I can often be found on a soapbox. I’ve hauled mine around, climbing up on it for about as long as I can remember. (I’m high-fiving you, “When a Woman is President” elementary school essay.)
That’s why when the P&G team dusted off my soapbox, patted it and actually invited me to hop on up and open my big mouth about growth, well – here we go… I love this simple, powerful observation by Ms. Carson. (You can and should read more about her work here.)
“In nature, nothing exists alone.” — Rachel Carson, 1962
In these unprecedented times of the really-freaking-real impacts of human-driven climate change, I think it’s less of a lovely, reflective Instagram quote and more of a call to action. As in: Get your shit together, people.
Let’s be clear on a few things, with help from NASA and The Union of Concerned Scientists:
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Climate change is real. If you think otherwise, you are wrong.
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We did this. If you think otherwise, you are ignorant.
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We must act now to mitigate even a fraction of the problems we’ve caused. If you think otherwise, you are lazy.
(I think we should be done being gentle with folks who fly in the face of those three highly researched tenets. We don’t have time for pseudoskeptics.)
And, because we agree on the above, we can get to work. We can do more than acknowledge that we aren’t the only ones hanging out on the Pale Blue Dot.
What does that work look like at P&G? As the resident sustainability nut, I help our team live by the following rules:
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Use less electricity. Shut lights off when you don’t need them, not just when you leave a room. Put a sweater on if you’re chilly. Turn off appliances, or better yet, unplug them.
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Recycle. Yes, that means rinsing things out, or taking the sleeve off your to-go coffee cup. It makes a difference. If you live or work in Lansing, make sure you have and are using the amazing single-stream recycling service.
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Create less waste. Ditch plastic utensils. Take home those leftovers. Get a small compost bin. Trade in your Keurig. (Full disclosure: We’re still working on the last two.)
In this month of growth, as we celebrate our life-giving planet, what responsibility are you going to take for our climate? On our end, I’m committing P&G to responsibly reducing our Keurig-dependence and implementing that countertop compost bin. (And because I said it on the internet, accountability pics to follow.)
Change starts with each of us taking a few small steps. Sit with the uncomfortableness of figuring out where you can do better by our planet. Then get up and do something about it.
