in the famous “kitchendebate”, we have been in a head down pursuit of creature comforts that let the waste from that desire for the perfect carpet, perfect TV, the perfect paint be damned with what results from that mass industrial production of it. Well, we won and the iron curtain fell, sortof. Yet, there are still some out there demanding we domorewithless , and that mantra permeates every greenthought or structure.

I say that has to stop!

But those theories and thoughts are based on a false premise. There is no infrastructure to handle our consumer desires. It presumes we are still looking to post-docs who are living in GeoDesic Domes, who wear white socks with their Birkenstock, and are dreaming of the days they are completely off the grid.

But I live in a very connected world today and do not want to be disconnected anytime soon. And today, being totally self-sufficient and isolated seems foreign and bizarre, as bizarre as say white socks with Birkenstock. We always understood that we are all connected. But instead of the streams, underwater wells, and the oceans teaching us that, it was the Internet, Facebook, Linkedin, and the Web.

So today I am letting go of every doom and gloom scenario. Sorry Mr. Gore, I have seen the truth and although I understand how effective fear is in social movements, I have drawn that line in the sand. Increasing fear to make me re-use my urine is the type of mortalitysalience I do not wish to base my life, decisions or pin my hopes on.

I am going to live a LuxEco lifestyle. And before I give you examples to tell you what one is, I am going to share with you why I can do it with “More is More Green,” not less. You see, we may not be there yet fully, but the infrastructure I talked about is coming online.

As I help design the LuxEco Living Identity, I realized that doing “less is more’ really equates to doing “less is less.” So how do I live with” more is more” and still be luxuriously green?

Let’s take a look at my favorite consumption, tech gadgets. I say well, go ahead and buy the newest iphone, why? Because there are several ways it gets dealt with in a green way, see the list:

1) Apple takes them back and recycles. And the newer the computer or device the cleaner the tech is inside! They even take your non-Mac PC! And give you points towards a purchase !!!

2) Gazelle: They take your tech gadgets (iphone included) find homes or safely recycle the waste. They send you a prepaid box, you send them gadgets, and they send you cash $$!

3) RecycleBank: Think Groupon goes Green. The more you recycle the more points you get toward buying more… More green products! They even work with municipalities to measure your recycling trash!

4) FlipSwap: Have a retail store? Well, they provide the infrastructure to take returns and carefully recycle them by combining it with a reward/point system for your customers.

5) AllGreenRecycling will come by and get that old microwave, iphone or PC for you. How lazy are you to drop off e-waste? Very Lazy? Schedule a pickup.

That’s just the beginning, as I work with LuxEco Living, we will be building a directory of the best of the best in these “More is More Green” products and services. In coming weeks, LuxEco will list hundreds of companies including more e-waste infrastructure companies but the fact is becoming, its a big business.

There are an entire range of these kinds of industrial and consumer solutions to going green that does not require a less is more mindset. But it does take a little guidance to navigate as these technologies and services come online. But that’s what LuxEco Living is for.

Having the latest cool device should be about do I need it or does it solve a problem or satisfy a true need, but not about polluting the world. We need to help these infrastructure companies by embracing more is more green.

Before you start getting into a massive CO2 huff about consumption and our wasteful lives, just keep your Birkenstocks on for a minute. I am not suggesting you go on an all-night Home Depot lead paint buying spree to then go and plant trees to offset your guilt in getting that gas guzzling Porsche Panamera.

But I think the future of what LuxEco Living is in theseguys… Or in thisgal. The former makes personalized iPhone cases in precision etched (environmentally friendly) bamboo. And the later uses recycled skateboards and turns them into amazing jewelry. But if you notice, their is very little “green” on their sites. No tree hugging or polar bears sweating.. Its an afterthought, no doom, no gloom,  no eco-guilt, no less is more, just built in commonsense. In fact, its more is more green...

So before you adopt the mantra “think less about doing less,”   I invite you to shop on line with LuxEco Rewards and begin to think how to do more with more green…