Go Green to Go Forward
The need to ‘go green’ as the expression is popularly known is often seen in a collective light rather than an individual one. Clichés amounting to lets change the world together,’ are overused and placed in heavy emphasis. Despite going green’ being the most relevant message of our times, the prominent theme of this message often ignores what we have to do at an individual level.
The focus on ‘we’ and ‘us’ lets specific people such as you and I have the luxury of assuming that even if you aren’t personally ‘going green,’ there are others out there who can take up the mantle.
The specific aspects of this concept from buying a hybrid car to reusing paper lose their cultural and social importance solely because of the sheer volume and emphasis on the need to do environment-friendly things. This leads to individuals inside our social structure deciding to insulate themselves from the collective need to be environment conscious, slowly contributing to environmental degradation through their actions.
However, the shrinking of our world due to the advancement in communication and technology has helped us connect and analyse how different seemingly unrelated actions can come together and cause reactions in the ecosystem that were previously not seen or expected.
For example, the plastic toys made in one country can affect the pollution levels in another country. Therefore, we are just beginning to understand that the world is an interconnected web where every individualized action can add up to becoming long term impacts on an ecosystem elsewhere.
This is where the power of the individual becomes important, because it takes a collection of individuals to form a functioning society. And every action of a single person is crucial for the society to function as a whole.
Just like this, the things you do at a grass root level that is eco-friendly can go a long way in contributing to the health of everyone on the planet.
Sustaining our lifestyles are now more than ever about change and ultimately striving together to improve the quality of lite. Keeping our individual actions ¡n check is very important in our road forward.