She Believes in Sustainability.

A while ago, back in San Diego, we had sundowners with a young couple who are renovating their powerboat in our marina. He has been fascinated with motors and is a mechanic from when he was a teenager. She defied her parents and studied marine biology and sustainability, a subject her parents won’t acknowledge nor discuss. She asked us how to convince her parents that we and the world have a problem.

The planet seems to be split on the subject, at least Americans are. Some believe and some don’t believe in climate change. The topic makes for uncomfortable discussions, like two weather systems colliding and forming rain, storms or worse.

I was surprised when I heard for the first time that climate change is seen by some as a belief and not as fact. It could be a belief. Scientist aren’t right all the time and if the last century is any indication, most inventions made then are making us sick today or are polluting the world we live in. Just think of the side effects of drugs, asbestos, industrial production, beauty products, industrial farming etc. I am not sure that my friends’ parents would agree. Nor probably would my grandparents. They grew up in a time when science made living easier and way more comfortable. Science became the new god. I think, that we can all agree on that the man-made environment is polluting and has a tendency to make us sick. And that most of our actions have an effect on other humans and the environment.

I am in an airplane flying over the Atlantic at the moment. While I am writing this, I am enjoying the luxury of fast travel back to the home country. While the airplane was taking off and landing it disturbed several neighborhoods in San Diego, Washington and Berlin with noise pollution, not to mention all the fuel particles raining down onto them. Since living in a marina in San Diego, which is very close to the airport but not even in its flight path, our car is continuously covered in fuel gunk. Somebody is always paying the price.

I am flying despite knowing the effect and therefore I understand denial. I need to ask myself how much would I be willing to sacrifice? How far will I go? Do my actions reach far enough or am I just another hypocrite? Yes. Because every human is part of the problem. We are all contributing simply by being alive and living, consuming, producing. If we want to admit this to ourselves or not. Does separating trash or driving a Prius give us karma points over others? Does our environmental consciousness give us the right to judge others? I think not.

So, how can my friend convince her parents? I think, by living as example and by letting them judge her and her actions as they wish. People pick up and understand more that we give them credit for. I think that respecting the choices of others is at the chore of the solution. Especially if we think we know better, it is time to stop being a hypocrite and admit that we are all trying.

We are all in the same boat.

Once the others are not seen as the problem anymore, we can focus our powers on what we can change – us. We can only make an impact, if we live by our own rules and let others live by theirs.