A sustainable-living expert has called out those who guilt people who are trying to reduce the impact their lifestyle has on the planet.
In a skit posted on TikTok, ReLauren (@relauren) acts out a conversation based on true events between two friends where one criticizes the other for being an environmentalist and still driving a gas-powered car.
@relauren who's been here before? 🙃 #environment #environmentalist #imperfect #sustainability #skit ♬ original sound - ReLauren
The skit shows two friends after a meetup, with one of the friends being revealed as passionate about the environment. As the environmentalist goes to leave, their friend sees their car keys and implies they're a hypocrite for driving a car while caring about the environment.
The environmentalist in the conversation explains to their friend that instead of unrealistic expectations placed on people openly passionate about the planet, environmentalism is instead simply focused on caring about the environment, public health and safety, protecting ecosystems, and wanting access to clean air. They add, "I think we can be hypocrites in a flawed system and still want to change it."
The friend agrees those wants are reasonable things anyone should care about, and the environmentalist closes by crowning them an environmentalist too.
Choosing to make your lifestyle more sustainable isn't all or nothing, it's about doing what you can to reduce the impact your lifestyle has on the planet. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop people from criticizing those who care about the environment for their imperfect actions, which can discourage people from making positive changes.
There are lots of small actions you can take if you want to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and together these actions add up to create a lot of positive change. For example, one of the easiest things you can do is carry a reusable water bottle. Americans throw away 38 billion plastic bottles every year, which is a lot of plastic ending up in landfill. Using a reusable bottle helps reduce this number while also saving you around $260 per year, per Case Western Reserve University.
Other steps you can take include shopping at thrift stores, eating less meat, and taking public transport or walking where possible. Starting with small changes can make it easier to live a more sustainable lifestyle without much effort, and you can build up the things you change over time.
The skit received lots of comments from lots of people who agreed doing what you can when you can is an important message. "Not doing everything isn't an excuse to do nothing," wrote one commenter.
While another added, "this imperfect change."
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