What does it mean to be E.C.?

“Oh my gosh, he is so handsome. I guess he is pretty E.C. too…”

Can you hear it now?

“Dude, you forgot your reusable bags? So not E.C.”

“No thank you, I’ll pass on the utensils and soft drink, I’m E.C. (we brought our own)

“Mom! Quit buying the Aquafina bottles, we are an E.C. household!”

“Jerry, turn OFF the facet while you dry dishes. eeeeeee ccccc”

E.C. stands for Environmentally Conscious.

A state of being. A highly regarded position of innate humanism. Its nemesis is mindlessness. To be E.C., you consider the Earth in every state of your being. You consider every precious fossil fuel, liquid life, forestry, soil, and rare metal the Earth has given you. Rather, GROWN for you over millions of years. You do not take this lightly. Leave the tap running in between actions? Never again. Throw away plastic because it is covered in salsa juice? How dare you. E.C.-minded individuals intend to save the Earth. They clean that plastic. Check their local recycling plant to ensure the numbered symbol is accepted there. Save that glass jar. They always leave half their reusable shopping bags in the car (the other half still at home from last time). They are mindful to balance their stashes; the resources they are grateful to have.

E.C.ers check their waste before deciding to toss it – is there a symbol on any of the components? Is there cardboard or aluminum parts? Could I reuse this in some way? They check twice. Do they leave their vehicle running in the parking lot? Never. They roll down the window instead, or just take a walk, because you know what? Outside is pretty neat. And you never know what you may find. Do they use the excuse, “I did not have time!” Not possible. Because most E.C. processes take around 30 seconds or less once you know the steps. So, they have removed that statement from their internal dialogue. It is a flimsy one too, after all, because time is a relative construct.

Buy single-use items out of convenience? This one is obviously the biggest elephant in the E.C. room. If they ever had a single use bottle for travel, chances are they still have it. They have refilled it enough to let that plastic shine through its momentary (because its actually permanent) glory.

Know (or are) somebody who answered YES to any of those? We can fix that.

There may be some E.C.-shaming involved… but it is going to be okay, because negative experiences many times are just there to build confidence and self-esteem. So, E.C. SHAME, it is OKAY!

Let’s confront our fellow humans with their passive behaviors. Let’s get them thinking E.C.!