Eco-guilt as defined by the Urban Dictionary is: “The feeling you get when you could have done something for the environment, but consciously made the decision not to.” This experience has grown more common as humanity more regularly comes face to face with the effects of global warming on our ecosystem.
If you’ve ever stared at an empty drink can, frantically looking for a recycle bin only to have it gnaw at your when there isn’t one available, you’ve experienced eco guilt. If you have ever kicked yourself for buying a single use water bottle because you forgot your hydro flask at home, you’ve experienced eco guilt. If you’ve ever bought another reusable shopping bag inline at the store because you can’t deal with the idea of taking home more plastic grocery bags, you’ve experienced eco guilt.
The Prospectus reached out to Professor Michelle Dallmier of Parkland Colleges Department of Natural Sciences to learn more about what concrete actions you can do to reduce your guilt and help the planet.
The issue of single use plastic is one of the most pervasive and iconic topics when it comes to pollution and the issue with the most readily available solutions. . You can buy reusable water bottles, use reusable shopping bags, or even use products like laundry strips that eliminate unnecessary plastic packaging. But some may feel that is still not enough.
“Single use plastic is woven into our daily lives by manufacturers because it is cheap and readily available,” explains Professor Dallmier. “Intentionally living without single use plastic is hard because of many things that are completely out of our individual control.”
Most snacks are packaged in plastic. Household tools and anything shipped via Amazon typically include plastic in its packaging.
“So, although one individual can certainly contribute with some daily actions to reduce their use of plastics, the best way that an individual can address this issue is to fiercely advocate for systemic changes” Professor Dallmier continues. “Advocate for things like the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Bill on a federal level to force industry to change to more sustainable packaging. In this way, we can push manufacturers to transform the way they package consumer goods and make system wide changes to ensure the availability of affordable and more environmentally friendly options.”
According to Professor Dallmier, advocating for changes within our political system are some of the most impactful actions that we can take. “Many of the environmental issues we face can be more rapidly addressed and significantly improved by implementing systemic changes.
“These are industry wide actions like transforming our electrical grid to 100% clean energy production. Taking action with your vote can transform systems at so many different levels. Sometimes politics on the federal level can be discouraging, but your vote matters on the state and local level, too.”
Supporting local efforts to address climate change can have a much more immediate and visible impact on our daily lives. Professor Dallimier explains, “Here in the state of Illinois, our legislature just passed an amazing piece of legislation addressing climate change and social justice issues, the Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. So, to have the biggest impact, make sure you vote for the people who believe in these important science-based system wide changes.”
It’s also important to make sure that you are educated about the cause you believe in. Taking Professor Dallmier’s class BIO 104 – Environmental Science and Sustainability is a great place to start understanding the real impact that sustainability has on our lives. Professor Dallmier notes, “My co-instructor, Heidi Leuszler, and I work very hard to create a course where science is accessible, relevant to your daily life, and even fun. We have had students from every department on campus, from artists to aviators to agronomists to athletes, take our class and so many of them have told us over the years that it was their favorite class they have ever taken at Parkland. Come have fun learning the latest about the environment and sustainability. Then, take action.”
Global warming is a big issue, not in its validity (comma) but in its scope. Champaign is only one corner of the world and the fight to make as big a difference as possible in such a small place may be overwhelming. For many, the decisions on what they can do to help are overwhelming, especially if they realize that those decisions may not make as big an impact as they hoped.
“You can find me standing in the grocery store aisles, weighing options, thinking about my budget, and trying to make “good” choices,” Professor Dallmier says. “Because of my job as an environmental science and sustainability instructor, I am always online doing research and often, as my husband will attest, agonizing over my daily decisions. I believe that we are all perfectly imperfect human beings just trying to do our best.“
