So I spent the weekend back up in Canada hanging out with my environmentalist dad and his friends.
Guess what we talked about...
How to save the world.
Their approach - conversation. They are activists fighting the man, stopping evil corporations from polluting rivers, killing plants and animals. It was interesting to hear how they are using the grassroots organizing tactics, leveraging laws and government agencies and processes to slow process and engaging residents to take action and use their voices. It was very inspiring, a great reminder that we all have the opportunity to fight for justice. But is it also a long and hard fought road, it is painfully slow and tiring to be fighting all the time.
I believe I have similar goals of protecting the environment in my work, but rather than fighting the man, I am the man and I am working within to make change. Companies have the opportunity to make positive impacts with every decision they make. And that has been something I have been able to help steer. It does not happen every time and there are often trade offs, it moves slow and gets frustrating, but when change does happen it gets pretty exciting.
I suffer from the grass is always greener on the other side syndrome and get really excited by activism. This was very evident in talking this weekend. Creating petitions, buttons, creative ideas on how to bring awareness to an issue. I think I just need to reframe my work - creating policies, procedures, excel files and guidance documents... and maybe a button just for the fun of it!
I have come to realize that we need both a activist and an internal change approach towards shifting our world towards more sustainable behaviors. They feed upon each other, driving change and showing examples of that change shows that good can be done. So to everyone inside or on the outside, continue your great work.
How to save the world.
Their approach - conversation. They are activists fighting the man, stopping evil corporations from polluting rivers, killing plants and animals. It was interesting to hear how they are using the grassroots organizing tactics, leveraging laws and government agencies and processes to slow process and engaging residents to take action and use their voices. It was very inspiring, a great reminder that we all have the opportunity to fight for justice. But is it also a long and hard fought road, it is painfully slow and tiring to be fighting all the time.
I believe I have similar goals of protecting the environment in my work, but rather than fighting the man, I am the man and I am working within to make change. Companies have the opportunity to make positive impacts with every decision they make. And that has been something I have been able to help steer. It does not happen every time and there are often trade offs, it moves slow and gets frustrating, but when change does happen it gets pretty exciting.
I suffer from the grass is always greener on the other side syndrome and get really excited by activism. This was very evident in talking this weekend. Creating petitions, buttons, creative ideas on how to bring awareness to an issue. I think I just need to reframe my work - creating policies, procedures, excel files and guidance documents... and maybe a button just for the fun of it!
I have come to realize that we need both a activist and an internal change approach towards shifting our world towards more sustainable behaviors. They feed upon each other, driving change and showing examples of that change shows that good can be done. So to everyone inside or on the outside, continue your great work.
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