Good Morning SuperForest!
My good friend Drake Baer runs a great blog out of Urbana, Illinois called Urbana Guerilla. He recently emailed me with a question and I asked him if I could post the resulting answer on SuperForest, which he kindly agreed to.
Here ‘s Drake’s question:
“Jack,
So, as I might have told you, I’m doing some video work here at school as my term winds down. I’d like to do some enviro work. As my local (or remote, rather) green guru, I wonder, what are some eco-conscious habits that college kids can pick up to green-ify their lifestyles? I’m all ears.
Best,
Drake”
And here’s my answer:
Drake,
What a marvelous question!
Personally I think the single biggest thing you can do to “green-ify” your life is redefine two words in your mind.
Those words are: Green & Environment.
There has been much discussion over what “green” means exactly. On SuperForest, we define green as “anything that promotes plant life, and the growth of new plant life.”
So “green” means?… More plants.
Not so green are fossil fuels, disposable plastics, war, violence, and anything else that blackens the air, spoils the beaches, or keeps citizens from gardening in peace.
Green also means prosperity, for the more people we have working towards a healthy renewable stewardship of the planet, the better off we’ll all be, and whether that means that we’re all making enough to sustain ourselves, or we’re all working towards the creation of a system that sustains us, we all win in the end.
Now for environment. In the SuperForest Humanifesto we say that the environment is everything that disappears when you close your eyes and ears.
When you think of “the Environment” you should think of whatever room you’re sitting in. Then think about the building that room is in. Then the town surrounding the building, then the freeway you drove to get to that town. Those things, the room, the building, the freeway; those are the Environment.
If you want to “save the Environment” there’s but one place to start: Exactly where you’re standing or sitting.
Look around you. Are there plants and sunlight? Could there be? Are there piles of trash? Could they be recycled, composted, or re-used? Are there drab grey walls and boring art? Could someone paint those wall? Could someone hang new art?
This is the new environmentalism. Start with yourself, right now. Then the room you’re in, then the building. Then the town. Then the freeway. Connect with others and share your experiences so that everyone can learn from you, and you from everyone.
Start a blog and write about the world around you. Read other blogs and get to know the people who write them.
Say please and thank you. Look people in the eye. Hold the door for stangers and help old folks across the street. Set up victories for yourself and those around you.
There’s ever so much fun to be had, and new things to learn and share.
But above all,
Green = more plants.
The Environment = the room you’re reading this in.
Knowing what those two words really mean is the biggest step.
Much love, and read SuperForest.
-Jackson
Check out Urbana Guerilla, it is smart and sexy and tall and smells like chocolate.
And thanks for being such a good sport, Drake! Cheers.
Recent Comments