Is there just too much ‘green’ for the average person?
Unfortunately there are folks who think the whole ‘green’ thing is being shoved down their throats, but in the long run it’s a good thing, because it gets more people to change eventually.
Just look at some other high-profile campaigns that have worked:
- Drunk driving. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) aren’t a very active organization these days, but in the 80’s you couldn’t have a drink without hearing something they were saying.
- Smoking. The state of California and New York city have banned smoking, and countries like Ireland and the UK have banned it as well, with decreased heart attack rates (in Scotland) and nicer dining opportunities all around. More countries are doing it (the Netherlands included) and I’m sure more are debating it.
- Whale hunting. Hardly any countries participate in this any longer, with only various tribes in Canada and countries like Japan still hunting. Even Iceland just announced they would stop whale hunting, due to decreased demand.
- High-fuel mileage cars. Ever since the 70’s and the rumors of 100mpg cars, people on the fringe of the conspiracy culture have claimed that cars with unheard-of fuel mileage exist but have been repressed by oil companies and car manufacturers. Well, now carmakers are working on models with truly astounding fuel-sipping cars. There are cars on the horizon that have unprecedented fuel mileage and zero emissions.
- Blood donation drives. In the past couple of decades donations of blood have gotten really organized, and whole offices and companies have given blood in the various ‘bloodmobiles’ because of the heightened awareness of
Generally I try not to get too wound up when I see friends throwing away stuff that could/should be recycled, but I still collect whatever they’ve tossed and drop them in a recycling or compost bin. If drawn into a discussion I try not to sound *too* holier-than-thou, but it’s tough, I’ll admit 
There’s always more to do to help the environment, or stop animal cruelty, or conserve energy than I or any single person can do, but there’s a practical limit to the amount of extra ‘duties’ that the average person will accept in their daily lives.
I suppose I see my ‘mission’ as increasing the number of duties that the average person in my little circle will accept. If they take it upon themselves to recycle, then hopefully they’ll encourage and share that habit with their circle of friends, and so on.
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