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Daily Mindfulness: Consider Your Environmental Impact
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Twice now I’ve talked about climate change on this podcast. Both times, I focused on how our ability to take action can be impaired by strong negative emotions. I never addressed how mindfulness can guide us toward solutions.
Climate change is arguably the most important issue of our time and it’s not getting the media attention it deserves. I realize through this podcast I have a small opportunity to contribute to an important discussion, so I’d like to discuss how each and every one of us can use mindfulness to make a difference.
Yes, the problem is dire enough and big enough to require government action, because that’s the only way to force people and organizations to make large enough changes fast enough. But, this doesn’t mean we individuals should abdicate responsibility.
Each day, you and I make dozens of decisions that have environmental consequences. Are you aware of them? Does environmental impact figure into your decision making process? Is combating climate change enough of a priority for you that you’ll contribute even at the expense of other factors such as cost or convenience?
Every time you consume goods or services and any time you produce waste, your decisions have environmental impact. If every one of us considered environmental consequences when making choices, the payoff would be significant. For example, Natural Resources Canada tells us that if every Canadian motorist avoided idling for just three minutes per day, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 1.4 million tons annually. This would be the equivalent of saving 630 million litres of fuel and the equivalent of taking 320,000 cars off the road for a full year. Please keep that in mind next time you visit the drive-thru.
Furthermore, if we all chose an environmentally mindful approach, we would impact the organizations that sell to us, causing them to make more environmentally sound decisions, too.
This Week's Peaceful Moment: Bighorn Sheep in Jasper National Park, Alberta
There’s even emerging of research that suggest mindfulness is a mechanism for bringing about the broad cultural shift in values required to combat climate change. Researchers Wamsler and Brink (2018), for example, report “individual mindfulness coincides with higher motivation to take climate adaptation actions or to support them, especially actions that are ‘other-focused’ or support pro-environmental behaviour.”
Environmental mindfulness is just a part of everyday mindfulness practice. To be fully aware of whatever you’re doing in the moment includes being aware of the consequences of your actions. This can become a habit, just a routine way of going about things. Of course, habit is built through regular practice, so let’s do some practice right now.
Today's practice exercise
Spend five or ten minutes contemplating a recent product purchase. Do it right now.
Ask yourself what motivated you to choose that specific product. Was is price, packaging, convenience, product benefits, endorsements, environmental impact, etc.? Then contemplate the product’s environmental impact. How it was produced? What materials or ingredients were used?
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Listen:
Watch:
Read:
Twice now I’ve talked about climate change on this podcast. Both times, I focused on how our ability to take action can be impaired by strong negative emotions. I never addressed how mindfulness can guide us toward solutions.
Climate change is arguably the most important issue of our time and it’s not getting the media attention it deserves. I realize through this podcast I have a small opportunity to contribute to an important discussion, so I’d like to discuss how each and every one of us can use mindfulness to make a difference.
Yes, the problem is dire enough and big enough to require government action, because that’s the only way to force people and organizations to make large enough changes fast enough. But, this doesn’t mean we individuals should abdicate responsibility.
Each day, you and I make dozens of decisions that have environmental consequences. Are you aware of them? Does environmental impact figure into your decision making process? Is combating climate change enough of a priority for you that you’ll contribute even at the expense of other factors such as cost or convenience?
Every time you consume goods or services and any time you produce waste, your decisions have environmental impact. If every one of us considered environmental consequences when making choices, the payoff would be significant. For example, Natural Resources Canada tells us that if every Canadian motorist avoided idling for just three minutes per day, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 1.4 million tons annually. This would be the equivalent of saving 630 million litres of fuel and the equivalent of taking 320,000 cars off the road for a full year. Please keep that in mind next time you visit the drive-thru.
Furthermore, if we all chose an environmentally mindful approach, we would impact the organizations that sell to us, causing them to make more environmentally sound decisions, too.
This Week's Peaceful Moment: Bighorn Sheep in Jasper National Park, Alberta
There’s even emerging of research that suggest mindfulness is a mechanism for bringing about the broad cultural shift in values required to combat climate change. Researchers Wamsler and Brink (2018), for example, report “individual mindfulness coincides with higher motivation to take climate adaptation actions or to support them, especially actions that are ‘other-focused’ or support pro-environmental behaviour.”
Environmental mindfulness is just a part of everyday mindfulness practice. To be fully aware of whatever you’re doing in the moment includes being aware of the consequences of your actions. This can become a habit, just a routine way of going about things. Of course, habit is built through regular practice, so let’s do some practice right now.
Today's practice exercise
Spend five or ten minutes contemplating a recent product purchase. Do it right now.
Ask yourself what motivated you to choose that specific product. Was is price, packaging, convenience, product benefits, endorsements, environmental impact, etc.? Then contemplate the product’s environmental impact. How it was produced? What materials or ingredients were used?