It’s no secret that eco-friendliness is rapidly becoming more popular in our world. Car commercials all but scream about fuel efficiency amidst a flurry of fireworks and flashing lights, and “green” products call to passersby from organic mega-markets on every street. Satirical hippie stereotypes aside, the media tends to encourage the return to a more natural way of life. Many of us would proudly call ourselves practitioners of a truly organic life, but are we? True commitment to bettering the environment involves more than driving a Prius and frequenting Whole Foods, and environmental degradation requires more intensive solutions as well.
There are several reasons why we’re tricked into ignorance by sources both internal and external, the most common being finance. Green, organic products tend to be more expensive, and for many, the benefits are simply insufficient. But attaining and maintaining a certain standard of life in any country requires various forms of sacrifice. Our campus is among a global network of thousands that host students working outside of class to support and supplement their education. A significant percentage of our wages goes toward road construction and public projects because we deem them worthy of sacrifice, and the same can be said of living more consciously.
Another obstacle for many is the misconception that they’ve already reached the solar-powered finish line and that we don’t need to do our best in terms of conservation because what little we’re doing seems like enough. But is it? Our good intentions seem tragically misaligned when advertising strategies and product image have distracted us from more successful ecological efforts.
We subconsciously associate hybrid and electric cars with conservation and inventiveness, but how many millions in resources and energy have gone into creating those cars instead of towards PSAs that endorse public transit? We pat ourselves on the back for buying “green” cleaning products for our homes, wholly ignorant of the little-to-no regulation that allows so many products to boast being eco-friendly without actually doing so. There’s even a word for it — “greenwashing,” a term used in the marketing world to describe an environmentally appealing spin on a product.
Similarly, shelling out the extra bucks for organic produce does little when we think of the expense it takes for bananas to be shipped from Brazil and clementines from Costa Rica. And when we find items with the magic words emblazoned upon them (“natural,” “biodegradable,” “BPA free”), how often do we consider the process of creating those products, one that’s often replete with chemicals and waste?
Our psychology certainly doesn’t help. It’s common knowledge that breaking any habit requires mental strength and self-control, and our reliance upon what’s easy means we’re not always willing to change.
Another psychological barrier is our dependence upon instant gratification. Our technological era has brought the world to our fingertips — what would have taken our ancestors weeks or months to achieve we can now do in minutes. And when it comes to the environment on a national and global scale, it’s the hard truth that many of the changes we need to implement are not going to benefit our generation. We shrug off any responsibilities to our health and ourselves in pursuit of what feels good now, and our environmental health is just as much at risk.
It may seem like an incredible obstacle to overcome our brain’s wiring, but this very wiring changed when our habits did, as we became enthralled by advertising and slaves to our routines. We are not powerless. We can break our habits, find meaningful solutions to environmental problems and make sacrifices for the generations to come. It may not be a better world for us, but it will be a better world.