Small Change in Behavior = Huge Change in the World

Our planet is a finite variable in our lives. What we as mankind have to live on exists on this planet and this planet alone. This means that in order to live for generations to come, we must live within our means. This idea of modesty is at the core of green technology and green living. However, we unfortunately do not always heed these wise words. A major factor in our anti-green decision-making is our affinity for impulsiveness. When a young woman goes shopping, there is a wide array of enticing potential purchases. After the shopping spree, she may leave with two shirts, to pairs of pants, and a dress. However, these purchases were not made out of necessity. The young woman has a walk in closet full of great clothes. She ends up wearing the dress once and a month later, it ends up in the back of the closet. Her impulsiveness blinded her of the environmental harm she did when making that wasteful purchase. The raw materials, energy, and labor that went into its production could have been left in (for example) the ground as oil, or in the field as cotton, and used for a better purpose.

I realize that trying to correct this type of behavior would not be as easy as correcting a physical behavior such as recycling, for instance, but I believe the overall impact of educating people about impulsive behavior could make a huge difference for us in the long run. To get the word out, one of the ideas I had was to make flyers about this and post them around campus, or in the city of Easton. For this project, my goal is to try and fight the natural behavior, which is to be impulsive and be more open-minded about what I’m buying and how much I need versus how much I want.

The picture above was taken on a black friday. This image shows how impulsive behavior, acting without forethought, can take over. This especially happens on days like black friday when prices are low.