Change is Hard!

I really dislike all those articles about “X Easy Things You Can Do to Help/Save/Green the Environment!” Yes, everyone should be recycling, saving water, using less energy, but that’s the baseline. We need to go beyond our comfort zones. Not everyone can run away from consumerism and go live in an Earthship. I know I can’t (though I want to!). 

There’s a really great passage in No Impact Man where Colin describes how hard it is to change your habits, on a personal, national, and global scale: how every moment is a challenge the first few days and weeks. It takes about a month to change a habit. It’s usually a really hard, awkward month, too. But if you can stick with it, then the going gets easier. 

So my challenge, to you and to myself, is to pick a habit or two a month and change it. One of the major challenges is giving up. Even if--when--you backslide, you have to get back on the horse. It’s a brief setback, not a failure.

    My habits to change for this year are:

• Reducing the trash I produce
• Making and using cloth pads
• Buying all used or fair trade clothing
• Fair Trade Electronics
• Natural hair and skin care
• Starting an animal and wildlife rescue fund
• Getting started with passive solar
• Insulating the house

This month, I’m going to make and use cloth pads and reducing my trash. What are your goals? What are you going to pick first?