Dare to be Uncool: Don't Let Our Earth Die Before Our Eyes

Advance of Technology
Life has never been easier. With the advance of technology, now people can do things which were impossible in the past. Motor vehicles help us commute, and trains and airplanes even more so. In daily life, the advent of plastic diapers helps mothers and fathers; their sleep isn't bothered with having to change their babies' cloth diapers frequently.

Too Much
Technology really helps us, but in my opinion the use of it is sometimes too much. Here is one example from my neighborhood: I saw my teen neighbor going to a local shop by motorcycle. And how far is her house from the shop? Only 300 meters! She only bought one pack of instant noodles and also got a black plastic bag for free. Since she used her motorcycle, she needed the plastic bag because she couldn't hold the noodles while driving. So, the plastic bag with its carrying handler became the solution. If she had chosen to walk to the shop, she wouldn't have needed the plastic bag, as she could have carried the noodles in her hand.
This little example shows that technology is sometimes inappropriate, and too much. We become dependent on it for simple tasks and worse, we become lazy. Moreover, we human beings are consuming too much, and this consumption is unsustainable. Humanity is consuming over 20% more natural resources each year than the Earth can produce.1

Yes, it makes our life easier right now. But imagine a few years from now. Higher pollution, more waste, and decreasing green areas will make our Earth die. As youth, of course we still want to do a lot of things, and fulfill our dreams. But maybe our Earth will die before our eyes. And maybe we'll have no time to reach our dreams.

Make it Simple and Start from Small Things
So what should we do for the sustainability of our earth? The solution is simple. Probably we don't even need new technologies that are environment friendly. I'm not underestimating new technology such as bio-fuels or solar powered vehicles. But in many cases, the solution is already there, and has been practiced since long before.

Let us go back to the good old days. The era when we used bicycles or brought our own bag or case when going shopping. The era when we wanted—or needed, since it was the only way at that time—to work out a little bit more than now when doing something. By walking or cycling maybe we need 15 minutes more to get to school, but we can extend the age of our Earth. Think about the future, think about sustainability.

And how to start? Start from the small things. For example, bring your own bottle. With this tiny little "green" habit at least we can reduce the daily consumption of plastic bottles. Next, find some friends that share the same awareness. It doesn't matter if there is only one such friend in the beginning. At least there are two to support each other. Like I mentioned before, during adolescence, peer pressure is something we can't ignore. When other people see that we are "weird," we need to have someone else to share our feelings and experiences.

Also, we can't expect to change our surroundings drastically, or for everyone to follow our way. Start from the small things, and make it happen slowly but surely. We can make people around us aware of our "green" habits; show them that "this way" is also working. And then start to influence them. Introduce them casually to the risks the Earth is facing now. The same way they are influenced by peer pressure to follow the trend. We can make the "uncool" become the new trend.
So, let's dare to be uncool for our Earth. We still young. Don't let our Earth die before our eyes.