In my Humble Opinion Impact starts personally

Author: Daniel Roberts

My first thought about environmentalism, "I don't know much about it, and I don't care." Then I realized that this very apathy provides for compelling conversation. Sure, I've always refrained from littering, and separated plastic from paper (thank you, dorm room double trash bin system). But there are so many other measures we can take, and I know I should start getting involved. It's just so hard to care.

I know that I'm not alone in my apathy, because in my years here I, like many others, have often mocked "hippies" and scoffed at Sunday Night Group, Weybridge House, and other environmentally conscious students who I now envy and admire.

A big influence on my sudden decision to care about nature was when my adviser was discussing a new book he's working on about ecological references in Shakespeare. He explained his passion for the subject by admitting, "Like any other liberal professor in the Northeast, I think we have been (screwing) up our environment and we have to do something!" It didn't sound cheesy at all, but actually convincing and inspiring.

But it was also the election of Barack Obama that demonstrated that a bunch of educated, globally conscious people can have an impact if they work together. I have to believe that part of the reason he won was because voters could see that the other guy didn't care at all about "green" issues.

The challenge is to overcome an inadvertent self-centered approach to the world. From what I've read there are many ways to "get green." The idea is to select a level of participation that works for you. For example, I found a Web site on "how to green your bathroom." They recommend turning the faucet off while you brush your teeth. I can do that! Then they encourage you not to shave in the shower, because it wastes water. That one is also doable. But next, they suggest that, in the shower, "Try shutting off the water while you soap up!" Nope. I'm just not going to do that.

And that's okay, right? It's all about doing whatever you can. It's like the guy who doesn't vote in elections because he figures, "What could my one vote do? It doesn't have any power." He's right that a single vote doesn't swing a presidential election (sorry Kevin Costner movie). But his logic is wrong because if everyone thought that way, no one would vote, and then there really would be an impact.

It can be surprising just to think about your personal impact. What's harder is to think about everyone else whom you can't control, so don't. Just focus on your own efforts. It's like how at Weight Watchers (this reference is funnier if you know me), they anticipate that people will think losing two pounds is nothing to be proud of, no big feat. So they tell you to fill a Ziploc bag with 2 lbs of butter, because it makes you say, "Holy hell, that's disgusting. And so heavy!"

Anyway, I'm going to start trying, and so should you. I'm going to stop buying Fiji water bottles that get thrown away, and instead buy one of those Sigg metal bottles. And I'm going to stop using harmful CFCs in the chemicals that run my giant corporate factory. Just kidding.