Is "going green" for people with more money than sense?

I was reading a story about eco-friendly finishes for new homes when I was suddenly struck by the ridiculousness of it all. How is gold-gilded bamboo flooring still eco-friendly? What's environmentally conscious about spending $125 for a single roll of wall paper made from old newspapers? (Really. I'm not kidding.)

There's a huge difference between going green and, well, going "green." As I've mentioned before, I'm not so much crunchy as I am crispy when it comes to healthy, eco-friendly living. But even to my not-at-all-trained green sensibilities, isn't it better to go green by using as few resources as possible, rather than by spending bundles for something uber-processed that claims to be eco-friendly? It's like investing in special, BPA-free bottles and then using them to feed your baby Coke.

I brought the question -- OK, vented the idea -- to my friends on Facebook, and this is what some of them said:

"Going green is usually cheaper than not, because you're using less energy (and your utility bills go down), driving less (and your gas bills go down), re-using things (so you spend less buying retail)... More money than brains, for sure!"

"Keep going green and pretty soon your green is all gone."

"I'm convinced that the money to sense ratio is significantly skewed with a lot of this."

Well, green *is* the color of money!"

"This sort of "green" is really a tax on upper class college-educated guilt. Keeping your old things is far better for the planet than buying new "sustainable" things."

And that last quip is really the difference between green and "green," I think. Manufacturers -- especially high-end ones -- have figured out that some people have more money than sense, and are willing to pay big bucks to feel better about throwing out perfectly good stuff simply because they wanted a new look.

In this sense, I am way green and not at all "green." Not only do I not have the money to replace all of my stuff and redecorate my home using high-end "eco-friendly" materials, I tend not to want to part with things until they are truly and completely worn out. This, by the way, drives my husband crazy, because my "wait until it's really all done" mentality has some serious pack-rat potential. Then again, I'm also not repainting my living room and filling my home with VOCs every three months because I'm bored with the decor, or trying to offset my (rather massive, thanks to my commute) carbon footprint by throwing money at it. All of the recycled newspaper in my home is in the blue bin, thank you very much.

What does green -- or "green" -- mean to you? Is it worthwhile to replace what you have in order to become more eco-friendly?

Lylah M. Alphonse blogs at Write. Edit. Repeat. She's the managing editor of Work It, Mom!, where she writes about juggling career and family at The 36-Hour Day, and she writes about parenting issues for The Boston Globe. Follow her on Twitter @WriteEditRepeat.