Becoming a Green Energy Activist: Eco Living Articles: Eco20/20

Becoming a Green Energy Activist

Many people are worried that becoming a green energy activist can be an expensive, painful experience. It doesn't have to be. Here are a few things to do now to support green energy and become an activist.

Join a Club

Join an energy activist club or website. These will generally keep you informed about energy issues at home, at work, and the government's latest actions. One such club is the Sierra Club. These clubs often give activists a place to share their thoughts and opinions, and gather research about green energy.

Petitions

There are many petitions being signed to go before governmental agencies. Find the petitions that fit your beliefs about green energy. One petition is requesting the banning phone book directory delivery without request, in order to eliminate the energy used to create and deliver the books as well as keep our landfills free of paper waste that could instead be recycled. Another petition is asking that drilling projects be stopped or not even started, in hopes that the government will attempt to make green energy more available and accessible to consumers.

Challenges

Challenge yourself, family, friends and coworkers to live green. Ride a bicycle to work for a week. Avoid plastic bottles for a month. Take shorter showers. Wash clothes in cold water as often as possible. These are just a few examples of challenges that will support green energy by reducing the need for nuclear power and/or fossil fuels.

Shine Your Light

Take your activism to the next level. Show it off. Tell people what you're doing and why you're doing it. Get actively involved in local attempts to move to green energy, or to reduce the use of common fuels and/or power sources. Sponsor a recycling day. Spread the word and spread the works. If people see you taking action and not just using words, they will be more likely to stop and consider your actions, possibly persuading them to join you on your quest.

Don't Give Up

Write letters to the editor of a local newspaper or to the Senate and Congress members of your district speaking out about the benefits of green living, such as the need to implement sincere and financially sound backing to such incentives as a feed-in tariff or renewable energy credits. Continue writing these letters; get more people interested; get more people involved.

Speak Up

The main thread of becoming a green energy activist is to speak up. Continuing voicing your opinions on the need for green energy, and back it up with research. The more information you have, the more others will listen and accept your views. The more willing others are to listen, the easier it will be to persuade them. When enough voices are raised, the governments and the people will have to take heed and listen. By becoming a green energy activist, you are telling your community, your government and your world that you care about more than the present; you care about the future of the environment, the world, and human kind.