Fight Green Fatigue

I recently heard the comment that the the movement to get people to live a greener lifestyle is being hindered by a perceived lack of results. I know first hand the feeling of frustration and seeming futility when after putting in a consistent effort to decrease my ecological footprint I then pick up the paper to see reports of more evidence of global warming. Are all my efforts for naught?

One way of countering this feeling of ineffectiveness is to put small measurable goals in place. The key is to identify a change that can be easily measured in a short time frame and can be implemented with minimal effort other than habit change.

For example, consider on average how many plastic bags you use in a week. Can this be decreased? Set a goal and then figure out how this goal can be reached.

In my household the majority of plastic bags were used for poop & scoop purposes and for lining the kitchen compost container. These two uses, combined with always forgetting to take the reusable bags when I head out for grocery shopping, resulted in quite a large number of plastic bags being used. I was able to decrease this usage by about 70% by using sheets of newspaper to 'scoop', thereby needing just one bag per walk, and lining the compost bin with newspaper rather then plastic bag. To overcome the mental weakness of forgetting to take a reusable bag in the car there is now at least one reusable bag with the remainder within easy view of the front door.

Other projects to consider include: trying to decrease the number of bags put out to the curb each month for landfill; increasing the percentage of Compact Fluorescent lightbulbs being used in your house.

The key is to have immediate, measurable impact. Deciding to get energy efficient appliances or better insulate the house are positive things to do, but because the impact will only be seen over a long time period, they lack the immediate visible results necessary for re-motivation.

Unfortunately, the reality is individual efforts have a minimal impact on the huge challenge of global warming. However, at least it is a step toward the solution, rather then wallowing in futility.