Exclusive to Green Cricket

I had the honour of being able to interview Howard Kremer, one of the writers on ABC’s “The Goode Family.” (Fridays, 8:30/7:30 Central.) We talked about how Hollywood approaches telling the story of how a green family tries to be good.

The Goode Family is a show which follows Gerald and Helen Goode, an environmentally-conscious family who live by the code “WWAGD?” (What Would Al Gore Do?) The Goodes cope every episode with the trials of constantly working towards being greener.

As you know, green Cricket is a company dedicated to making a greener lifestyle achievable and affordable.

“It’s a really good thing to be doing, because the affordability thing is a huge issue, as you know.”

There is an impression that being Green is an upper class pursuit, but the Goode’s are a more middle-class family. Was that a deliberate choice?

The idea was for “what are the struggles for the common man who attempts to integrate green stuff in to his everyday life?” And it’s becoming a more average person’s burden now.

Los Angeles is a hotbed of people who are both religiously fervent about environmentalism and also a love of one-upsmanship. How have you brought your experiences with that behaviour to the show?

I think the way that comes out is through Helen and Margot. In an early episode, Helen has a moral dilemma at the grocery store when she forgets her reusable bags. She spots Margot, and knowing she can’t ask for paper bags, decides to carry her groceries out by hand.

Where Green Cricket is based, there is a bag tax. We have to pay 5 cents per bag. We have experienced this exact dilemma because you have to “resign” yourself to paying the tax and sometimes you get a hard time for “not being prepared.”

Really? That’s hilarious… the pressure that’s put on people. Most of these laws ideas… I support them. I think we shouldn’t have plastic bags clogging landfills, and I think we understand that these ideas come from a good place, but what is interesting to us is how close these rules can come to fascism. When you’re not even allowed to carry around a plastic bag without everyone else ostracising you or coming down on you?

So far, the show has taken on Recycling and Animal Rights. What happens on the episode you wrote?

It’s about a freegan (a person who lives off the land and is concerned about the lowest footprint achievable.) who comes to town. He is walking across America to raise awareness about over consumption. He winds up staying with the Goodes. He challenges the Goodes on their dedication to the green movement, and the Goodes find him to be a sanctimonious jerk.

As far left as the Goodes are, and as much as they do, in their own minds, they are not doing enough. Whereas most people look at them and think “Wow, what freakish devotion,” they feel like they are never doing enough. [Creator] Mike Judge put it really well when he said “It’s like trying to join a religion where they keep changing the rules.”

Do you do your own research into this lifestyle? Did you have any familiarity with it when you got started?

We read a lot. The Wall Street Journal, and Dwell magazine. (The boss makes us read the Wall Street Journal.)

When you were starting to develop the series, was there anything about the green movement that surprised or confused you?

Definitely. I was confused about the mechanics of green living. One thing I was not aware of was the number system for plastics and Styrofoam. There are numbers on the bottom and that tells you if it’s recyclable.

In the office building where we work, there weren’t enough recycling bins. So we would be discussing green living all day, and then watching junk piling up outside our window. They finally got us recycling bins, but there was a rumour the cleaning staff were just putting them out with the trash anyway. That’s a perfect example of what the show is about. It’s hard to be green. You try to be so good, cleaning out your containers and sorting them, and then after hours. Someone just dumps them out on you.

Have you ever had experiences with people like the ones you lampoon on the series? There is definitely a lot of fun made out of Margot- the character who tries to be the “most liberal one in the room.”

Definitely. Whole Foods started in Austin. When I lived in Austin, it was just an independent supermarket. But there were places in Austin that made Whole Foods look like a big chain. You felt badly if you went in there dressed in brand name clothes, or didn’t have Birkenstocks. There was everything there. There were communes. You think you’re pretty far left from most people you know, and then you meet people like that, and then you realise, Oh my God I’m not.

How much of your experiences have gone into your episode?

I have never met a freegan. Our experiences were more about those common situations. At its essence, the story is just about a guest who won’t leave. We’ve all been in that situation before. I have been. (On both sides.)

What lifestyle changes have you made since you joined the Goode family?

I recycle. I carry reusable shopping bags in my car. I have also become very water conscious. I notice myself doing stuff and think “Gerald wouldn’t do this.”

What were some of the challenges you experienced switching to a greener lifestyle?

This is kind of gross… I live alone, and when you’re not recycling, your garbage fills up really quickly, and you have to take it out often. When I started recycling, there was no garbage to take out, and 10 days later, I had maggots. That was a learning experience.

Howard Kremer is also known as songwriter dragon boy suede.

Tags: celebrity, green lifestyle, green tv

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