Deeper Shade of Green

So green is the new hip colour. There’s no denying it. Everyone is jumping on board. Individuals, businesses small and large, schools and even entire cities. And for good reason. We just have no choice if we’re to combat this Global Climate Change thingy.

However what I want to talk about is what does it mean when someone tells you I’m an environmentalist. Heck, I consider myself one, but am I truly?
So let’s first define what does it mean to be an environmentalist and then let’s see if you and I fit the definition (and if it doesn’t, let’s just change the definition :))

Here’s what dictionary.com produced:

• someone who works to protect the environment from destruction or pollution
• a person who wants to stop the damage being done to the environment by humans

So interestingly, if you want to be an environmentalist, you have to care about nature and work for or advocate protecting it. Clearly I am therefore an environmentalist, just by the virtue of having put up this blog and continuously writing in it. How about you? Are you one? After all, you may not have the time, the passion or the energy to run around, talk to people, convince them to recycle and consume less, do volunteer work or read hundreds of articles to advance your knowledge of the environmental crisis and what to do about it. Does it therefore, make you less of an environmentalist?

I think not. As you may see from the second definition for environmentalist, if you care and want to stop the damage done to the environment, it’s enough to label you an environmentalist. That is actually very interesting, since an environmentalist is usually perceived as someone from Greenpeace or a similar group chaining him/her self to trees to prevent their demise.

I believe that if you care about your environment, your future, the future of your children and other generations enough to make you change your habits in order to have a lower impact on the environment, then you are an environmentalist. However, don’t do it part time. Do it full time. Every time you acquire something or dispose of something or even use something, ask yourself: “Am I contributing to the destruction or pollution of our environment?” If the answer is yes, then think how you could remedy the situation. Seek out the answers. Ask the tough questions. If you do this, you’d be amazed at your discovery of how much every single one of us contributes towards Global Climate Change and the destruction of our environment on a daily basis. However you’ll also be amazed at how simple and cost effective many of the solutions are and how much healthier it can often make you and the planet. And that is your reward.

So next time you’re asked at a grocery store if you’d like a bag with that, say “No thank you, I have my own, and I’d rather not contribute to the pollution”. And then, mentally, pat yourself on the shoulder. Because you are an environmentalist