I have a friend who buys her lunch everyday from the canteen despite it being less than a hundred meters away from the post-graduate room where she sits during the day. She packs her lunch in a foam box and a packet of drink every-single-day. So one day, I asked her in a very casual way why didn't she bring her own lunch box, and I told her that it would be a good idea since she would be able to reduce the use of materials that aren't recyclable.
"Lazy to wash," came to reply.
I was dumbfounded.
The easiest way to end a conversation with me is to show me that you have total disregard to the environment. I understand that many people choose convenience over the common good and that it is very difficult to convince them unless there is monetary incentive (gulps!).
So most of the time, I "model my behavior" and if anybody sees me and asks a question or two, that will give me a chance to "preach" since they started the conversation. In the post-graduate room where we sit and do our (paper)work, I use recycled papers to draft my thesis. In fact, I print my thesis draft on recycled papers too! I don't mind looking like a miser trying to save every dollar and cent. I don't talk about environmental issues with my fellow post-graduate friends, in fact, I just do things in front of them. But of course, many people never paid much attention to the kind of things I do, LOL.
I have also read that "being green" is a new trend that would allow us to be on earth the longest. But, the earth can only provide for so many people over long periods (hundreds of thousand or millions of years) and we are well above that number.
There would be a solution to that. A limited number of people should have descendants, or maybe one child per family. But how would that ever be possible, considering it is in our nature to want to reproduce. Only other possible scenario. Lots of people are going to die, not of old age. To reach a population of say, one billion worldwide that most agree is sustainable with little or no carbon fuels, nearly 6 billions would have go to rest. Nobody has to do anything though, it will all take place naturally, just like the sun rises everyday. Most of us will disappear. Then we can talk environment.
I've learned that attempts at overly persuading anybody rarely work. Instead, modeling is probably the surest way to change anybody's behavior, although it is (admittedly) slow.
So, have you had trouble getting your friends to go green? How do you convince them?
Comment by: PT (David Alexander) (May-12-2008) Web site
Well, there is a place to deal with big and small, in my opinion. Since no one yet has the perfect answer for the crunch we are all starting to feel, I think we should be welcoming of those who simply talk to friends about improving life (or criticize when necessary), as well as those who devote themselves to big causes. I think the biggest mistake is remaining ignorant, and not caring. No one in this dialogue is guilty of that!
Comment by: marlon (Marlon) (May-12-2008)
Not to sound mean but, get over it. There are hundreds of bigger problems in the world than styrofoam boxes. There are so many places where people are dying of hunger, aids, lack of water, bad health care and and ignored civil liberties. The United States has a horrible education system where kids aren't learning to read or do basic math and nobody's doing a dang thing about it except occasionally throwing a few dollars at some schools and hoping the problem will die. About 70% of teens on the internet can NOT tell the difference between simple words like to and too, your and you're, then and than, or even woman and women. People aren't learning basic grammar! There are families in your city--mine too only blocks away from where I'm living comfortably with both of my parents--who can't even afford the basic necessities of life and living in the most rotten, run-down homes imaginable. The kind of place where certain people would be outraged if someone's pet lived in those conditions. Many of them are getting evicted and in a matter of weeks or days will be living (with the children, mind you) on the streets, which, honestly, probably aren't much worse than the holes they're already living in.
This is stuff that's happening now, not what might happen 50 years from now in the worst-case scenario.
And your friend here is in college getting an education, most likely trying to be someone who helps people and you're mad at her for a freaking foam box? I'm sorry, but get over yourself.
Comment by: chenpn (Pelf Nyok) (Nov-24-2007) Web site
isabella: Exactly, I am not very good at convincing anyway, hence the modeling approach. But then again, kudos to you for taking the opportunities to talk about environment-related issues whenever you can :D
bluefrogx: Yeah! Mow them down! Then they world would be left with people who talk about the environment all the time, LOL.
Comment by: bluefrogx (Nov-24-2007) Web site
Wow, time to bring out the good 'ol chainsaw and starting mowing down non-ecofriendly people. At least then they can give back to the eco system :P
Just kidding, Keep it up being green, great article.
Comment by: Isabella Mori (Nov-24-2007) Web site
convincing - i'm not much into convincing (maybe because i'm not very good at it :)
i think you're doing what you can. you model behaviour, and when you get a "point of entry", you talk about the topic.
one of the things i do is LOOK for those points of entry. for example, i used to be a member at toastmasters, and did a speech about the environment. on facebook, i make sure i do some green things. even though my blog is not about environmental issues, i mention them once in a while. whenver i get the chance, i tell people that i used to work for greenpeace.
I am a Malaysian graduate student. I have a Marine Biology degree, and it was during my Bachelor degree days that we (students) were exposed to issues related to the environment and conservation. During my grad studies, I worked with a species of critically-endangered river terrapins, and I conducted feeding trials and blood studies on the terrapins. I raised them (about 800+ of them) and we eventually released them into the river in the annual event dubbed "Terrapin Independence Day".
Fossil Fuel
chenpn
PT (David Alexander)
