How I started thinking green
I was reluctant about environmentalist actions for about as long as I can remember, mostly because I didn’t really believe in the honesty and goodwill of the local NGOs and because I saw little or no involvement from people on a higher level (local celebrities, politicians or any other people with a certain visibility).
Perish the thought of me ignoring the environment altogether, no, I just didn’t believe that the current approach to these issues was the right one. Fund raisings are always suspiciously looked at, people seem to want to get rich off environmental NGOs and a lot of “green activists” i know drive SUVs. Which basically meant I took it up myself to save energy, sort my garbage, use less water and plant a couple of trees.
This is why I have a driver’s licence for 3 years now, yet I refuse to buy a car. This is why I have 3 different trash cans in my house, a back yard full of trees and bushes, dozens of economic lightbulbs and energy class A household appliances. This is why am outraged at the fact that alternative energy sources (such as solar panels or wind power plants), alternative transportation (green cars, bicycles) or, generally speaking, alternative, eco-friendly lifestyles, see little to no promotion or media space. And this in an European capital which has the lowest green space per citizen ration in the entire EU, where people steal decorative plants from the streets and where, every day, almost 100.000 cars choke up around 2 million citizens. And this is why I think that Corporate Social Responsiblity (CSR) is yesterday’s news – the situation is dire enough to require responsibility and action from each and every one of us, regardless of wealth or social standing, which means Personal Social Responsibility (PSR) should become today’s news.
With this train of thought in the back of my head, I’ve decided to look into one of the most notorious green NGOs in Romania. Created and led by a charismatic Dragos Bucurenci, it brought together a team of involved people who want to make a difference. Like the motto says, they want to leave their children the four seasons, good drinking water and clean air, rather than a bank account and a four-room condo. So I’ve recently enrolled in MaiMultVerde.
I’ve never done volunteer work before, I have no idea whatsoever what kind of efforts or time investment such an activity would require, but I’m enthusiastic enough to choose a new NGO to which I’ll donate 2% from my incomes.
The bottom line is, my kid has the right to know the feeling of walking bare foot on grass. It’s about as easy as it gets to go out for a weekend and plant some trees or pick up some trash. So I’m looking forward for MMV’s next planting trip. In the meantime, have a look at this video.
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Tags: alternative energy, eco-friendly, environment, green, Mai Mult Verde, NGOs, PSR, volunteer
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