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NE W S
It’s not easy being green
RONALD H. NEAL
Contributor
To say that it’s hard doesn’t quite do it justice
either.
If nothing else it’s annoying. Remember to
bring your water bottle every day and ceramic
mug on Wednesdays for coffee. Remember to
configure the settings on your print job to print
double-sided even though it costs the same and
you’re in the basement and the only printer that
works is on the main floor. Walk across the building with a banana peel in your hand so you can
use the proper bin in the Bistro even though there
are handfuls of perfectly good garbage bins, some
holding doors open, right there. The list goes on
and the constant weight of having to correct your
behavior, even if ever so slightly, can feel overwhelming.
At its worst it can be quite scary. Whether
you scroll or flip through the news you are never
far from catchy, apocalypse invoking headlines.
I walk around with fresh water wars and dead
oceans on my mind. I can talk to you about our
planet’s threshold of danger for temperature
rise and how much earlier than predicted we’re
expected to meet it. Or we can keep things simple
and just mull over peak oil and how the very
systems that sustain our way of life are at risk
of irreparable harm if we can’t think of a way to
head it off. None of this is to say that any of this is
certain. In fact, turning your mind to these issues
and making the conscious decision to give a damn
can be terrifying and depressing.
Despite the fact you’ve taken the red pill there
are seemingly countless more fortunate sons
and daughters who have opted for blue. Instead
of coming to work or starting your day with
hopes of meaningful change and action, you are
confronted with those with unique priorities and
agendas. Of course they are entitled to these,
but when you view the world through a certain
lens and see only the impending doom that those
around you can’t or refuse to, things can get a
little blue. And, this is only at the low end of the
spectrum. While some are seemingly blissfully
unaware of your concerns, others try to actively
attack and discredit them. Be it through guilt or
ignorance there are those who would have you
fail, and when you truly believe you’re just trying
to save lives by steering the bus away from the
cliff, you become disheartened.
Of course this can all add up to a very lonely
experience. You always feel as though you’re
swimming upstream, or reverse commuting. You
feel isolated in your stress and anxiety: alone in
a bleak world that is of your own design. You’re
angry and annoyed all the time, and you carry
these emotions with you until they leak into
and contaminate your very core or soul, and all
that is left is a bitter and hopeless shell of your
former self. How can you fix this? I mean, how
can you bring people onto your side and get them
involved, or get them to see the same doom that
you see without exposing them to the same sickness? Fear, depression, and anxiety are tough
selling points for any project, let alone one as
seemingly thankless and lonely as this. At ѥ