Dealing With Those Who Think the Environment Is Someone Else’s Problem

After being away from this blog for weeks, an appropriate topic for me is: how to deal with those around me who seem to do nothing to conserve energy or even pick up a piece of trash they leisurely walk by.

I have acquaintances, and even family members, who have no concern about saving energy or keeping our streets clean. Despite being exposed to information about “How to save our planet” they keep their homes at a comfortable temperature–like seventy-four degrees–all year round and aren’t going to change their auto driving routines in order to save gasoline. They’ve seen me (and others) picking up trash but feel it’s someone else’s job to take care of the roadside.

Do you have folks like this in your life? I’d be surprised if anyone doesn’t know people like this. So…how do we deal with the environmentally unconcerned? My conclusion: don’t try to change them. It won’t work anyhow. One of my ways of dealing with these frustrating people is to think about the bloggers who write about creating zero trash in their household. Compared to that person, I’m a walking trash machine. But, I think we can affect the environment by recycling what we can and picking up the trash in our neighborhoods. The person who lives a very ordinary life, like I do, can do things like adjusting the temperature in their home to save energy and take steps to cut back on water consumption in the house too.

Any concern about conserving resources and keeping our environment clean is better than none. Just keep being the concerned person that you are and be ready to share energy saving tips with anyone who is ready to change their lifestyle.