Why now and not then?

Why now and not then?

I’m often asked in interviews what the trigger was that made me want to reduce my plastic and why. For those who don’t know my story it was a documentary (The Clean Bin Project) watched out of boredom in 2013. I often wonder why it was this particular documentary? Why that moment? It’s not like I hadn’t been exposed to other environmental atrocities or how our consumer choices have a direct impact on eco systems and the animals reliant upon them. What made me change then and not before? 

The photo above is of me from 2009. I’m on the island of Borneo travelling around the Malaysian state of Sabah. As you can see i’m about to visit Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. The centre cares for orphaned orangutans as a result of logging and deforestation for palm oil and those illegally caught and traded as pets. Visitors watch from afar as these orangutans eat and play. 

You’d think after sitting there for over an hour and hearing about palm oil, logging, poaching and watching real life orangutans rehabilitate from trauma would lead to personal change by me. But nothing changed. It baffles me why the image of a deceased Laysan albatross in the documentary I watched years later made me want to look at my consumer habits but not an orangutan playing within 100 meters of me. Or seeing acres of palm oil plantations where once stood a thriving habitat for many animals and local people.

Why now and not then?

After I left the island and returned home I was aware the products I was consuming and using contained palm oil but didn’t change. It wasn’t until I was focused on reducing my waste that I gave up all palm oil products seven years after that visit to Sabah. Seven! While it does interest me as to why it took me so long I am reminded too that a seed was planted when i visited the Centre... it just took a little while to sprout. But it does worry me too. Seven years is a long time. 

One of my favourite quotes is 'from knowing comes caring, from caring comes change.' I knew about the issue. I saw it first hand. I cared about the issue but didn't change. At least not right away. Why now and not then? I imagine it’s a question and concern many environmentalists have pondered, perhaps even you have asked too: why does one experience make you change more than another? Is it a build up of knowledge or guilt? How can we help people understand without forcing change upon them?

2 comments:

  1. I wonder if the delay in starting often comes from not knowing what to do. It took me ages to finally get around to starting. It was just so daunting at first. Perhaps if we offer a simple first step to get the ball rolling it'll all flow from there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Look at you in that photo - with a plastic water bottle in your hand. Little did you know what was coming....
    Anyway, I think sometimes the problem with starting is it seems, in particular order, hard to do (change is always harder than continuing current habits), and not worth while (that is, the effect of your personal change is so little in comparison to the giant problem you see on the screen) leading to procrastination and denial. Often, just getting over the hurdle of starting the change is the big one. The plastic bag ban is a case in point - because it was forced on us, we are nearly all coping with it, and get to feel virtuous to boot. But if it hadn't been forced, how many of the population would have actually gone out and bought the re-usable bags And Re-used them?
    Its why I think the plastic-free July is wise in encouraging people to eliminate just one type of plastic from their lives. Getting rid of it all is intimidating. Getting rid of one is do-able. Which can then lead to more single steps...

    ReplyDelete

Hi, leave a comment