Please Forgive Me, For I Am An Eco-Sinner.
Posted by kiwinewt on 3 March, 2010Mostly paraphrased from: http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2010/03/02/please-forgive-me-for-i-am-an-eco-sinner/
I really wanted to share this as it touches where I see myself and my family in terms of our greenness. No-one is 100% eco-friendly in this modern world. We all consume, we all are a part of the global economy, and as a geek family we all use our computers, cellphones, cars, etc. The main point of the whole thing is that we try to do what we can to reduce, reuse and recycle with the eventual hope that we can minimize our footprint.
Aren’t we all, really? Whether from ignorance, arrogance, or just our everyday desires as human beings, we are all eco-sinners in one way or another from time to time. Unless you live in a cave in a remote part of the world, you commit eco-sins almost every day of your life. We all do it – we drive cars, we eat unsustainable food, we shop at big box stores, we use computers, we watch TV. Many of the eco-sins we commit are unavoidable in the modern world, and as much as I try to live a sustainable life, the fact is that none of us live a truly “green” existence. It’s simply impossible. To use myself as an example, I wanted to look at a few things that I enjoy/do that could never be considered environmentally-friendly no matter what:
- I drive a car. I have just gotten my restricted licence so I am driving my wife and step-daughter around. I have been driving a moped for almost a year now. No matter if you drive a Prius or a Porsche, you are still driving a car – which is nowhere near “green” at all. Sure, a hybrid is better (although some would disagree) than a standard car, but it’s not as eco-friendly as walking is. Even a bike requires raw materials to make!
- I work on a computer all day. require raw materials, shipment from Asia, energy to use, and somewhere to dispose of when you are done with them. It’s also full of toxic chemicals that can affect the earth long after they are discarded. Computers tend to be replaced quite often, get left powered on 24/7 in millions of homes and offices, and require incredibly large data centers to deliver information to. There is nothing green about computers. At all.
- I sometimes eat unsustainably grown food. Not everything I feed myself with is organic, Free Trade, Fair Trade, grass-fed, cage free, or locally produced. It’s not possible unless the only thing you eat is food you organically grow in your own backyard. Even “health food” at most restaurants is not sustainably grown and/or processed.
- I turn the heat on. I have a refrigerator, a plug-in coffee maker, a cellphone. I have furniture, books, a bed to sleep in at night.
Anyone acting holier-than-thou about “being green” are trying to fool you into believing that they don’t do any of the stuff I listed above and that you should be ashamed if you do. No one, unless you live in a cave, is above being an “eco-sinner” of sorts. That doesn’t mean we are all bad and don’t care – it’s just part of being a modern day human. The key then, really, is to try to do as much as you possibly can to live in a sustainable way while encouraging others to adapt some of those same habits – not berating them with “Do As I Say, Not As I Do“. Encourage others to use less energy, buy less stuff, eat better food – but explain to them WHY they should be doing it while you are encouraging them.
Biking is better for the environment than using your car is, same as eating less meat is better than gorging on steak every night of the week. Making sure your TV is on a power strip that can be turned off all night is certainly better than letting it suck vampire power for 8-10 hours each day. And buying your food from a local Farmer’s Market is much better than buying it from a big chain grocer. But none of us are perfect – not by a long shot. So when you preach what you do to others, do you come across as condescending? Or do you come across as someone truly trying to help? The only way for this environmental movement to move forward is through encouragement and understanding – not guilt. And because I understand I am in fact an eco-sinner like everyone else, it helps me when trying to explain why I do the things I do. So admit you too are an eco-sinner and imperfect in your quest to “go green”… and then do your best to encourage positive changes in your friends, family, colleagues. Dictation without reason just sounds like a guilt trip – and none of us need more of those!