It's Habits

It's all about habits.

It's our habit to use the plastic and styrofoam utensils that are provided when we go to a snack bar or the continental breakfast at a motel. It's not our habit to carry a set of utensils and handkerchief with us when we know we'll be eating out.

It’s our habit to run to the store for a forgotten item whenever we please. It's not our habit to plan our meals for the week, make a list of everything we need from the drugstore, figure out what other errands we need to do, and then do everything in one trip.

It’s our habit to run the dishwasher when it’s only half full or do a partial load of laundry in hot water after having worn the clothing just once. It’s not our habit to conserve water and heating fuel by waiting for a full load of dishes or wearing our clothes a few times before washing them in cold water.

It’s our habit to buy what we want, the minute we want it. It’s not our habit to wait and see if we really even need it. Or can afford it.

We can think these new habits are inconvenient and a bother. We can justify our actions by saying we don't have time to get some reusable utensils, nor do we want to be thought of as a crazy environmentalist. We can tell ourselves that we have too many important things on our minds to not do something when we want to. We can say that one pair of shoes or another paper napkin won't make any difference. We can give ourselves any number of "reasons" for doing things in a way that is convenient for us. We may view all these conveniences as things we are entitled to.

We may not even think.

But we need to. We need to realize that we are all standing around a very large—but not bottomless—container of resources. Each time I reach in and take something out, there is a little less for everyone else.

We need to think about every action we take. We need to make new habits.

And we need to do so quickly, because every day we are getting closer to the bottom of that container.