Blog Action Day '09: Climate Change

First off, I'm not green.  I'm not some city living, manage my window garden, protest if the tree outside my apartment gets chopped, Al Gore follower.  I'm not a save the whales, protect the dolphins, leave the reefs alone activist.  I'm just someone who cares about the direction we're headed as a species with regard to our world.

I do many different "green" and activist actions, but it's not an attempt to define myself or shame anyone else.  It is an attempt to try and wake up a bunch of sleepwalkers who follow the status quo simply because they don't know any better.  I doubt we'll make a huge impact on big oil or the automobile manufacturers.  The President drives around in his SUV's and leaves them running during his venues.  He's supposedly the "greenest" president we've had yet.  Where we, where I can make a real difference is in the lives of those around us who do environmentally unfriendly things simply beacuse they don't know any better.

Do you guys know about Jerry Sternin an the Positive Deviance Initiative?  Basically, the idea is to find someone in a community doing something better than their peers with the same resources, elevate their status so that they can help others do the same, and thus better the living conditions for all.  That's what I'm talking about.  Go to BAD's webpage for all sorts of ways to make a lasting difference.  The point is not so much what you do, but how you do it.  Don't throw yourself out there against the world; be a positive, constructive deviant.  Gather others onto your ideas.  When there are enough of us quietly making a real difference, we'll see the change expressed at the top.  As long as we're just a vocal minority screaming at white castles, not much will happen.

Plant a tree, teach your kids to do the same.  Leave the lights off during the day and ask your neighbors why they don't.  Use fans instead of the A/C and blankets instead of heaters, then see if the folks at work will do the same.  It works and it's a lot less stressful than protesting outside GM (or whoever they are now).
Peace