How to Talk to Your Friends About Sustainability (And Why You Should) is a special blog post by guest contributor, Madison Adams
Sadly, the environment is rapidly changing… and not necessarily for the better. Sudden temperature changes, heat waves in December, and increasing CO2 levels all over the world—not to mention the Earth’s heat-repelling ice is melting. It’s becoming more important than ever that every resident of this planet make a noticeable effort to lessen their impact on the planet.
Small efforts to reduce your individual impact, are what will make the biggest difference in the long run. Part of these efforts include making sure that you are telling your friends about the little ways they can help the planet too.
Start Talking
Your friends trust what you have to say more than a random website or government initiative. When it comes to having a conversation about changing habits and lifestyle, compassion and understanding are paramount for making the conversation productive. Putting yourself into the shoes of the person you are approaching and recounting how you felt
when you learned some of your long-term habits were bad for the planet is important. Depending on the person, they could feel attacked if you tell them they use too much water to brush their teeth, so thoughtfulness is key. Most importantly though, make sure you’re actually having a discussion with them, not just giving them critiques and commands.
Explaining how you also have changed your habits and the experience while changing them is a good way to make the other person feel less intimidated and thus, more responsive. Also suggesting ways that you and your friends(s) can act together to become greener is a great way to create inclusion.
Small Changes
It’s a lot easier to make changes and stick to them when you have a group to keep you accountable. For example, teaming up with a few of your coworkers and carpooling can have numerous perks, namely group accountability. If you all agree to travel together, the whole group gets reduced gas costs, time saving (since your travel time has now become workable if you’re not the one driving), in addition to reducing emissions. On a larger scale, the more people that share a car, the fewer cars there are on the road, thus
reducing traffic. Most importantly though, it helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which are to blame for atmospheric warming.
According to the United States EPA, from 1990 to 2015, there was a shocking 37% increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The planet cannot sustain this rate of increase, and helping to minimize the number of cars on the road is an effective place to start.
Team Player
If carpooling isn’t an option for you and friends, find activities that are both fun and teach you about sustainability. Suggesting something like going to the local farmers’ market on the weekend to buy produce is a fun way to mix things up and do something good for the planet. Most people don’t think about how their food requires transportation, so reducing that
distance as much as possible helps reduce the environmental impact. If you go, make sure to bring reusable bags instead of plastic!
Many environmentally-aware people are shifting to using hemp products, like paper and fabric, because it has a faster growth time, thus it is more sustainable. Hemp bags and clothing are rising in popularity, both for their style and durability and are a great way for you and your friends to stand out while being environmentally conscious.
Finding ways to reduce plastic use can also be a challenging project to do together. More minds are going to yield more ideas! For example, replacing plastic cups with glass jars that are reused from other products (like salsa jars) can be a fun way to see who can be the most creative.
Give it Time
Finally, reassuring your friends that all of their lifestyle changes don’t have to be immediate is essential. It can take months to phase out old habits and products and replace them with new ones, but baby steps are better than nothing. One key thing to remember, though, is that being an example to your friends of sustainability is the best way to help change their habits. A good role model never hurts; and who knows, maybe your friends will end up selling their belongings and moving into a tiny house… just because you decided to talk to them about sustainability.
