Be more aware

Today’s interview was with another friend who, I feel, tries to be sustainable. I was looking forward to this interview, because I was hoping they would provide me with an idea or an opinion that hadn’t heard before. Throughout the course of the interview, I wasn’t disappointed.


When you hear the word ‘sustainability’ what comes to mind?
“The word sustainable is so big, it is hard to know what you are looking for?” They see the word “green,” as a fake. So many things in our lives have been green washed, just using the word green isn’t enough anymore. The answer I eventually got, was “A way to keep our planet going. There is only so many finite resources, we need to conserve them to sustain our way life.”

What aspects of sustainability are important to you?
“My family, what’s going to be here for them in 50 years? I believe that even if I do everything wrong, my life will be fine. I can’t say the same for my nieces and nephews. “ They went on to say, “It seems to me that we will just move around until all the clean areas are gone. Only then will our lifestyles catch up with us.” They want to make things better for our future generation, and make sure they have the same liberty’s we have.

Are you acting on those beliefs, and why?
They try to recycle, consume less, and be more aware of their decisions. They keep the lights off, heat down, and take the bus. They bring bags to the store, reuse bottles, and make coffee at home. Even though these things aren’t as convenient they still try and do them. They consider themselves as a “soccer mom” in the area of sustainability.

Is there anything holding you back from doing more?
“It is hard to do things in my housing area. Many of the things I need require me to drive to them. I would like to see things closer so I could more easily walk and bike to them. Location is important to me, because I want things closer.”

If they are acting sustainable, what are they doing, and what do they think they can improve on.
It is important to them to consuming less. They said that when they look at there recycling bin it makes them realize that they are using so much stuff. “My bin is full of crap! I wish they would package things better.”

Are you thinking about the impact of their decisions on future generations?
“At this point it wouldn’t change my purchasing or life decisions because of future generations. I’m aware of the implications, but I wouldn’t change.”

Where do you think sustainability change will come from, large and small scale?
“We all know, small things add up.” We need more government regulation. Everyone needs to make a change for us to become more sustainable. Individually we are small, everyone follows through it leads to big changes.

Who do you think should play a bigger role in helping us become more sustainable?
“Everyone should be looking for change. People just don’t get it.” They went on to say, “When they first moved to Eugene they rebelled against the establishment. Where they came from, they didn’t have many environmental initiatives. The culture of this community impacted my life. I believe that communities can play a role in making a person more sustainable.”

Any thing else you wish to say?
We need to figure out our energy problem. Why can’t our government pass more regulations like Europe?