Blog Action Day is here! It seems like only five minutes since I was invited to join in. From the first mention I thought it was a great idea so I am so pleased the project is already a success with some fantastic blogs and backers involved.
This Blog Action Day has been dedicated to the environment. Hopefully by the end of today you won’t be sick of all the environmental posts as it is a really important topic.
Unfortunately somehow the environment became a divisive issue? How, I am not sure, but it seems to get people hot under the collar. Just the mention that I will be writing about the environment on this day seems to have upset people. There are some much more knowledgeable and experienced environmentalist bloggers taking part I am sure so I will not write a long post trying to persuade people of the harm we are doing to the planet or debate the science. Probably best I leave that to people who have researched all sides of each argument.
Here is my single point: Bloggers can help
One thing I have heard over and over since I first mention Blog Action Day is we will make no difference. Well, if you believe you can or can’t either way you are right.
Fact is bloggers do reach a wide audience, an audience of intelligent people who can communicate with others. Memes might be associated with trivialities but they are also a mechanism where a thought can spread far and wide. A simple thought could have powerful consequences. Between us we reach an audience of thousands and thousands.
If we ask each of our readers to be more environment conscious, just for one day, and to ask people they meet to do the same, how many millions will we reach?
Here is an idea, next time you purchase something new or throw something away, take a moment to think
- Where did it come from?
- How was it made?
- Where was it made and by whom?
- What ingredients were required?
- What processes were involved?
- How will it be disposed of?
- What are we taking away by supporting that products manufacture?
What are you doing to the earth and our future generations by participating in that particular product chain? Something as simple as a bottled drink could be causing problems in water tables far away. Have you ever noticed how petroleum based chemicals are so pervasive in our lives? Everything from what we eat to what we wear. What are we causing?
Fact is I am asking you to be more aware and I will do the same. I can’t ask that anyone abandon a product, or buy more expensive but more environmentally sound products, because I don’t know enough to make those points. But this realization that I don’t know is a step in the process.
That is what I want to share with you today; be a more curious consumer. Encourage others to be curious too.
I feel like I should educate myself more about my consumer habits, do you? Do you think your friends and family are aware of how their purchases influence companies and their behavior? Being more personally aware is the first step to changing our habits and hopefully contributing to a solution rather than the problem.
Writing this has made me realize I know so little on this topic, but I want to know more. If each of the blogs participating in this day make just a handful of people think they need to learn more in the same way, I consider it a success.