Any shade of green, is now becoming the current color of hip these days. This because we as collective individuals, living on this planet for the past half century, are all becoming more environmentally conscious. Every generation from baby boomers, millennials, to Gen Z, at one time or another, have been accused and found guilty of burning out this little rock that we call home, that’s beginning to spin out of control.
We are all guilty of these habits of excess, which was originally established by our parents, ancestors, and society as a whole, as we over splurge. Our once little green healthy planet, is now beginning to tire, to sputter out, and is no longer as sustainable as it once was.
What many now claim, is that we’re now living on borrowed time. If we continue to live as excessively as we have recently, it will begin to take its toll. We’re depleting all of the earths natural resources, which has limited supply.
This is a result of the “me” generation. Where the mindset is taking and gaining as much as possible. Where life is all about looking out for Number 1, which is you. We’ve adopted a “me, myself and I” attitude and lifestyle, that we need to separate ourselves from.
It’s All About Me
We are continuously looking out for our own best interests first, more than anytime in the history of mankind. We value the present, more than we do the future, while sacrificing the wellness of our children. We’re concerned more about our personal status.
We emulate the behaviors, along with the characteristics of those around us, as we disregard and ignore the various global environmental threats, that are knocking on our door. Our collective ego’s, have ballooned out of proportion.
There have been a recent movement however, more of a plea, that what we as humanity, should do is adopt a more greener minimal lifestyle.
We’re beginning to now look at the long term solutions, on how recklessly we’re currently living. These include improving waste management, lowering the over consumption of natural resources, and controlling and feeding the population better.
Get More Involved Locally
We humans, are a socially interactive bunch. We imitate the behavior of our neighbors, our friends, our peers. Once we learn that the “Jone’s” living next door, is beginning to conserve energy by decreasing electrical costs or water consumption, we usually follow suit.
Public appeals, asking others to conserve during hot weather for instance, resulting in shortages, generally affects individuals who are connected and concerned about their neighborhoods. What we’re wanting, is to be responsible citizens of our local community.
Standing Up Being Vigilant
The majority of our environmental issues, is usually blamed directly on our human shortsightedness. There are however, other ways to get everyone to value the future, a little bit more.
Research suggests, that it does matter where we grow up. It’s found that those individuals who happened to be raised in a relatively unstable environment, or in a dangerous neighborhood, are more than likely to consume excessively, as well as start a family earlier in life.
As a result, what needs to change, is wanting to improve our immediate neighborhood. Begin by reducing crime rates, and making our streets safer. To orientate ourselves, to be less materialistic, and be more aware of the future.
Stepping Towards A New Social Status
To go green, now gains social status, such as elevating sex appeal in the eyes of the opposite sex. This includes hybrid cars, which were once expensive and dorky looking. They are now becoming trendy, and relatively affordable.
A few decades ago, you would wonder why anyone would bother driving a hybrid vehicle. Their sales in the past few years however, has been on a steady upswing.
The reason being, driving a hybrid vehicle signals to others, that you’re thinking “green” in several ways. It shows that you’re concerned about the environment, while also signifying you may be better off financially than others, which displays a certain snob appeal.
These are the signals, that you’re relaying to your neighbors, co-workers, and your friends. Research has shown, that women find men who happens to display a concern for the environment, more attractive.
Becoming More Human
One thing our ego is concerned about, is our reputation. There are studies which suggests that doing something simple, such as posting your face on social media, has an effect on others.
The reason for this is because, what looking at a set of eyes, even if it’s an image, gives us the feeling that we’re being watched or judged by someone.
And when we’re being watched, we subconsciously do the morally right thing. So if you place pictures of people in your office or at home, or decide to install CCTV cameras in public that are visible, what that does is forces us to react more human.
Getting Back To Mother Nature
We humans have survived and evolved over thousands of years, by living in a natural outdoor environment. Because of this, we have an innate tendency, to instinctively appreciate other living things.
We love our pets, and are concerned about the welfare of the wild animals in the jungles and forests. We also feel our best, when we’re in a green environment, such as a park.
Scenes of nature or images of exotic animals in their natural habitat, or sounds of nature like a waterfall or birds chirping, we humans instantly get into a better mood, becoming more relaxed and trusting.
We become awed, by the beauty and the magnificence of this planet we call home. This forces us to consciously think, about consuming less energy, and deciding to preserve more. These are the ingredients of leading a greener lifestyle.
So once developing influential strategies, which takes into account all of the features which are human nature, we as individuals will instinctively begin to lead more minimal lifestyles.
This is the very road-map that we should all be taking, which is to develop a better environmental agenda, for the good of our planet, preserving it for the next generations to come.