A is for Activism
ac·tiv·ism
–noun
1. the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc.
2. action for change
Many twenty-somethings I know take pride in knowing we are part of something bigger. Many in our generation have a bigger cause (or a few) that we like to support and be a part of. My friend, and college roommate, Olivia is one of the biggest supporters of “the green movement.” She is the one who got me to change some of my day to day ways of being to be more green. Olivia has guest posted on GenPink a few times so I thought it would be fitting that she would start off the ABC series.
This guest post was written by Olivia McDaniel, a twentysomething fashion designer residing in Texas with her husband and her cat. She can be found blogging daily about all the things she is thankful for at Olive Relish.
when i was eight years old, i realized i was going to have to save the planet.
i was the kid who wore nerdy nature tee-shirts every day and collected coke cans with my best friend. i was the kid on a third grade field trip who cried – bawled actually – during an imax movie about the disappearing rainforests. i knew then that it was up to me to save the world: this was my mission, my purpose in life.
over the years, as i got caught up in the craziness of school and friends and boyfriends and figuring out who i was and figuring out what i wanted to be, i kind of forgot about my mission. well, forgot is not the right word – but i do think that my mission just got crowded out a little bit, pushed to the back burner… the very back burner.
then i went to see an inconvenient truth at the magnolia theater with my mom. and, just like i did on that third grade field trip to the imax, i cried. at twenty-three years old, al gore had helped me to remember my eight-year-old self, and his film had renewed my passion and my mission.
immediately afterward i took action. not in the crazy drastic picket-signs-and-yelling-at-people kind of way, though, because that’s not my style. i tried to learn as much as i could about the climate crisis and then i focused my attention on finding out what i could do to make a difference. global warming, like so many other issues we face today, is a huge and overwhelming problem. you cannot fix it on your own. neither can i. but we can each educate ourselves and make small changes in our daily lives that will add up to a much bigger change.
i took a long hard look at my life and the choices that i make, both with my actions and my pocketbook. then i started carpooling to work. i changed my light bulbs to compact fluorescents, unplugged appliances when they weren’t being used, and became more aware of the electricity and water i was using in everyday life. we called our electricity company and switched to wind energy. i put a stop to the piles and piles of junkmail that arrived in our mailbox daily. i did a little bit of research and found out how easy it was to recycle in my area. i switched to all natural cleaning and home care products, and beauty products too. i started buying organic foods whenever i had the option, and carrying our groceries home in reusable
(and adorable) nylon bags. eventually i stopped consuming animal products
altogether (for those of you who don’t know, vegetarianism is a fantastic way to save the animals and the environment ).and i talked to people about it. mostly my friends and family, because i’m a bit of an introvert. but so many people out there are suffering from a lack of information. some of them are ignorant on purpose — you can’t expect to win everyone over — but you’d be surprised how many people are open and willing to listen to you (as long as you’re careful not to be too pushy). and if you can change the way just one person thinks, and they can change one person, and so on… it’s worth the effort. plus, you might just learn something from someone else in the process.
the purpose of this post is not to convince you to go green. i do hope that it will inspire you to take a moment, now that you have
arrived at this particular place in your life, to remember your inner eight-year-old. what was important to her? she was probably passionate about something — and chances are she was fearless, confident, and determined to do everything she could to change her world for the better. listen to her, rediscover what matters to you, and then take action. your eight-year-old self was probably pretty limited as to what action she could take, but your twenty-something self is not. she is living her own life — and every decision she makes, no matter how small, has meaning.
I will leave you with a question – what is it that matters to you and are you doing it alone? The cause that matters to me is Adopt a Soldier.
Go Green without changing your life
This post is part of Blog Action Day. The goal of Blog Action Day is to bring the environmental issues to everyone’s mind. My goal in joining Blog Action Day was to let my readers know how simple it is to green your life with little-bitty-won’t- really-affect-you-much life changes. In fact, I have a few ways you can green your life without even having to let your friends and family that you are slowly inching your way across the green spectrum.
Simple ways to be more green without changing your life:
- Recycle or Reuse: Find out about recycling in your neighborhood and start making an effort to at least do your small part in eliminating the amount of waste produced each day.
- Go Paperless: Switch your bills to paperless and remove yourself from unwanted junk mail lists.
- Be aware of the number of pages you print: How many times have you printed out directions only to find out the 3rd page only had 1 line of text? Always check Print Preview before printing. If possible change your print margins a bit to save on paper.
- Change your light bulbs: Switching to Compact Flourescent bulb (those spiral-looking ones) costs more up front but in the long run they will last longer, which will save you money.
- Call your electric company: Call your electric company and switch to an eco-friendly option. Most companies have a wind powered or other environmentally friendly plan.
- Wait to wash your clothes: Standard washing machines use 40 gallons of water per load. Think about how much water you are wasting by washing that one shirt you just have to wear tomorrow. Wait to do a load of laundry until you have a full load to wash.
- Be smart about plastic grocery bags: If you are not quite ready to carry your groceries our in eco-bags, at least do fun/smart things with your plastic bags when you are done with them – like use them for faster kitchen cleanup.
- Bring your own water: Not only can you save money by not buying bottled water, having a reusable bottle is a great way to save on plastic.
Americans use 3.3 million plastic bottles every hour but recycle only one in five. – realsimple.com
- Turn it off and/or unplug it: Listen to your mother’s voice telling you to turn the lights off when you leave the room. Turn off and unplug unused electronics.
- Eat More Peanut Butter: I found an interesting article on How eating Peanut Butter helps the planet.
"I bet you didn’t realize that eating three Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches could have the same environmental impact as switching your showers to a low-flow shower head."
The Federal Trade Commission website, www.ftc.gov, spells out how to remove yourself from lists. (Click on “For Consumers,” then “Telemarketing,” then “Unsolicited Mail, Telemarketing and E-mail: Where to Go to ‘Just Say No.’”) You’ll save trees, water, and emissions, too. If everyone in the United States reduced the junk mail he receives every week, 100 million trees would be spared each year. – realsimple.com
When in doubt Reduce, Reuse Recycle!
- Girls Gone Green – includes a section on Going Green in Texas
- 50 Quick, Painless Ways You Can Help the Environment Today
- Because Oprah says so … Going Green 101: What Your Family Can Do Today!
- Pink Magazine 20 Quick and Easy Things to Do to Save
Our Planet - Treehugger | How to Go Green
- Design Can Change: Graphic Designers unite to address climate change
- renourish | nutrients for the graphic design community
Comin’ Round the Bend
I wanted to let you gals know of two things I am participating in.
Blog Action Day is on Monday.
"On October 15th – Blog Action Day, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind. In its inaugural year, Blog Action Day will be co-ordinating bloggers to tackle the issue of the environment."
If you want to join in you still have time. I already have a section on this blog dedicated to going green so this topic is familiar for me.
The second thing coming up is NaBloPoMo. When I first saw this on alydabear’s blog I was like hello girl spell check haha. Come to find out it stands for "National Blog Posting Month." I think it should be only National Blogging Month it’s much easier (in my head at least). I blog almost every day so I figured "what the heck let’s go." To make it more interesting I decided to come up with one theme that would last the whole month. So I will be doing the ABCs of life in your twenties. The first day will be all A things – adjustment, etc – you get the idea. So that leaves me with a few days at the end to figure out (open to ideas). For all you lolcat lovers isn’t the badge so funny.
sidenote: If you don’t like lolcats I think we will have to break up because clearly it’s not working out.
People are talkin’