Guest Speaker Tom

Today in class we had a guest speaker from the University of Oregon's Center for Sustainable Business Practices. Listening to him talk, it was interesting for me to understand and see some of the obstacles that get in the way of individuals making choices that help improve the ecological state. People are too concerned with simplifying their lives and can't handle the complexity or change that comes with altering your life to live sustainably.

All the great ideas and changes that are
being promoted that will drastically help the environment and preserve energy can be too detailed and complex for people to really want to take the time out of their busy day to understand and change. Even so, the question came about that if an environmental group went door to door telling people that they will come into their home and recreate their home into a sustainable building to no cost to them and ultimately, will help improve the planet and allow for more job availability in the United States, will people accept? I mean why not, it is no cost to them and it is only improving the environmental and social state. But many people will not accept. It's new. They're bringing these changes into their actual homes. It may seem too controlling and political. People are unsure about the real issues of the environment and are not completely sold that their needs to be a change.


That is where communicators come in. That is why it is so important that people speak out about the issues and bring it to the every day person. Yes, people understand that global warming is this new idea brought about by environmentalists, and they understand that conserving energy and reducing their carbon footprint will benefit the environment. But people do not understand the weight of each sustainable action and its impact on the world. Many do not understand that certain sustainable choices and improvements have more of an impact and benefit in the big spectrum. Communicators need to expand more on the issue and need to reach everyone, not just the big businesses and corporations.