I know it might be hard to believe, but for about a year or so back in 1999 I stopped believing in global warming. I caught myself saying things like, “How do we know the Ice Age is really done? Maybe the warming is totally natural.”

Woah. How could I go from living with Earth First!ers to espousing weird theories that would make Rush Limbaugh proud? What kind of socially-liberal, bus-riding, gay vegetarian had I become? Shameful.

Maybe it was watching too much Fox News, or not being around people that challenged my nonsense, or post-college-partum depression, or just my own intellectual and ethical laziness. I still recycled like I was raised to do (thanks, Mom!) and took the bus to work, but I had become callous and deaf to the world around me. It’s not that I didn’t care about the environment, I simply didn’t think about it very much. It’s pretty easy to put on the blinders and just focus on what’s in front of you, even when you know better. Unintentional self-imposed ignorance leads to some goofy ideas.

Luckily, I snapped out of it. I don’t know if I simply grew out of my denial phase, if my hippie-liberal college experience kicked in, or what. Over the last nine years I’ve worked to reprogram myself and keep my mind and eyes open. And with the help of my forward-thinking and very patient partner, I’m more aware of the impact my decisions have on the planet. It’s not just about driving less or biking more, or recycling everything you can, it’s about taking responsibility for your actions and understanding the consequences of both action and inaction.

So this Earth Day I’m looking back on my less-than-perfect environmental past and remembering how easy it is to slip into complacency. I’m certainly not 100% carbon neutral, but I’m trying. I know that if I can change even my small habits, overcome laziness, keep raising the bar for myself, and help others to shift the way they think, we can turn this environmental crisis around.

And I’m trying to make every day Earth Day. It’s the only way things are going to get better.

Tagged as climate change, sustainability + Categorized as Ideas & Theories, Saving the world