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Convincing Others

© Michele Shelton

Many people have changed the way they live to become environmentally aware. Several of these people have influenced their children to become equally aware. This has begun a chain reaction throughout their entire generation. I would like to thank and congratulate these people for a job well done.

My article this week deals with the thousands of others who have not made changes in their lifestyles and continue to harm the environment. There are many ways to get more people involved and I intend to list several options throughout my articles. I also felt that one article dedicated to this issue was necessary.

How do you convince someone to do something different after thirty or maybe even fifty years of doing it the way they were taught? They have their own routine way of thinking and have no interests in doing things differently. Why fix it if it is not broken is the way several people have commented to me on this issue. Many people do not think that the earth is in need of respect or caring for. They believe that the trees are here for our consumption and that someone else will figure out a plan for the placement of garbage and the replacement of forests. Perhaps they do not feel it is their responsibility. After all, they are not the ones that created the packaging or the lumber industry. I have found that people usually have many reasons why other ways are more expensive, time consuming, and just one more duty to add to their lists of things to be responsible for. People just seem to have to many things taking up their time and never enough time for themselves.

There will only be a true change set forth, when enough people get involved. Through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and communities banning together we have made several changes in the corporate world that we live in. It will take this type of involvement and dedication to make the changes necessary for us to live in harmony with the earth and nature. I have taken every step possible in my family's life to insure that we live an environmentally friendly lifestyle. So now we are left with the question, How do we get other people to become environmentally aware of their actions?

The first step that I have found to be helpful in converting people into an environmentally aware lifestyle is education. There are books, web sites, newsletters, organizations, and meetings that focus around the information needed to educate consumers. Spreading the word would be the second step and learning by example would be the third step.