Realizing You’re Alone
I think one of the hardest parts of “being green” or being just environmentally friendly / aware is that you start to notice what a small percentage of the populace is the same way. I was on a business trip this weekend and I was in a “fat city”, which is just a city that has an overweight and bloated populace. Minneapolis, MN. The average person there was around 20-30lbs heavier at least than what I am used to in Southern California. I watched the habits of these people and I noticed that they tended to be very wasteful. From using too many napkins at dinner, to ordering too much food and not eating nearly enough of it, to even using way too many paper towels in the bathrooms. These are some small and short examples but you get my drift. The average person in any state and any area are not on our side - you’re pretty much alone.
That’s the way it has been for years. Yes, it is slowly changing but change is gradual and the average person won’t become friendly to the environment or go green for 10-15 years. It will happen when somethng drastic changes in the world.
So when you’re making choices, don’t make them to change the world for 10 people or 100 people. Do your part, reduce what you can and be happy knowing you’ve just saved the Earth and X amount of waste/carbon waste and so forth. Trying to compare and gauge yourself against the next guy who has never recycled a day in his life can be depressing and counter productive.
If we do our small parts and others slowly catch on, we can make an impact. Don’t take on the world at once on your own and you will enjoy doing your part a whole lot more.
