When my son was an infant, people would ask, "Do you use cloth or disposable diapers?" My former husband would jokingly respond, "I'm studying that issue and will get back to you in about 2 1/2 years."

For many of us being kind to our environment is a philosophy we endorse until it really makes our lives inconvenient.

Of course we support the Green Movement but just don't make me sacrifice ...too much.

This week, Diane MacEachern, author of The Big Green Purse spoke to the 2008 Sustainable Brands Conference. Her message was that manufacturers that want to be green must start telling consumers to consume 20% less.

That's right. MacEachern stood in front of brands and told them if they really want to walk the talk, they need to start telling consumers...consume less.

MacEachern's Green Purse Platform includes:

• 20% Less: Urge customers to consume 20% less
• Lifecycle Analysis: Submit products and services to life cycle analysis to verify product eco claims
• Walk the Walk: In addition to marketing green products to consumers, companies must reduce the size of their own environmental footprint in meaningful and measurable ways, such as using wind power, eliminating use of dangerous chemicals, and maximizing use of recycled materials
• Tell It Like It Is: Companies need to be more honest with consumers about the environmental benefits their products offer. Companies will never be perfect, and they mislead consumers when they imply that they are.
• 2% for the Future: MacEachern proposes setting up a transition fund capitalized by contribution of 2% of a company's profits. The fund will provide much needed capital to businesses that are eager to transition to more sustainable products and services but receive no government support   to do so.

The combination of rising gas prices combined with inflation may make consumers more receptive to the idea of consuming 20% less  because many of us simply can't afford to consume the same amount we used to.

Funny how necessity is the mother of invention

. Even so, embracing this "less is more" concept  does take some adjusting to. Since Tuesday I've been staying at the Ayers Hotel in Seals Beach California. It is definitely a hotel that is trying to be green.

It requests the normal stuff -- reuse the towels, don't change the sheets. No problem I can do that and feel good about myself for doing it. It  also has this system where you have to be your room key in a card holder that controls the electrical system in the room. In fact, the only way to turn on the air conditioner or lights is to make sure the room key is in that holder.

When you leave your room with the room key all electricity turns off. I blogged about this on Wednesday.

I can support that system, I support not changing the sheets and reusing the towels -- it does take away some of the fun of staying in a hotel but  I do try to do my small part to conserve.

However,  I am less enthusiastic about the requirement that you can't keep the temperature lower than 70 degrees. I am a woman who keeps my house at 64 in the winter in Minnesota. I like it cold. I would even go so far as to say I need it cold.

An inside temp of 70 degrees just isn't comfortable. Several times last night I woke up wishing upon wishing that I could turn that thermostat down to 66. Having a cold room is a very important feature for me.

I hope this 70 degree thing in hotels is not a trend. 

On Wednesday I was chatting with some of my colleagues who also stayed at this hotel and every single one said the 70 degree policy was one that would motivate them to stay at a different hotel on the next trip. It's like the diapers in 1984 -- conceptually we can support being more responsible environmentally but when its really an inconvenience it's harder to support. Are we facing a future of summer temps in hotels no cooler than 70 degrees?  For me, that's bigger than driving my car less and using public transportation more. 

Elizabeth Large, who blogs about memorable meals for the Baltimore Sun shared her dilemma of using resuable shopping bags. Like many of us Large tries to use reusable bags but until recently, if she left them in the car, she would simply use paper bags. Not any more.

In fact, without you I would still be using my Whole Foods bags only when I shop at Whole Foods. As you remember from previous posts, I was shy about bringing bags with another store's logo on it into a supermarket not totally committed to being "green." What cured me, besides your scorn, was that one day Giant ran out of paper bags. (I could always justify them as not being plastic and also useful for paper recycling.) I went back to the car and got my Whole Food bags. The Giant security guard didn't bar the door, so after that it was no big deal.

I also found a cure for leaving the reusable bags in the trunk when I go shopping, which I was doing regularly. I now have a new rule that no matter what, if I leave them in the car I have to go back for them. After once getting out of a long checkout line to fetch my bags out of the car, I haven't forgotten again.

 Today---what's remaining of it -- is World Environment Day.  Kikuyumonja's realm shared a flyer that was distributed at work.

And? What’s the message? * Locally grown carrots produce less carbon dioxide emissions than avocados that were imported via airplanes. * Argentinian beef steak has a (calculated) carbon emission of 6,79kg/kg if transported via ship. * Energy saving / compact fluorescent lamps of 11W save an equivalent of 469kg of carbon emissions when compared to conventional bulbs @60W and a life expectancy of 15.000h. * Take your bike to work and contribute to a better environment (which would be ~ 12 km one way for me). * …and: calculate your own carbon footprint - which takes into account ALL data. Average carbon emission of Joe User in Germany (according to this site!) is around 10t/a, and I was just below it with ~ 8t/a. Still, lots of room for improvements. My colleague had ~ 25t/a! What’s yours?

Meanwhile the 2008 Sustainable Brands Conference just ended. You can read their blog to see exactly what businesses say they are doing to demonstrate eco-responsibility.

Elana blogs about business culture at FunnyBusiness