I think we're going to be hearing that term a lot in the coming years. I heard it last week when Rebecca Vidra stopped by to pitch a series of columns for The Chapel Hill News.

I didn't need Vidra to explain green guilt. It's what kept a dozen dead AA batteries on my kitchen counter for a month instead of in the trash. I finally drove them the mile and a half to the solid waste convenience center on Eubanks Road for safe disposal.

Vidra, a Duke writing professor, has been feeling guilty lately. A wife and mother of two small kids, she was already living the green lifestyle: driving a Prius and living in an energy-efficient home.

But her life was filled with stuff -- including stuff she'd bought because it was supposedly good for the environment. And that's one of the ironies, she said: to live the green lifestyle. She had literally bought into it.

"I think one of the problems with the environmental movement is we're encouraging consumption," she said.

So, for the next year -- and here's where the monthly columns come in -- Vidra decided she and her husband, Aaron, a geography professor at UNC (and not totally on board with this plan), are going to try to buy nothing new, reduce their overall consumption and save money.

The only exception? New shoes for their daughters Lili, 3, and Chloe, 1. Kids' feet grow fast.

Vidra's first column will run Wednesday, along with a series of sidebars by environmental freelance writer Sami Grover on other Orange County households doing their bit to save the planet.

Vidra, who has a doctorate in forestry from N.C. State, hopes writing for The Chapel Hill News will help her stick to her pledge. She's got a lot to find out, she admits.

"I think we don't need Saran Wrap, I don't know," she said. "What do you even get at the Really Free Market? I don't know."

And then there are the grandparents. They didn't always have a lot to give their kids, so now Vidra says they're making up for it with the grandkids.

"I have tried so hard not to offend them, but they really do want to buy, buy, buy."

Look for our series beginning Wednesday. We'll also put Vidra and Grover's columns on our blog -- blogs.newsobserver.com/orangechat -- so that you can respond and share your own tips.

A shameless plug

If you haven't checked it out yet, let me shamelessly plug the OrangeChat Webcast, now with hyperlinks to our stories in The Chapel Hill News and News & Observer. Just go to our home page -- www.chapelhillnews.com -- and click on the OrangeChat box at the top of the page. A big thanks to Grant Halverson, multimedia director, for the new look.

As always, thanks for reading.