Going Green And Turn A Drop into A Wave.

In a quest to a more eco-responsible lifestyle, why going green and turn a drop into a wave will transform a single will-powered act into a powerful force in motion.

Stepping Into Action.

In the background, a familiar soundtrack. The media relentlessly trying to bring awareness on how our daily habits affect our planet’s health. We casually glean a little information here and there. Trying to better understand why we should jump on the train of sustainability and where to begin. So far nothing too serious, just wondering and wandering.

Latent desire to accomplish something new, something important, something meaningful. Why, now seems to be the perfect time to start our green shift : sure, we too can do it ! But… let’s be realistic, how will own journey have an impact on the wellbeing of our planet ?

The Significance Of Power In Numbers.

I mean, after all, it is only a single isolated act. How one individual switching from single use paper napkins to reusable table linen will rationally change anything on a global scale ? Well, it will. As you will come to realize in your own journey, each and everyone of our individual choices does make a difference. We all can start going green and turn a drop into a wave.

Let’s see… On laundry duty, it’s Saturday afternoon. Rain is pouring outside, no hanging clothes on the line today. We are transferring dried laundry into the basket only to find yet another disposable tissue all tangled up between the arms of a sweater and our favorite picnic blanket. We look at it with great discontent. Removing the staticky cause of our deep disappointment, we realize it is the straw that broke the camel’s back. That’s it. Enough already.

If a disposable paper product was able to go through an entire washing and drying cycle and come out intact, how could we expect the item in question to safely break down and decompose once discarded ? Sure, it only is one paper tissue, but how many did we use this week, this month, over the years ? On average one per day ? How many was used over the years by the neighbors on our street ? Within the community ? All over the province ? In the country ? In the entire world ???

Isolated Act To The Green Shift : The Single Drop.

Now we just cannot afford to simply ignore the fact that such a basic item of our everyday is actually actively contributing—somehow humbly but nevertheless mightily—to the overall issue our planet is facing when it comes to waste management and ecological footprint.

So we decide to start making some changes around to do our part and promote a healthier environment. In this case, we start wondering if we could replace our everyday disposable tissues with their washable counterpart. A good old-fashioned fabric handkerchief like our grandfathers used to carry with them in their pocket. Sure, why not ?

We resolve that it would be perfectly reasonable to do so when we go out for a walk on a chilly day for example. Or head to the shore for a healthy dose of fresh air, go explore the woods or discreetly wipe a tear when listening to Adele’s new song. Nevertheless, we would undeniably keep using the disposable type in case of illness or such. Just common sense really, it always prevails… So, overall, a quick and easy fix to a sizeable issue had just been found. Replacing disposable with reusable. That was easy !

Diluted Enthusiasm.

Invigorated and feeling enthusiastic towards the future, our bubble suddenly pops when a pitiful reality quickly catches up with us. Our action would really be insignificant overall. This is nothing more than a drop into the ocean… How could we even think of having any chance of going green and turn a drop into a wave in this case ? I mean, what change would it make in the big picture of sustainability… One person’s daily use of disposable tissues over a global population of, what, just reaching 8 billion ? Who are we kidding…

Then a dim little light begins to slowly make its way in the back of our mind. We start wondering… Putting things into perspective, quite literately so : envisioning ourselves on the map, where we live. Us, digitized icon, a handkerchief in one hand and a tissue in the other. Trying to make a decision. And then we picture others. All the others.

What if, at this very moment, another person in our community is going through the same reasoning as us ? What if it is 10 people within the municipality who have been thinking about this over the weekend, a modest estimation considering the 200 communities+ in our region. 10 symbolic icons standing on the map of HRM thinking about the significance of their green move…

And if, let’s say, 100 persons in the entire province were exploring that very topic this week, still a humble guesstimate considering our Nova Scotian population of just over 1 million. Then it is not just one person’s use of disposable tissues that we have to consider. We can rather sensibly assume that any decision we make to help the environment will in fact have an impact 100 times stronger than just our personal action. Overall a rate of 0.01 % of our population making the same decision as us this week, not an overly optimistic assessment really.

And if we are to consider each one of us using the average one tissue per day, that still means our collective decision would translate into 36 500 discarded tissues feeding our dumps and about 400 empty boxes going to recycling this year. Or not. Depending on the decision we made.

The Willpower To Turn Into A Wave.

And that’s how your little drop just turned into a powerful wave. No step, indeed, is too small to have a positive impact, since, well, if we give up, it’s another 100 well-intentioned individuals that might give up too, therefore missing the chance to have a strong positive impact on our surroundings.

So the point is that by starting taking action today and introducing greener habits in our lives, one at a time, we will have an impact, whether we can see it locally, nationally or internationally, whether we can see the results tomorrow or in a decade, in our lifetime or in our children’s. It is up to all of us to get going green and turn a drop into a wave.

Sustainability starts with us, here and now. And it does not have to be a burden either. As outlined in First Steps to Sustainable Living, improvements can—and shall—be done humbly, unobtrusively and most of all enjoyably in order to be successful and to last.

So initiate the change and celebrate the process, the destination is so worth it, but just as they say : the fun really lies within the journey !