Green, going green, enviro-hip, have become the legwarmers and crimped hair of this generation. How many of us who park our minivans or old beater cars next to hybrids get the feeling we are being judged, or looked down on like we have committed a terrible fashion faux pas (white after Labor Day? Gasp!). It doesn't matter that your non-hybrid econo-car gets 27 mpg (better than most) or that you bike to work twice a week--if you haven't got the look or style then you are so not cool.

This green snobbery isn't confined to just the highway. Have you ever gotten dirty looks from people when you dare to use a plastic bag at the grocery store? Do these green snobs know you reuse them as garbage bags at home instead of buying Glad? Ever had a snobby green neighbor brag about her new drought-tolerant landscaping, or point out that your house seemed to have a lot of lights on the other night? Did she see your sustainable vegetable garden in the backyard? Does she know you switched to CFLs years ago?

There is nothing wrong with going green. The problem with green snobbery is intent. Are we trying to be cool by going green, or are we actually trying to help the environment and reduce our environmental impact? Really caring for the environment is walking further to find a recycling bin instead of just trashing a soda can. It is not slapping down major moolah for fashion jeans made from old Pepsi bottles. Real green action is reducing the amount of wasted water by turning off the faucet when we brush our teeth--not going into debt to show off solar panels on our houses. Like with anything fashionable, green snobbery is about being seen with the latest thing, be that a hybrid car driving in the carpool lane with only one person in it, or a shirt made of hemp with environmentally friendly dyes saying "Love Your Mother: Earth."

So here's the question: Do we buy the latest green product to be in style, or do we stick to the motto Reduce, Reuse, Recycle? Is it more important to have an expensive handbag made of old road signs, or to save our cans and bottles from the landfill?

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