By: Danielle Ulman

Want to save the planet? Then stop “going green.”

That’s the message from Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

In an opinion piece in The Washington Post’s Outlook section Sunday, Tidwell says Americans should drop their “faddish” and small, voluntary efforts to be environmentally friendly, like installing compact fluorescent light bulbs, using eco-friendly detergent and washing clothes in cold water.

The little things aren’t getting us anywhere, he says. Instead, media coverage of “green gestures” are making us believe that most of America is embracing change, when only 10 percent of our light bulbs are CFLs and 2.5 percent of cars are hybrids.

To get beyond our small victories, Congress needs to act.

Ours is a nation of laws; if we want to alter our practices in a deep and lasting way, this is where we must start. After years of delay and denial and green half-measures, we must legislate a stop to the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.

Instead of action, we’ve gotten a House bill passed “riddled with loopholes” and the Senate hasn’t voted on a bill yet.

So what’s the problem? There’s lots of blame to go around, but the distraction of the “go green” movement has played a significant role. Taking their cues from the popular media and cautious politicians, many Americans have come to believe that they are personally to blame for global warming and that they must fix it, one by one, at home. And so they either do as they’re told — a little of this, a little of that — or they feel overwhelmed and do nothing.

How do we fix the issue? Tidwell says before you spend the day caulking leaky windows, you should pick up the phone or get on the computer to contact your senator and demand action. Here’s his plea:

So join me: Put off the attic insulation job till January. Stop searching online for recycled gift wrapping paper and sustainably farmed Christmas trees. Go beyond green fads for a month, and instead help make green history.