While we were working off our hangover, intern Anastasia was reading the Sunday Times. That girl is ambitious. And she noticed a small coincidence: Namely, that Alex Williams seems to have plagiarized himself.

His article about environmentalism in the suburbs, “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You” was eerily similar to a piece he wrote two years ago, “Greening Up With the Joneses.”

They both start with anecdotal leads about regular folks from the suburbs of Washington, D.C. They both detail how suburban life is not so environmentally friendly (have you heard of these “S.U.V.s”?). Then they tell you how those regular old suburbanites are greening it up status symbols like hybrid cars and retro techniques like clotheslines.

The only discernible difference is that the 2008 version mentions that cities are greener than suburbs, which is not exactly a breaking trend.

We first read about it in the October 18th, 2004 New Yorker story “Green Manhattan,” by Mr. Nickname himself, David Owen. And there was also this Wired 2006 piece, “The Next Green Revolution.” A cursory Google search (the only way people do research these days) reveals that city living is green living, and has been for some time.

Below, some choice comparisons from the two Williams articles:

The anecdotal lead:
• “When Megan Hess, a political fund-raiser living in Alexandria, Va., who never considered herself particularly ‘green,’ finally decided to take a stand against global warming…” (2006)

• “As a suburban environmentalist, Mike Tidwell, 45, of Takoma Park, Md., always felt like a walking contradiction.” (2008)

The “suburbs have S.U.V.s!” graf:
• “But for many, it is not so easy to conserve within a culture of affluence whose environmentally costly components have almost become entitlements: the S.U.V.’s; the dream homes; the remodeled kitchens with double-ovens, double-dishwashers and thermoelectric wine chillers; the second homes (also remodeled); the plasma television sets and surround-sound home theater systems all plugged in and ready to go.” (2006)

• “Mr. Tidwell viewed suburbs (his own hometown is just outside of Washington) as places built ‘to defy nature,’ he said, giving everyone ‘their own little kingdom of grass and space’ — not to mention 3,000-square-foot houses, heated swimming pools and hulking S.U.V.’s.” (2008)

The “suburbanites aware of environment” quote:

• “‘I certainly see that the more mainstream, middle-class–really, all classes–are more aware of energy problems, including people who you wouldn’t think of as environmentalists, but will acknowledge that their S.U.V. is burning way more than it ought to,’ said Bob Schildgen.” (2006)

• “‘In the American suburbs, people are suddenly literate in the language of carbon emissions and carbon footprints,’ [Mr. Tidwell] said. ‘I’m hearing it in most mainstream places.’” (2008)

The obligatory nod to Al Gore:
• “Though many people may agree that trying to reduce their impact on the earth is something of a pain, the stakes of the new environmentalism appear grave, as detailed in a documentary on global warming featuring Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, to be released on May 24.” (2006)

• “But lately, after the release of Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ and last summer’s Live Earth concerts, his corn collective has ballooned to more than 70 members.” (2008)

The “home made from recycled materials” graf:
• “Instead they paid a premium of about 15 percent to install a kitchen featuring ‘sustainably harvested’ cork floors, recycled glass tiles, and sturdy countertops made — to the surprise of their friends — from recycled paper.” (2006)

• “He relied on sustainable materials for construction: recycled concrete and glass for the kitchen countertops, doors scavenged from old houses, reclaimed timber for beams.” (2008)

The “local government takes action” graf:
• “In [Palo Alto], 14 percent of the households have signed up for the local utility’s ”green power” option — electricity generated by renewable sources like wind, not fossil fuels…” (2006)

• “In November, Levittown, N.Y., the model postwar suburb, declared its intentions to cut carbon emissions by 10 percent this year.” (2008)