Screwing up. I do it.

Everyone is imperfect.

I’ve seen a lot of posts about climate activists being shamed about one specific action, like buying lunch in plastic wrapping, or flying to an important event in another country.

Activists, environmentalists, conservationists and eco enthusiasts are all trying hard to advance the climate movement. To make a difference how they can.

No one can be perfect.

It’s impossible to never buy plastic.
It is impossible to always reuse and repair.
It’s impossible to never fly when you have family and friends all over the world, and surely you are allowed to discover other parts of the world…?

👉Screwing up

-As an eco-enthusiast I incorporate lots of eco elements into my life and get my family to join in
-I can write a long list of the things that I do, and I post about a number of these things – on this platform and on others
-But then I don’t post about the time I flew to London recently for a long weekend with my son to visit friends, as a birthday present to him. Yes, I fly when I don’t think the train is feasible. Or that we take the car to drive to the Alps. I’m sure that we could take the train instead, but this would be a real hassle. Or that I put a broken Kinder Egg toy in the bin, instead of fixing it or using it for our recycled art projects. But then, why am I trying to justify?

👉Imperfect environmentalism

Welcome to the world of imperfect environmentalism. It’s not quite in the dictionaries (yet) but this is a thing
-Do what you can = the mantra here
-Imperfect environmentalism is a “catalyst for change” (World Economic Forum)

👉Climate anxiety

-Worrying about the state of our planet is high at the moment, especially among young people. A study back in 2021 found that 60% of teenagers and young adults (16-25-year-olds) were very worried about the state of the planet and climate change
-One of the main things that will help to ease this is to become an imperfect environmentalist. This way you can shift your thinking to knowing that you are helping the climate movement. Everyone is part of the bigger picture
-Each action will make a difference

💪As Marie Bonneau from Zero-Waste Chef once famously said: “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”

Let’s carry on with our imperfect environmentalism to make change happen!

Sources: Zero-Waste Chef, World Economic Forum, Easy Peasy Greeny, Harvard Medicine

…And if you want to read more about what I do in the climate space, then please do check out my services.