Saving the environment can be easy.

Everyone can and should be an environmentalist. There are countless things that anyone can do to minimize the amount of waste they produce and the amount of energy they consume that are relatively simple and easy to implement; shut electronics off when you aren't using them (or, even better, unplug them completely), recycle anything you can, shop locally as often as possible, or compost your organic waste and you'll eventually achieve a noticeably smaller carbon footprint.

Not everyone, however, takes the time to do these things. The David Suzuki Foundation recently released an article that mentioned a woman who would rather drive to the next state to buy detergent with phosphates in it than comply with the environmental standards established by her region, which had banned the environmentally harmful substance. She otherwise considered herself to be environmentally conscious.

The logic there is just kind of baffling. She's burning an entire state's worth of fuel to get something that hurts the environment surrounding her home. Even if she's driving the most modern of hybrid vehicles, it's to buy something that she could get at her local corner store. This type of behaviour is inexcusable.

We need “the Three R's” reinforced back into daily behaviour somehow. A lot of us seem to have lost this kindergarten level concept in the frantic and pressured transition that is the onset of adulthood. They are in a specific order for a reason; Reducing your overall consumption and waste production is the most effective way to make a difference, Reusing materials keeps society's overall waste levels manageable, and Recycling is a great way to deal with everything else. Recycling is awesome, and I'm very happy to see more and more people doing it, but, in the long run, it's not enough.

Society, for the most part, seems to be increasingly aware of these things. There is a paradigm shift afoot, however subtle. I know, I know, I'm a foolish optimist, but I really do have faith in humanity. My optimistic nature has taken blows in the past, sure, but still it persists. There will always be terrible people in positions of power who are able to influence things for their personal gain, but, collectively, we have far more power than they can ever have. If even half the population consciously shifts towards a more sustainable way of life, the result will be extraordinary.

Nolan's next post: the mythology of Quebec