May
2008
Making Green the Hip Scene
Living the lime life is not an easy change.
Consider some of the most obvious edits that we can make to our daily lives:
- Changing our light bulbs and turning off the lights
- Carpooling to work
- Starting a garden (and composting to fertilize it!)
- Um, recycling?
- Riding your bike for short distances instead of driving
- Unplugging all unused electronics
- Turning down the heat or air conditioning in your home
The only way to motivate all of us to make such simple changes, and possibly dozens of others, is to help people find a reason, their own personal reasons. People only do what they want to do, right?
This article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine by Michael Pollan suggests a few reasons for living a greener lifestyle, and he also addresses the most basic question: why bother?
Pollan suggests that perhaps it is a matter of personal virtue. Virtue, defined as moral excellence and rightousness, is certainly one motivator. As many people feel anger over watching someone litter (you can see the result immediately), there are others who would feel the same if their neighbors weren’t recycling.
Pollan also suggests that perhaps each individual could influence others to become more conscious of living a sustainable lifestyle, that it isn’t such a lonely effort after all. That perhaps it could become cool to NOT have things, instead of having everything. I think this as a viable possibility. This type of infectious cultural movement is seen in many places - otherwise how could we have such a difference in sustainable living habits in communities from, say, Portland, OR to Omaha, NE?
And, once we find our reasons - whether to feel better about our personal values, to join a hip cultural green trend, or to preserve the earth for our future generations - all it takes is that one bold but very difficult move to make a change, and just maybe join your local carpool or learn something about gardening. Once you start a garden, you never know what challenge you might feel like tackling next. Solar panel roof? You go.
I have to admit that I am very hip these days. When I go shopping with my canvas bags, the sales people are always intriged and I often hear comments like, “oh, I saw these on Access Hollywood, I totally want some!” I take that opportunity to tell them where I got mine, how much they where, how durable they are and how a plastic bag, like, never disappears from this earth. I say this very loudly, so people in far-off check stands can hear and then I say “Plastic is the Devil!” in a mean, devil voice. It’s fun, you should try it.