The Irony

Us, students, fly in to Costa Rica all around the world. EF puts on an amazing show with an incredible agenda and inspirational speakers. And we all bond around one issue- the environment. We speak about the waste we produce and the products we are doing to help stop it.

Yet, the society that we grew up in, and the habits that we formed still hang on to us, and drag us back to the past. Americans grew up in a throw out community- buy a plastic water bottle through it out. Drink a cup of soda, through it out. Drive our car across the street and create air pollution. These habits congregate in the fibers of our blood, and they are so strong that even at a Global Student Leaders Summit centered around the environment, these habits still appeared.

For example, I was fortunate enough to eat lunch with Al Gore. However, when I sat down, what did I find in front of my plate other than a plastic water bottle. Not only this, but when looking around the room, it occured to me that everyone except for three people had opened and used that bottle. So students drank out of their plastic bottles, while listening to a student presentation about the need to reduce the use of plastic water bottles.

The next day, I saw a student through the paper plans of a waste-reduction project in the trash. Trash not recycling.

Ironic. I think so.

I am sharing this with you not to point fingers, but rather to illustrate the negative habits that we so often take part in, without even thinking about them. It's important to remember that EVERY ACTION you take has an impact on the environment around you, and although initially remembering to bring a reusable cup or seeking out a recycling bin may be difficult, if you do it enough, you can break these bad habits and replace them with positive ones.