Hello Reader,
For this week's assignment I will be addressing the question: "What do you think needs to be done to encourage people to consume more sustainably?"
Well, Reader, I think a lot needs to be done to encourage people to start consuming more sustainably. I have purposefully put an emphasis on the word start, because I believe that is where the biggest hurdle lies... in the beginning. This week, I am going to stray a little from academia, and I'm going to rely a little bit on intuition and personal experience. I hope you don't mind too much. If you do, feel free to check back next week for a more comfortable approach.
----------
In the beginning...
I believe that the only real way to start getting people to consume more sustainably is to begin doing it yourself. That's right. Stop looking around, waiting for everyone else, trying to see who's going to make the first move. Just go! Jump in and give it a try. Now, understand that you might need to do a little bit of homework to make it work, and you are definitely going to have to try somethings that might make people look at you funny. In fact you might even have to go out of your way and put in more effort than normal into everyday tasks. However, if you never tried it before, it is hard to make a convincing argument.
To paraphrase of a speaker at a sustainability conference that I attended this past spring (forgive me, I don't remember which speaker expressed the idea, but it was either Steve Schmidt or Paul Marin at the Sustainable Campuses Conference hosted by the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges). The speaker first asked how many of the audience members had ridden on the local bus service. As I recall, there might have been 3 out of a group of about 30. Then, he suggested that everyone go out and try it at least once. He said something to the effect of, "Try it once. Even if it doesn't go where you need to go, just get on when you have some free time. Take notice of where it does go. Observe what the good points and bad points are. Then ask what can be done to fix these problems."
He then listed a bunch of possible things that a rider might notice, such as: Did the bus arrive when it was supposed to? Are the routes useful? Were the seats comfortable? Was the driver rude or kind? I'm sure there were other examples, but those are the ones that I remember.
His point was generally that nothing about the bus service was going to change if people didn't start using it. And that this is especially true if only the people that have no other options are the only patrons. Whether it is fair or not, it is unlikely that people using the bus out of necessity will formally request a change, and even if they do, it is unlikely to be taken seriously. More over, it is even less likely that the complaints of a non-rider will be taken seriously. Thus, the best way to improve the system is to use it.
While this is one specific example, I expect that this will hold true for most issues of sustainable consumption, especially those that require a specific infrastructure and/or public funding to work realistically.
Spread it on thick...
In most cases, you will probably want to try to be sustainable more than once before yelling from the rooftops about how green you are. Depending on what you are trying, perhaps go for a week or a month, and consciously focus on building up a new habit. Really, it is probably best if you wait until you find yourself doing your sustainable action without thinking about it. Then move onto another action.
Now that you have greened your consumption a little bit, and you've noted the weak points and the benefits of your new way of living, the next step is to talk about it. But how do you talk about it? Well, tip number one is don't brag about it! You're just going to sound like a crazy hippy to anyone that doesn't already agree with you. Otherwise, your approach is going to have to vary with your audience.
If you don't happen to be the Sustainability Coordinator at a college or university, I would recommend practicing on some of your closer friends or family. Maybe even pick some that are already environmentally conscious. Bring it up at an appropriate time, and ask them if they've tried it. If so, compare notes. If not, explain to them what the benefits are (to you and to the environment). Then, vent some of your frustrations if you have any. See where the conversation leads. At the end, if it's not too awkward, ask your friend to try it to, and see what they think. (Feel free to adapt this approach to fit your own personal style. In fact, I recommend it.)
Luke -coo cah- I am your father!
After you've tried the first approach and you are feeling comfortable approaching people about sustainability issues, it is time to try talking to somebody else. Pick someone that is perhaps not as environmentally conscious, or perhaps someone who is even environmentally "unfriendly"...a worthy adversary if you will. Then, to use an Omaba-ism, it is time to have a frank and open discussion.
For me, this person has consistently been my father. Through discussions with him and others, I have found very consistently, that no one is really "anti-environment". They simply have different priorities. Thus, the best way to connect with this person is to figure out what those priorities are. Explain what your point of view is, and try to find a common ground. It might be that the idea that conserving resources and energy also tends to save money. It might be their daily commute is longer and more aggravating than they would like, and they would use the option of public transportation if it were more easily accessible. Or it just might be that they believe that environmental problems ought to be addressed, but that it is somebody else's responsibility.
In any case, try not to take it personally, and try not to be accusatory. Chances are that you don't actually know everything, and you may be wrong on a few points. (To reduce the chance of this, try not to make claims about "facts" that you aren't entirely sure about...or at least be direct about the limits of your knowledge.)
In the end, it may take more than one discussion with the person, and to be perfectly honest, they probably won't agree with everything you say. However, chances are they will think about it again at some point, and hopefully they'll be a little bit more open about the idea next time you or someone else bring it up. Also, you may learn some legitimate reasons why your way of thinking is not quite right. In that case, try to make some adjustments to your habits and start over again.
Outside of the Personal:
Of course, if you are the only one pushing for sustainable consumption, the task would truly be in surmountable. Thus, a little help from the government (or at least your local Parent-Teacher Association) would be useful. Overcoming a culture of unsustainable consumption will likely need to be fulfilled by including the topic in school curricula.
As pointed out in a journal article entitled Human nature, eco-footprints and environmental injustice by William Rees (2008), people have a genetic tendency to become less open to ideas outside of their personal concept of the world as they get older. Therefore, the best way to instill sustainable consumption principles across society is to present it to children as they are learning. I'm not saying that children need to be preached to. In fact, I'm not even saying that they need to have the information presented as the only option (or even the correct option). Instead, children just need to know that it is a legitimate, respectable option.
In this approach, children will be less likely to be resistant to sustainable consumption practices when they are older. There is also an increased chance that the children will have a discussion similar to the one that I prescribed in the previous section, which will get parents thinking. Overall, this is not the most direct or quickest method, but in the long term, I believe that it will prove to be the most valuable.
----------
It looks like, I did end up referring to one academic article, so apologize to any readers that were hoping to avoid such academic entanglements. I also apologize for the inordinate number of ellipses that have cropped up in this post. However, I hope that you have found this post inspiring, insightful, and/or instructional.
Sincerely,
Sean Diamond
No comments:
Post a Comment