Quiz: How Green Are You?
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Is much of your wardrobe made of hemp? When’s the last time you drank a cup of coffee that (gasp) wasn’t fair trade? Ever stopped being friends with someone just because they drove an SUV? As we all know, there’s green, and then there’s GREEN. Take this quiz to find out how environmentally conscious you are.
1. You buy a cup of tea at the deli and the cashier places it inside a paper bag along with a straw, 25 napkins, several packets of sugar, and a plastic spoon. You:
a. Take it and go.
b. Politely explain that you don’t really need all that stuff.
c. Give her your patented lecture titled: It’s People Like You Who Are Destroying the World!
2. When it comes to lighting your home you:
a. Keep all the lights on even when you’re away on vacation—you hate coming home to a dark house.
b. Recently replaced a few incandescent bulbs with florescent ones.
c. Live by candlelight.
3.On a typical trip to the grocery store you:
a. Climb into your Escalade for the three-block trip.
b. Fire up the Prius and try to knock out several errands at once.
c. Ride your bike (sure, it takes three trips to get everything you need, but think of the exercise you’re getting).
4. If you won the lottery you’d buy:
a. A jet.
b. A house for your mom.
c. Solar panels.
5. Your attitude toward organic foods is:
a. You’re pretty sure there aren’t any in the Big Mac you’re eating.
b. You buy them when you can afford them.
c. You only eat vegetables you’ve grown yourself.
6. When you hear the words carbon footprint, you:
a. Think it must refer to a case from Law & Order.
b. Hope your yearly donation to the Sierra Club helps offset yours.
c. Have stopped shaving your legs in an effort to get that number down (who needs heat when you can stay warm the natural way?).
7. When it comes to disposable paper products you:
a. Take the time to crumple them up before throwing them into the gutter.
b. Recycle as much as possible.
c. Resolved to give up toilet paper for New Year’s.
8. Which best describes your approach to water conservation?
a. You’ve cut your daily bottled-water intake from 10 bottles to eight.
b. You turn off the water while brushing your teeth and run the dishwasher only when it’s full. Every little bit helps, right?
c. Two words: military showers.
9. Your favorite (nonsexual) fantasy involves:
a. Owning a fleet of automobiles, mansions all over the world, and a private zoo filled with endangered species.
b. Quitting your job to do something meaningful, like helping rebuild New Orleans.
c. Chaining yourself to an old growth tree.
10. Your last serious conversation with your best friend concerned:
a. Brad Pitt versus Johnny Depp.
b. How you’d both like to be more philanthropic this year.
c. A laundry list of how much more SHE should be doing for the environment (you did all the talking).
Mostly A’s: The Hedonist
Selfish much? Sounds like the only thing you care about is numero uno. Time to put on your big-girl pants and grow up! These days, your piggy habits add up to more than just bad manners—they actually have a negative impact on the world at large. It’s not like wastefulness, littering, or being uninformed are a lot of fun anyway—they’re just easy. So you won’t lose a thing by giving them up.
Mostly B’s: The Green Queen
If only more people thought like you do! You want to improve the world around you but don’t find it necessary to drop out of society to make a difference. To you, choosing a fuel-efficient vehicle or trying to reduce waste in your daily life is a no-brainer. You refrain from lecturing and instead try to embrace an earth-friendly lifestyle in a way that makes it seem doable (even fun) for everyone.
Mostly C’s: The Earth Mama
Think there’s no such thing as too much? Okay, when it comes to helping the environment, you might be right. But your attitude is doing more damage than you might think. The preachy-martyr act is driving people away—which is a big fat problem if your goal is to change minds. People are led by inspiration, NOT badgering.