We live here! Western culture has created a false divide between natural and human spaces. Animals migrate regardless of the arbitrary borders humans have put in place, and that interconnectedness is not just about preserving beautiful landscapes, it’s about maintaining a functional planet that can support life, and we cannot approach this problem the way we have historically – as separate entities. We must work together. Individual efforts are not going to be good enough– one person living a zero-waste lifestyle is not going to save our environment, but together we can.
That means using the services available in your area that use an individual choice to transform into collective change (like a composting service or your farmer’s market). Voting with your dollar and at the ballot box in solidarity with others is how we enact large-scale change – you’re not alone and there are multitudes already doing this work. It means that when you hear workers in India striking because of poor working conditions, you believe them rather than the large company employing them, and hear it as a call to action. Apathy, overwhelm, and knee-jerk consumerism are part of the reason our planet’s resources have been drained. You should care about sustainability because you care: about people, about nature, about your family, about the future.