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Old habits die hard. For every set of eyes opened to eco-reality, there are dozens refusing to see. Interacting with those less green than you often creates an environment ripe for confrontation. That's where green manners come into play. "As environmentalism becomes mainstream, many Americans are embracing more of an eco-friendly lifestyle," writes Maureen Salamon at CNN.com. "But friends and family members who have strong views about the environment—and expect others to follow suit—may trash their relationships faster than they can recycle cans and bottles."
Let's say you visit a friend and you can't help but notice the abundance of consumer electronics plugged in, vampire style. "It's just not cool to tiptoe around your buddy?s home, ripping cords out of the wall like some kind of conservation fairy," says Miss Eco Etiquette at Plenty Magazine. "It's also rather rude to bombard your pal with accusations. ('It's because of people like you that this planet is going to hell in a handbasket,' won't be well-received.) Here are a few tactics that'll make your friend think twice—;about wasting energy, not about your friendship: Boasting Casually, Melodramatic Humor, Self-Deprecating Humor."
However, I'm wondering, when does it become more rude to be polite? The planet is going to hell in a handbasket but we're nervous about offending? On the grand scale of offensiveness, being forward about eco-change displays far more green manners than ignoring, say, 90% of the large fish in the ocean being gone.
