The Green Family: Run a Half-Marathon

Big breath in, big breath out. Are you ready? It's time to be an activist.

By now your lifestyle is as good as you can make it. You know something about your local environment. You know something about most big environmental issues, and a fair bit about at least one. You know who your representatives are. It's time to think about how you can start to put it all together.

I know it's scary, especially if you have an image of a placard-wielder in your head, but there are lots of things you can do. Think of one issue that is important to you, and a suggested solution for it. No, you can't rebuild our cities or redesign our economy, but you can do something besides lifestyle changes. Here are some ideas:

1. Write a letter. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Write a letter to a politician, either your representative or the person in charge of the ministry or agency that affects that issue. Write a letter to the person in charge of public affairs for a company that is involved in something that troubles you. Write a letter to the person in charge of public affairs for a retail outlet that sells a product that troubles you. Remember to spell correctly and use good grammar. Get it proofread if you don't trust yourself. And don't yell or call anyone names; be polite and as positive as you can be. (Unless they are killing people.) Remember that actual paper letters have more of an impact than either form letters or emails (precisely because they are less convenient, they are taken more seriously); also, yes, your reply will be a really dumb form letter or some mumbo-jumbo that doesn't answer your concern at all. This doesn't mean that the person who read it isn't taking it seriously, it means that they have to give you the stock reply. That letter could still be the subject of a meeting or two, especially if it's part of a pattern or trend.

Nice letters count too. If there's a business doing something really great, don't just give them your money, tell them why. "I'm so pleased to have found sweatshop-free affordable clothing for my kids!" or "I shop here because of the rainforest free lumber" or whatever--give them some positive reinforcement. Activism doesn't have to mean complaining all the time.

2. Look through the public notices section of your local newspaper. (You figured this out way back during the walk/run). Find a meeting about an issue or project that concerns you. Attend, or if you can't attend, use the alternative means of expressing your interest in participating and being kept informed. Sometimes this is as easy as being added to a mailing list. Then, when there's an opportunity for you to become involved, you'll know about it.

3. Volunteer with that environmental group you found so long ago. Call them up and ask them what kind of help they would like.

4. Participate in a tree-planting or other public environmental initiative. Even better, volunteer to be part of the group that follows up on public planting projects to keep them alive.

5. In some places, there are opportunities to do field-work monitoring of endangered species or other environmental issues. Often these are allied with local nature or environmental groups, or colleges or universities.

6. If you enjoyed that book you read, give it to a friend or family member. Yes, that counts. You've taken a step to make a private concern public and persuade someone else of your point of view, which is one of the main thrusts of environmental activism.

7. Be part of a community garden.

8. Talk to your child's school about greening the school grounds, improving recycling or composting, or adding more environmental aspects to the curriculum. Do a bit of research first so that you know how they can accomplish this without stretching meager budgets or asking overworked teachers to do even more than they already do. There are organizations out there that make such projects their major focus; you can get a lot of help.

9. If you live in an apartment building or condo, the same applies.

10. Politely harass local businesses about improving bicycle parking. Politely harass your employer for the same, if appropriate, and if it applies also changing and locker facilities for those who bike, run or walk to work.

Other ideas can be left in the comments box. In my opinion, all activism means is that you are expanding the focus of change beyond your immediate family. You are trying to change minds and change practices (based on good information) outside your front door, make it a little bit easier for everyone to choose the greener option.

Posted by Andrea at April 7, 2008 9:01 AM under The Green Family

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