If you’re reading this, you probably care about the environment in some capacity–you may even call yourself an environmentalist. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve tried to grab climate change by the horns and tame the beast yourself. Chances are, you’ve gone through at least part of the roller coaster of emotions and realizations that I’ve outlined below, whether you’re just getting strapped into the ride or going full speed ahead. Wherever you are in your journey of becoming the best environmentalist you possibly can, you likely can relate to some part of my personal search for sustainable perfection.
Chapter 1 | Climate Grief
I started my eco-journey like many of my peers–in the classroom learning about environmental science. With the territory came documentaries (which I acknowledge can cherry-pick at times) that exposed and tore apart all notions of what I thought being “sustainable” was. I grew up with the mantra “Reduce Reuse Recycle,” but there is so much more to it than I ever realized. This huge rush of information launched me into a chapter of climate grief–a feeling of overwhelming panic and stress about the state of the planet.
I realized that…
- the world is run by money and Big Industry influences
Animal Agriculture - the industrialization of farming animals for consumption and the crops they consume
Plastic Industry - encouraged people to recycle, well knowing that it would not be profitable to recycle plastic
Fast Fashion - notorious for the exploitation of garment workers, dumping of pollution, and clothing of disposable and poor environmental quality
- greenwashing is a thing??
a marketing tactic that falsely projects products and services as “green”
- time is running out and drastic measures must be taken to limit global warming of 1.5°C
Chapter 2 | Reaching For Perfection
Some people feel bad, some people feel guilty–I felt like I was living a lie and had to completely overhaul my lifestyle. I picked apart every detail of my life and poured into research to find a way to “fix” how I was living. I looked at diet, shopping habits, waste production. It became an obsession. My brain was constantly running and taking notes of what I didn’t like. I used to love looking at all the license plates on the freeway and seeing how many states I could find, but now my eyes were zeroed in on scoping out fair trade and vegan symbols at the market.
I decided to…
- take deep dives into 3rd party certification and labeling systems:
Fair Trade - promotes fair pay for workers and producers while protecting the environment
B Corp - rates companies on social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability
LEED - guides building design, construction, and maintenance to be healthier, more efficient, and more cost-effective
Cradle to Cradle - promotes circular production of products that are assessed for environmental and social performance
“Ethical” - not a particular rating, but considers the wellbeing of works as a part of sustainable consumerism
- overhaul my life and replace everything with vegan, zero waste, “ethical,” secondhand, and/or cruelty-free alternatives
Chapter 3 | Failing To Reach Perfection
I more or less went cold turkey with this overhaul process and did as much as I could as a high school student. But there comes a time when I inevitably hit a wall of exhaustion from the chase. I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t be perfect. I changed myself so much, and for that I was proud, but I developed a disdain for the people around me who didn’t see the world like me. I became snappy at omnivore restaurants–never happy with what I saw on the menu–and I became judgemental of my friends and family. Coming to terms with the unachievable perfection in my own lifestyle and in others’ pushed me over the edge to become the alarmist militant vegan that no one liked to be around.
I felt…
fatigued from ‘keeping up’ and reinvention of my definition of Perfection
overwhelmed from constantly taking individual responsibility for the world’s imperfections
guilty from inescapable tradeoffs, the pervasiveness of plastic, vegan slip-ups, secret unsustainable habits
frustrated with the world–why isn’t anyone doing anything?
upset that people felt they had to walk on eggshells around me so as not to provoke the Militant Vegan
Chapter 4 | Coming To Terms With Privilege
Moving outside my high school bubble into the university environment, I learned that wow, this whole process is not about me. Everything I had done to revamp my lifestyle was great, but it was no doubt coming from a place of privilege. The bulk of society just doesn’t have the means to do what I was expecting of myself, my friends, and my family. Veganism and many other environmental movements are known for being expensive, pretentious, etc.–and I definitely don’t disagree. But then I thought, there must be a better way to do this–have an inclusive environmental movement that is more attainable for everyone.
I questioned…
the gentrification of sustainability surrounding trendy movements like veganism, thrifting, green building
whether or not sustainability has become a spectacle–a façade–that I felt like I had to put on
if being “sustainable” was perceived as an advertisement of my privilege
Chapter 5 | Learning, Unlearning, Relearning
This past year has brought to light so many evils that humanity has been suppressing for much too long. Starting with the pandemic, which highlighted the vast disparities between privileged and marginalized, we also saw racism, environmental injustice, attacks on human rights, and so much more. This is when I really, really realized that environmentalism is not about being vegan or shopping exclusively secondhand or composting in your backyard, or even using a metal straw. Environmentalism should be a big picture inclusive movement that involves all of the planets, all of the land and its plants and animals, and all of the people. If your environmentalism doesn’t do that, it’s simply not environmentalism.
I became…
- less occupied with obsessive self-improvement and more occupied with getting educated
- aware of environmental intersectionality, and that sustainability isn’t just for bloggers and influencers
- informed about the shortcomings of high profile figures in the sustainability movement
- educated about environmental justice–there are much larger problems concerning racial injustice than ruminating about trace amounts of milk in my almond cheese
- less frustrated with the world–but still frustrated–allowing myself to find the balance between getting angry about a plastic spoon in my ice cream and working to dismantle the system that created environmental injustice
Chapter 6 | Imperfect Sustainability
The title of this chapter sounds like an oxymoron, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, no human is ever going to achieve the ultimate goal of “sustainability” on their own. We all have to try, but try imperfectly. Teamwork makes the dream work, right?
I believe that…
my personal journey to be more sustainable has not taken a backseat, but is more behind the curtains while I explore the realm of intersectionality and justice
I should forgive myself for making trade-offs because one person being perfect is not the ultimate goal
most importantly, striving for sustainability is not an individual quest–it’s humanity going through the growing pains from centuries worth of systemic oppression and exploitation of the planet, its animals, and its people
Chapter 7 | Shifting The Focus From Myself To Justice For All, Justice For The Planet (mainly through Instagram)
As I am constantly learning and unlearning, and shifting the environmentalism spotlight away from myself, I have been using social media as a resource to learn from real people about how they intersect environmentalism and sustainability with the world around them. Below are some Instagram accounts that have helped me get educated.
@antiracismdaily - dismantling white supremacy
@colorsofclimate - climate + social justice + intersectional environmentalism
@futureearth - climate science + politics
@inspiroue - sustainable + ethical fashion
@intersectionalenvironmentalist - people + planet
@lilnativeboy - indigenous education + racial justice
@mariebeech - social justice + anti-racism
@queennishie - human + environmental health equity
@queerbrownvegan - EJ + ZW + veganism
@soyouwanttotalkabout - politics + social issues
@theslacktivists - world social + political issues
@venetialamanna - fair fashion + sustainability
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