I have been waiting all semester for this topic as this is something I have been passionate about for years. Since educating myself many years ago about global warming and the things we personally can do to help it, I have been an advocate and proponent for change in my own family and community. I have researched different ways that I can make changes to how I live my life that will impact my future. I have been met with laughter and resistance by many family members and friends as they do not understand that one person can make a difference. Throughout the years I have not given up being an example and speaking out for my beliefs even when met with ridicule from those around me. I strongly believe in my ability to be a small cog in the larger system to help alleviate some of the damage we do daily to the environment we live in. We are not going to solve these problems until we face the biggest threat, and that’s us, our behaviors. (Doss, 2:00)
So what do I personally do to make sure that I am not part of the problem? After extensive research over many years I am slowly feeling like I am making a small dent personally with my own behavior. I have implemented recycling in my home which requires me to take time to sort through things, rinse items, and personally take these items that can be recycled to appropriate recycling facilities in my city. It would be a lot easier to not care and just dump all my garbage into the container provided by my housing complex like so many others do, but since I know that I am able to recycle certain things I just cannot allow myself to be ignorant of that fact and so I take the time to recycle. At first it was hard to remember and make the effort but over time it has become my new normal and it is no longer an option for me to not recycle. Living in Provo, I have recycling cans near me that collect glass, paper, metal and plastics and so those are the things I recycle when I do buy them. I had to learn that not all plastics can be recycled and so now I only try to purchase plastics that I can recycle, or I don’t purchase the item. Having done the research and knowing what will help or hinder the environment has been a game changer in my opinion. I am no longer overwhelmed and it is now part of my life. Because humans are responsible for the world’s environmental problems, humans have both the ability and the responsibility to address these problems. Leslie King and Deborah McCarthy (2009, p. ix)
It was a lot harder to stick to this new way of life when I was married and had a partner that did not share my same view and would not go out of his way to change. My kids also saw my efforts as futile and really did not see what I was doing as beneficial until they got older. But through the ridicule and lone ranger practices I continued my efforts and eventually showed them that caring for our space on this planet was not only beneficial to us but to everyone around us. They are still not as involved as I am but they use my recycling bins when they are at my home so that is a start.
Other small things that I have done to make my footprint smaller on this earth was to buy a smaller, more economically friendly car, switched all my shampoo and soap bottles out with bars (I love them), and got rid of my toothpaste tubes and switched to “bites”. I bring reusable shopping bags when I get groceries and try to buy items that don’t have unnecessary plastic to contain them. I replaced all the lights in my home with energy saving bulbs and my thermostat is set for summer and winter time to only run when I am home. I tried to limit my meat consumption and had only eaten plant based for a time but that was hard to sustain as well with the rest of my family not on board with my eating habits. Since I now mainly live alone (one daughter lives with me sporadically) I want to go back to eating plant based again and I am slowly making my way there.
Being aware of our own life and the way we consume and use items around us will help us to be more mindful of how we can be part of the solution and not the problem when it comes to the environment and climate change. Even small little changes in our own lives are helping and educating those around us to do the same and will help our changes have a larger impact. We have the ability to solve these problems by modifying our individual behaviors (Doss, 12:35)
SOURCES:
Doss, Paul K. (2017) Beyond the Science: Environmental problems…Cultural solutions, Evansville Indiana TedTalk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VHPkv8ZQQI&t=793s
King, L., & McCarthy, D. (Eds.). (2009). Environmental sociology: From analysis to action (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
efforts to improve the environment, often called the environmental movement, constitute a social movement
https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/15-3-the-environment/
As they feed antibiotics to animals to keep them healthy, they are making our families sicker by spreading these deadly strains of bacteria” (Kristof, 2011, p. WK10)
Kristof, N. D. (2011, June 12). When food kills. New York Times, p. WK10.
We now have a thing called the Great Pacific garbage patch, thousands of square miles between California and Hawaii where human debris is trapped in a gyre, a very large circular ocean current (Doss, 4:50)
If you tried to clean up less than 1% of the North Pacific Ocean it would take 67 ships one year to clean it… until we prevent debris from entering the ocean at the source, it’s just going to keep congregating in these areas (Doss, 4:35)
Dianna Parker - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Doss, Paul K. (2017) Beyond the Science: Environmental problems…Cultural solutions, Evansville Indiana TedTalk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VHPkv8ZQQI&t=793s
King, L., & McCarthy, D. (Eds.). (2009). Environmental sociology: From analysis to action (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
efforts to improve the environment, often called the environmental movement, constitute a social movement
https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/15-3-the-environment/
As they feed antibiotics to animals to keep them healthy, they are making our families sicker by spreading these deadly strains of bacteria” (Kristof, 2011, p. WK10)
Kristof, N. D. (2011, June 12). When food kills. New York Times, p. WK10.
We now have a thing called the Great Pacific garbage patch, thousands of square miles between California and Hawaii where human debris is trapped in a gyre, a very large circular ocean current (Doss, 4:50)
If you tried to clean up less than 1% of the North Pacific Ocean it would take 67 ships one year to clean it… until we prevent debris from entering the ocean at the source, it’s just going to keep congregating in these areas (Doss, 4:35)
Dianna Parker - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Paper written for SOC 1020 class UVU Spring 2023]
Amy Brouwer . 2024 . All Right Reserved
