Study Finds People Ate Less Sustainable in 2010

What happened? Are we serious about wanting to do more for the environment? Are we discovering that reversing our long term bad habits is just too difficult?

Environmentalism, as we currently know it, has been around since early 1970’s. It has proven to be more than a passing phase and has grown beyond being just the latest trendy fad designed to get people to become more politically active.

Creating and living a sustainable life style takes time, effort and commitment. It exists hand-in-hand with environmentalism.

During the current recession we saw an increase in the number of home gardeners. We listened as these new converts to sustainable living made the pledge that they will reject factory food and take up growing their own and eating locally. Many of us secretly reserved our opinion on just how real this movement is and how long this would last but we all pulled for it to continue.

Now we learn that some of those Americans who joined us have given up the struggle and have reverted to their old ways. Polls show that they were less likely to engage in environmentally friendly behaviors in 2010 than they were in 2009, despite being more likely to identify with eco-friendly terms.

It seems, the fears many of us held in check were confirmed. The recent increases in people claiming to get back to the Earth only did so because times were becoming financially hard.

The poll, which surveyed 2,352 nationally representative adults online, found that fewer Americans said they were likely to buy local foods, down from 39% to 33%, and fewer respondents said they bought organic foods, down from 17 to 15 percent.

What I find most curious about this poll is that there was an increase in the number of people who said they were environmentally conscious. I guess this says they are aware of the condition of the environment and that something needs to be done but were willing to let someone else do it.

I’m sorry, but claiming to be an environmentalist during hard economical times is a sham unless you remain committed long after the economy improves.

If you are serious about remaining or becoming an active environmentalist ask for help and learn how to practice it. We don’t need charlatans and we don’t need lip service. The problems facing us are real and they do face all of us.

At the risk of getting preachy, we need to remember that we all have picked up some bad habits that are detrimental to the well-being of the environment. But we can reverse these effects by being vigilant about adopting a sustainable lifestyle. It’s going to take getting your hands dirty. Growing our own food, buying & using less biodegradable products, finding additional uses for every single thing we buy, these are not over-night propositions. We need to learn how to do it effectively, and there is a ton of help out there. The more food we grow for ourselves the less dependent we will be on factory farms which are, in all honesty, not providing us with the best in healthy food.

Look, our home gardens don’t have to win awards for being the most beautiful or most productive or most organic, but they do need to be created and used.

This poll says that the number of people who still claim to be environmentalist has remained high, I find this encouraging. It also says that the practice of being an environmentalist has fallen due to high prices of organic food and buying what is being labeled as ‘green’ products. My thoughts on this is that perhaps we need to reassess our spending priorities. Redirect spending from electronic devices that are geared more for entertainment and spend that money on healthier food and setting up gardens to grow our own.

Living a sustainable green lifestyle isn't always about large changes, but one of the changes that can make a serious impact on your health and body is making the effort to eat as sustainably as possible. It’s a matter of attitude. It is a mind set that we need to focus on in order for the environment to heal.