Green Guilt

The number of Americans suffering from “green guilt” has doubled over the past three years, evidently. The phrase green guilt pops up around me like blips on a radar screen. The radar-blip noise grew to a crescendo, this year, which makes me think green guilt has evidently become a "thing."

 

I'm not opposed to the idea, actually. The feverish pace at which Americans want, purchase, consume and throw away objects only to want, purchase, and consume more is due for a pang on behalf of the planet.  If we could be convinced take better care of or generally tidy up the world around us I'm all for it.

So I couldn’t figure out why I’d wince every time I heard the term green guilt. The nearest I can figure is it’s the guilt factor. It's just not so copacetic with me. Guilt can reflect a heightened awareness  but rather than inspiring action it commonly dwells in a world of anxiety. Guilt is one of those feelings that I find debilitating. I get bombarded when I feel guilty and overwhelmed or hopeless.

We all fall short of leading fully sustainable lives. I don't know anyone, myself included, who doesn't have room for improvement on this score. Environmental problems loom so large, the consequences so far reaching that even the best of us could feel like we aren't doing enough. But guilt isn't the goal. Not mine, anyway.  Focusing on the ways we fall short of the mark does nothing to inspire a person to do something.

There are a million little ways to true up your life to the environment. Each of them important, each of them makes a difference. I think green-progress inspires green-progress and that's what I want much more than a rise in green guilt. The sense that we have a shared responsibility to the planet we occupy isn't so overwhelming when we stop feeling guilty and start feeling connected to the remedy.