NEWS: Being green is not that black or white
I have been generously given a guest blogging spot on the Ecologist website blog and will cross-post my offerings on good ol' CityHippy of course. Here is my first post for them. Enjoy.Being green is not that black or whiteNamaste
Will green go mainstream whilst 'guilt' is our weapon of choice? I don't think so. Let ye who is without landfill cast the first moan?
We need to focus on the politics of the positive. We need to engage with non-green people and help them adjust to a greening world.
Only by unpretentiously showing others how easy it is to be green, how little money it takes and how positive it feels can we hope to mainstream green.
We must smile and encourage rather than judge and sneer. We must applaud people for doing the best they can and not judge them for failing to meet our own standards. Attack them and their defences will go up. Embrace them and watch their defences fall.
Being green is about our own actions but much more importantly it is about positively showing others arround us the myriad of easy green alternatives to their every day problems.
Al
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posted by City Hippy @ 3:29 PM
5 Comments:
Nice advice. Plus, I also think it's important to NOT sound self-righteous or behave fanatically about becoming green--that tends to put people off.
Hey Lynn
Nice advice yourself...
Namaste
Al
I think that one of the major barriers to people "Going Green" is the image that:
a) it'll cost you a lot more,
b) you'll have to go without many parts of a 21st century lifestyle,
c) if you don't go the whole way you may as well do nothing.
The only way for "Green" to be mainstream is to make the things as painless and cheap as possible, and also push the idea that any step down the path is better than none.
If greening up your life style cost time and money, Joe average will never do it as they perceive themselves to be poor in both of those areas, and if they feel that the little they have time for will be worthless, then what is the point?
People will only go "Green" if they feel what they can do easily is worth something, the "Green" community should try to provide encouragement to people, even if the only thing they do is recycle a few bottles.
All journeys start with a first step!
Hi MongooseFred
Love what you say and am glad to know I am not alone in my thinking.
Namaste
Al
Well said, Al. This is perhaps the most important message of the whole green movement...
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