On-Stage Question Redo: going GREEN

If you were unable to attend the Miss Columbia pageant, my onstage question was about sustainability and what I was doing to go green.  Of course, at the time I came up with a less than eloquent answer but as I have had time to reflect I have a different response.

I think that sometimes it is so easy to feel like our actions can't make much of a difference.  In a world of 7 billion people, is biking to work or using canvas shopping bags going to have an impact?  Now, I won't try to pretend to be an expert.  I really have no idea if recycling is actually decreasing our net energy spent or reducing the amount of waste that is produced.  What I  do know, however, is that many of our environmental practices are based on our culture.  I truly believe that if you want a lasting change in a community, you must do it by changing the culture.  (This goes for health practices as well, but I'll save that for another day.)

For example, I am an admission counselor so a large responsibility for my job is attending college fairs.  It is common practice for the host institution to provide the  admission representatives with bottled water.  While this is much appreciated as it's never long before I start to go hoarse as I explain how wonderful my school is to students and families, I am constantly carrying out half consumed bottles which are then stored in my vehicle until I have to return the car to my employer.  I then find the nearest recycling bin (or if none are near, trashcan) and dispose of them.  In any given week in which I am traveling, I could attend up to 10 college fairs which means 10 different bottles of water.  Instead of taking the bottle of water offered at every fair, I could use a refillable container.  This doesn't seem like a big deal however if we could then multiply my ten less bottles by the over all of the educational institutions and the nearly 5 months of traveling  throughout the year, suddenly we're talking about a huge amount of water and plastic.  It's simply a matter of changing common and acceptable practices.

I encourage you all to reflect upon the three Rs- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle- and don't think that your contribution is too small!  Together we can change our culture and create a more sustainable environment.