It's only been about three months since I committed myself to the cause of "sustainability". It was largely a response to the despair I found myself sinking into as I was bombarded with bad news about climate change, energy depletion and ecological disaster. Immediately I was stepping outside of my comfort zone and feeling somewhat exposed, a "tall poppy" as we say. In comparison to my regular circle of family, friends and colleagues I suspect I quickly became the most extreme greenie among them.
Such was the initial shock that my own dear wife soon started referring to me as an "eco nazi". It was at least partly deserved - hopefully I'm a little more gracious now about the occasional light left on or a plastic bottle accidentally placed in the landfill bin instead of the recycling - but it helped reinforce my feeling that I was forging new territory.
There months later it feels like nothing of the sort. I've discovered so many people, both online and in real life, who share similar concerns and values but who are doing a far better job of applying those values in their lives and promoting them throughout the community. SBS did their "Eco House Challenge" program, and the ABC has just started "Carbon Cops". Four Corners this week focused on how a very significant chunk of Australia's GHG emissions could be cut through improved energy-efficiency in homes, except that the government appears to be refusing and even blocking action in that direction. Brisbane City Council is set to at least acknowledge the majority of the points raised by a task force report into climate change and peak oil, even if they're watering down their commitment to action on the more politically-sensitive recommendations. There are independent groups and programs springing up all over the place all aimed at reducing GHG emissions, improving energy efficiency, decreasing energy dependence, and so on.
But it was a kind comment by Crazy Mumma this week in response to one of my earlier posts that finally led me to realise that I only thought I was going it alone because I was looking in the wrong direction. Instead of comparing myself to where I've come from I should be looking at where I'm headed, and it turns out there are a whole lot of people there already. Just check out the list of other Aussie bloggers on her site!
In the end I find myself reassured and remotivated. Yes, we're facing a crisis (or three), but it appears that people the world over are getting involved with their communities and actually being effective in bringing about positive change in individuals and entire societies.
That's gotta be a good sign for our prospects in 2050.
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1 comment:
Hi Terry :-) I'm so glad that have been able to put you in touch with some other like-minded Aussies, even if in is just in the cyber-world! A lot of us, like you, find it hard when our real-life community (and often, family members) just don't "get-it" yet, which can be really demoralising sometimes. I certainly have days where I think "why bother?!" But then I read posts by fellow bloggers or forum members going through exactly the same thing and it keeps me motivated. Cheers!
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