WHY IS BEING ECOFRIENDLY SO DIFFICULT?

The human ego has been a powerful driving force of environmental destruction. Throughout history, almost every celebratory win for human civilisationhasbeenatragicloss fortheenvironment.Theindustrial revolution, which allowed us to reapthebenefitsoftheapogee of technological innovation, has equally allowed for the contemporaryplutocrattomake immeasurable profit, satisfy their self-indulgent corporate needs and fund their lavish lifestyle at the expense of the environment. Theworshipofcapitalintoday’s societyisdrivenbyindividualism: money is sought after because buying and consuming has becomecathartictotheaverage 64%ofall32 billion items of clothing producedeachyearendsupin Therefore, with a rising movement of people discarding consumerism for the sake of the planet, environmentalism can be linked to a certain form of removing the self interest to insteadpromotetheinterestof the other, the future of humanity, the planet. But then why is it still so difficult for peopletobealtruistic? ofthegreatergood.Butinthe current circumstances, only through the painful abandonment of unnecessary and harmful habits, whether it beonadomestic,behavioural or corporate and industrial scale,willwebeabletoseea glimmer of hope through the climatecrisis.

Buying an outfit on SHEIN, eating more burgers than we should,andforgettingtobring a reusable coffee cup are all common behaviours, yet these 'habits' have environmental consequences. Meat consumptionisapracticethat has been present in almost everysocietyacrosstheplanet. Asking the average person to stopeatingburgers,chickenor steak could mean asking them toabandonabigpartoftheir diet and lifestyle. Equally, SHEIN, despite its disastrous environmental output, is so incredibly accessible and affordable to the point of revolutionising the online shopping industry, that discouraging people from buyingSHEINclothesprovesto beaverydifficultendeavour.

Itisnotonlythefaultofthese companies who indulge in profiting and neglect their environmental effects, but we are also liable for these impacts as we endorse these industries.Isitreallyworthitto maintainthese'habits'andour acceptance of the environmental repercussions, because we are too lazy to changethem?

As a student, we have been subjecttoflatmatesforgetting to switch the bathroom light off,discussinghowmuchofthe heatingweshouldturnonand being frustrated when the faucetisstillrunning.However, leavingthelightonhassevere implications for our carbon dioxide emissions, heating results in severe energy consumption and leaving the faucetongeneratessignificant amounts of wastewater. We areconstantlyconcernedwith how much electricity will cost us, yet the effects on the environment are frequently overlooked.

We have all been guilty of overbuying and failing to check the expiration dates, unfortunately resulting in discardingitemsthatcouldhave previouslybeensalvaged.26,082 tonnes of food goes to waste everysingleday,primarilydueto ourownnegligence.Over70%of food waste in the UK is generated at a household level, thusindividualsbearasignificant amount of the responsibility for wastage. We have a moral responsibility to understand the implicationsofwastageandtake accountability for it. Small gestures such as reducing how much we buy or composting our food can significantly help, so whyarewenotdoingthis?

Alloftheseexamplesultimately beg the question: why have we, as a society, allowed our home planet to reach such levels of climate devastation and yet still struggletomakeanysubstantial and material difference to mitigate the now urgent circumstances? There is a general conception that humans are innately selfish and only act intheirownselfinterest.Infact, thereisatheorythatgoesasfar back as Pluto, ancient Greece, which states that if all sanctions imposed by the social contract werelifted,humanswouldacton their violent, selfish tendencies withoutregardforothers.

Whetherthishasbeenproven as fact, it is undeniable that everyone has selfish tendencies: we all want to indulgeinthesimplepleasures inlife,whetheritisgrabbinga coffee in the morning in a plastic cup, or getting a new coat because it looks nice, eventhoughwealreadyhavea couple on the hanger waiting to be worn. Even if we are aware of the ubiquitous environmental impacts of unused clothes that end up in landfills,carbonemissionsfrom the shipping, or the exploitationofforeststomake paper cups, they are so far removed from our daily lives that it has become difficult to realise the effects of our actions.

Shifting the blame on the averagecitizeniseasy.They’re only small changes, why can’t all make them and commit to them? It’s easy to say we will lower the heating to lower its environmental costs, but the fact that it is slightly more tedious and laborious to find and slip on more clothes will makeusimmediatelyfallback ontothemoreefficientsolution.