Will you take the responsibility to care for the environment?
All too often, giving care to the environment is an idea that we often neglect and take for granted. Many of us neglect most of our duties as chosen stewards for the better welfare of our planet. Environmentally-concerned people all around the world are fighting to raise awareness. We must also do our part and encourage people to start caring for their environment as early as now. You might really care about separating your trash, minimizing your emissions and reducing single use plastics, but your neighbor might not care at all. Is it best to confront them on their mistakes or suggest reasonable actions to take through explanation?
If we try to look at it on a bigger scale, the 2014 Greendex Sustainable Consumption Ranking Index has gathered 18 countries and ranked them according to their sustainable behavior. The order follows from most to least sustainable country. The research found that American consumers were listed and ranked as the lowest country to provide correct sustainable strategy. It was found that they were the least to likely take action and care for the environment.
How do we educate people to care about the environment to make it more sustainable and freer from toxins? Here are some examples of what we can do to show and influence others to take similar action.
Understand that other people might not have the same education as you
It is difficult to believe that your next-door neighbor doesn’t care about the environment, or that they haven’t received the education you see as so fundamental. This is where the problem lies. The lack of knowledge on the subject, be it from where they grew up, the finances of their family, their schooling, or even their friend’s behavior are all factors that cause them to act in certain ways. Understanding that everyone around you may not have been lucky enough to receive a good education, will allow us to reset, be kind, and simply explain the benefits of taking care of our environment.
Make statements that are personal to the audience
Not everyone takes topics about climate change as serious as activists who genuinely care for the environment. Most people think that the changes they experience in the environment today are things they should not care about. They often believe that they should not waste time picking up plastic bottles and putting them where they belong. It is too easy for people to watch others around them dispose of their trash on the ground, which in turn influences others’ actions negatively. Will you admit that you threw that plastic wrapper thinking someone else would pick it up or that it’s not going to hurt you? Well you’re not alone. The majority of people have left their trash in the wrong place.
Instead of blaming people for not taking enough or no action, make statements that are personal to them. Use local stories as an example so your audience can relate to your statement. Some of them might have experienced some of the worst tragic calamities firsthand. You can also make use of current health effect statements like how we have polluted the air. You can then explain that this is due to the increasing number of private vehicles and the burning of plastic that can cause asthma and other respiratory problems. In essence, the blocked drainage due to littering and not disposing of plastic garbage can cause clogging and even floods.
Encourage people to show care the positive way
Talk about solutions and strategies on how to contribute more to have a better environment instead of telling your audience that it’s their fault and that humanity is doomed. Avoid talking about disasters and making it look like there is nothing else that they could do to lessen the effect on our environment. Focus on giving your audience the brighter side of the story and educate them on how to start caring in as compelling ways as properly possible. When carrying out messages that are intended for your readers, make it more personal and give them immediate opportunities so that they too can take the lead and make changes happen.
Use the influence of Social Media
Activists and people who would want to make a change and save the environment should shift their focus to informing the public about the number of people who are saving water and riding bikes instead of their vehicles that can cause air pollution. We should raise awareness to those who are making a significant change and doing the right thing.
Use the influence of social media to raise awareness so that we can create strong social support for those who take action to move forward and make a better climate-friendly environment.
Join your city’s local cleanup group
We don’t often think about how differently we could affect our environment from the comfort of our couch. We’re often not interested enough in the improvement of our surroundings. On World Cleanup Day, supposedly around 5% of our Earth’s population went out and helped clean up. Green Peace and other large organizations consistently do successful cleanups around the world. A quick Google search will tell you if there is a non-profit organization near you that’s working to clean up your area. You can also search Facebook for hashtags like #cleanup to find out If you can physically help in your area on their next clean up day.
Conclusion
We’ve only detailed some of the things we can do to help care for our environment. The challenge is now up to you to take action and help save what is left on mother earth. Take the lead and be the first to take responsibility because every action you take to achieve a better future for Earth in your hands. We all want a beautiful, clean, and pollution free life, so lets join our hands and work together to educate those without knowledge, become positive influencers, and spend our free time thinking and working towards a clean future.