How’s your eco-guilt?

planet earth globe in dark background
(Photo by Simone Busatto)

Are you doing your bit? Did you put the right plastic in the recycling bin? Was anyone watching? 

This isn’t an eco post

You’ll find plenty of eco-outrage on Facebook. This post isn’t about that. It’s about the effects of this reality on us. It’s about stress – that other elephant in the room. Just how much have we stored up – collectively – since industrialisation?

Enough for a planet-sized shrink

Some depressing words for you: deforestation, pollution, extinction, contamination. Don’t stop reading! What do they bring to your mind? 

Feeling stressed yet?

Not all of us are tree huggers or Attenborough wannabes. Some of us are lazy. Some of us just don’t care. Some even dismiss things like climate change as nonsense. But we all kinda know human life is degrading life on Planet Earth. 

A spot of baggage? A Santa’s sack of baggage! No one became vegan in a vacuum. So many little acts these days are connected to the big fat – nearly extinct – elephant in the room. 

When do you qualify for eco guilt?

We all know about Greta Thunberg and her stolen future. OK, so the kids aren’t to blame. But when do you start being to blame? On your 18th birthday? Or do you have to be baby boomer or older?

My parents are baby boomers, and they spent my entire childhood at CND and Greenpeace events. Does that give them a pardon? The irony is, Greta Thunberg’s stolen future idea causes ex-hippies far more guilt-ridden anguish than it does the likes of Donald Trump.

The best starting point I can see is to begin by acknowledging to yourself that you don’t need to assume the burden of humankind’s environmental impact. You can care, but it’s not your fault. 

That way, you’re far more likely to make a positive difference.

While we’re on tricky eco topics, If We Go Local Do We End Up Divided?

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