How to Help People be More Environmentally Friendly
by Are you trying to encourage others to take up a green lifestyle? Are your methods winning others over, or scaring them away?
As people promoting a Green Lifestyle, we all need honest self examination to see if we are acting in this way. At a Fetish Ball, Sadism and Masochism are acceptable if consensual. Sadism and Masochism have no place in promoting Living Green for the most obvious reason of scaring people away, because they make “Going Green” seem like a miserably hard thing to do, and the lifestyle impossible to bare. We don’t have time to scare people way!
Gifts, Not Weapons
If we view the knowledge we impart to others on “How to live a Green Lifestyle”, as gifts, to help them as individuals, instead of as weapons to force them into living green, as if they were just another member of the human herd, we will get faster results. We need to suggest alternatives that fit each individuals needs, wants, and tastes, for food, shelter, transportation, or even entertainment. You may mistakenly think their needs would be the most important part of this equation. If you concentrate on their tastes and wants, and base your suggestions on those, you will get better results. Everyone has needs, but talking about needs can be uncomfortable or boring. Besides, if we really strip down everyone’s “needs”, we find that they are not the major barrier to converting to Green Living, “wants” are. By suggesting Green Alternatives to fit people’s “wants”, based on their tastes, we open up discussion and hopefully adoption of a Green Lifestyle.
Stop Making it Hard and Harsh
I am all for informative television shows that promote a Green Lifestyle, however, there are two such shows that I can not palate. The names of these shows are not important, as television shows come and go. How the information is presented, is what is important.
On one show, the star, who is in a profession that allows more daily freedom than most professions, promotes ideas for being Green that would seem blatantly ridiculous to most people. Someone who has spent all day on their feet does not want to come home and pedal a bike to watch television or make toast. Stop making going Green seem harder than it really is or look silly!
The other show has a host who has one of the harshest voices and demeanors on television. Everything this person says sounds like an insult and they act more like a dominatrix than a Green adviser. To make matters worse she commands that people should consume less but her own personal appearance would leave many believing her to be a hypocrite. This host may not be able to control their personal appearance, but, should be able to tone down their harshness.
People are just going to laugh at her, or the humiliation she dishes out in Gestapo fashion, on those she deems in violation of a Green Lifestyle. Stop being grotesquely harsh as people will only shut you out! As a side note, appearance does matter when you represent yourself as an authority on any subject. IE: If you tell people to consume less you need to look like you follow your own advice. People are not likely to accept excuses or even facts about your medical problems if you are throwing harsh commands and condemnations at them. That is just a fact of life.
Did I Forget Something?
You may be wondering when I am going to list the various sub-cultures I eluded to earlier. This article is not about sub-cultures. Just as I mentioned in regards to Green television shows, sub-cultures will come and go. There will always be a new one to contend with. Listing one, or all, by name in this article only shifts focus to them and off the issue I choose to tackle, which is the issue of people making Green Lifestyles seem difficult and out of reach of some people. I have been guilty of doing this in the past, and I am sure I may fall into making that mistake in the future, if I don’t keep myself in check. Everyone who claims they are helping to educate people on Living Green needs to be aware of the potential to make it appear harder than it really is. It is better to suggest small changes, or rational alternatives that have the individuals that you are trying to reach in mind.
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Post CommentJC LeSinge
On March 21, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Are you blind? Of course it’s going to hurt, but not for arbitrary moral or ideological reasons. It will hurt because a change to ecological sustainability will cut into profit margins of big business, and they will defray their costs onto us, the consumers. That’s the ideology of capitalism; e-mail Alan Greenspan and ask him.
The idea that people try to couple Green issues with other politics is also overly simplistic. The only daft ideology flying around at the moment is the Liberal Capitalist notion that Green issues are isolated and a-political. Our current environmental problems did not ‘just happen’; they are the inevitable results of a system based on exploitation and over production.
Brenda
On March 21, 2008 at 8:44 pm
to the other persons comment…
true, the problems did NOT “just happen” but that is no reason not to fix them. Business’s need to change.. they just dont want to. Other businesses will succeed and gain wealth.
Alot of people like to say the Economy will suffer if we go Green, but that is not the truth.
Mark Gordon Brown
On March 26, 2008 at 1:27 pm
In response to J.C.
Capitalism is not “the” or even “an” enemy to global sustainability. Greed in capitalism is “an” enemy, but, not the only enemy. Capitalism can actually be a beneficial tool for creating global sustainability and abundance for all.
Such labels as “Liberal Capitalist” mean nothing to me. Just another stereotype people choose on impose on others or themselves. Stereotypes imposed or chosen only cloud things and like morals or ethics hinder progress and a healthy evolution of humanity.
Capitalism has existed since pre-historic times. Bartering for tools or beads was a form of capitalism. Capitalism allows people to progress beyond the social status of their birth in modern times in countries that are void of Monarchs, and Theocrates, and in countries that are void of party leaders who force their populas to live simply while they sip vodka and watch “evil” Charlie Chaplin films.
Capitalism is actually a bigger part of the solution to global issues than people understand. Once people get past the “all the marbles” Greed-based Capitalism (which is really not capitalism) and unto understanding the capitalism depends on abundance for all to continue and grow, combined with using capitalism as a tool for sustainability, then this world and humanity will be on a path of positive evolution.
What we see in the world now is not Capitalism it’s just a mask seemingly fallen Monarchs wear to cover their monopolies. The war between “Liberals” and “Conservatives” is just a scripted ongoing event to keep those two sides from realizing what and who the real problems are. Solution is simple. Stop being a part of the “Liberals vs Conservatives” play. Once you are not in that perpetual battle your eyes will open up and the problems and solutions will become crystal clear. Real simple.