It seems to be the word of the hour everywhere: sustainability .
The neighbor, who otherwise flies on vacation at least twice a year "to recharge his battery", has had solar cells installed on the roof of his house. The colleague who usually drives the two kilometers to the office in an SUV suddenly shows up on his bike and drinks a self-mixed smoothie instead of the usual coffee. And even the bakery next door has recently started offering croissants where every ingredient comes from the region.
A change of heart?
But is that already this sustainability that everyone is talking about? After all, the neighbor raves about his new achievement, as if he had discovered the holy grail of the climate crisis. The colleague wheezes so loudly when he opens the door to the office in the morning that the intern in the last row also notices that he is covering an Ironman-worthy distance in the morning. And even the baker seems to have the biggest and happiest clientele in a long time.
But what they all keep to themselves: the neighbor only bought the solar cells because they were subsidized. The colleague's bike is a brand new e-bike and the carbon footprint of the homemade mango lychee smoothie in the dead of December doesn't seem to lag behind the coffee at all. Even the regional selection at the bakery only lasts as long as the trend of customers willing to buy allows it.
But what's the point of all this cynicism? After all, they are doing something for our climate. Even if it's just a small contribution. Perhaps with their actions they even encourage other people to do exactly the same as they do themselves. A snowball effect that can do good. It's precisely the people who don't do anything themselves who always seem to expect the most and to expose every flaw, no matter how small. It's easy for someone who's sitting on the couch in the evening and treating himself to a family packet of chips by himself, to bitch about the vegan on TV who was unfortunately caught with a plastic bag by accident.
So why do we take sustainability so seriously? No one can live completely sustainably and no one expects that they will suddenly no longer drive a car, stop eating meat, the wardrobe will only come from fair production, they will plant a tree every day and make their own smartphone out of twigs and stones. Even a small step can have a big effect. Maybe you don't want to give up your car, but you only eat meat once a week and buy fair trade clothes more often. Or you are a big technology freak and look forward to the latest smartphone every year, so you only plan your vacation trips in such a way that the travel destination can be reached by train. This is exactly how you already live sustainably in everyday life. Every small step is a step in the right direction. True to the motto: A small step for me, but a big step for mankind.
So don't let anyone tell you that sustainable living is not possible in everyday life, or that you can't do it just because you don't want to do without everything. Don't let anyone spoil your small successes and enjoy your everyday life in your fair trade shirt with a clear conscience.
