Our country’s growing green obsession is a step in the right direction, but it needs balance.

When Wal-Mart starts peddling a line of “Everything Earth-Friendly” products, it might be time to consider the true implications of purchasing green. Wal-Mart, the paragon of swollen capitalism in the United States, doesn’t really strike me as an environmental crusader. Everywhere I go, there is a new consumer product line being touted as “green,” “eco-friendly” or “sustainable.” It’s usually pricier, more morally satisfying to the buyer and more profitable to the seller.

There are “green” MP3 players, clothes, makeup kits and jewelry. There’s a menagerie of “green” advertising taglines like “impact-free,” “guilt-free” and “environmentally safe.” Most are pretty ambiguous. Only after backbreaking research are you able to find out if your product-buying impact worked.

Advertisers play off this ambiguity because our collective eco-guilt sells their products. They don’t really need to explain how their products are made, whether their factories are sustainable or how much your “footprint” is lessened. “Green” is a tagline that panders to consumer emotions; even the color itself is pleasing to a buyer’s eye.

It also doesn’t help that Hollywood is fully behind the green movement. The environment should be an imperative concern, but when the same folks who brought us Scientology and Kabbalah champion a cause, we should examine their motives. For celebrities, environmental activism is as easy as dropping a feel-good one-liner at an awards show. They can then climb in a private jet and undo all the carbon offsetting that us plebeians work hard for.

I drive a Jeep Cherokee. It gets an average of 14 miles to the gallon. I am in a band that plays regularly, and I have almost 200 pounds of gear to carry, not to mention the other four band members. I don’t have the $25,000 it would cost for a new Hybrid SUV, and I am OK with paying for the gas, which I use as sparingly as I can. I’m sorry, but I won’t be shelling out dough for a hybrid just because of enviro-guilt. I will, however, be taking measures to reduce my energy usage.

I’m going to use seal blubber lamps to light my house, and hang snow leopard tapestries on my walls to improve insulation.

Well, not exactly.

But practical home methods are great for both reducing our energy burden and saving a bundle of cash. We can start by turning off appliances overnight, keeping our water off when necessary, taking shorter showers and bringing reusable bags to the grocery store.

Every year, new methods of green construction are saving businesses and homes massive amounts of money. Some cost-cutting measures are even keeping domestic labor from being sent overseas.

A 2004 USA Today article highlighted green construction that is saving big bucks. The Dallas/Fort Worth airport’s new coolant tank saved 91 percent on air conditioning costs. I thought Texas had tire-burnings for fun, but I guess I was wrong. This environmentally sound construction saves billions of dollars.

So what should we make of the verdant madness sweeping our nation? I am not advocating that we avoid buying green, but that we simply examine the decisions we make. Don’t “live green” just because everyone else is. Know the truth about your purchases, and also know that it is extremely tempting to feel smug and self-righteous when you buy environmentally friendly products.

So please avoid getting swept up in green mania. Remember that “Hollywood green” and “practical green” are two different things. It depends on you, the individual consumer, to examine how you live your life, and adjust according to your conscience.