You might hear from people that you’re preaching to the choir. “You don’t need to say that, you’re preaching to the choir.” Or another favorite: “You very well may be preaching to the choir.”

Does the choir not attend sermons? So we are supposed to keep quiet about issues we find important, simply because we tend to be around people who are also passionate about them as well? No. The way that coalitions are formed, the precise method of building a movement is to have people who believe in the same proposal, in this case, improving overall envirohuman impact, discuss that passion, share ideas, and encourage one another.

When will you know who does and does not know everything you know about the environment? I once felt that it was not important to conserve paper and to recycle what we use because I thought (I was much younger at the time) that the main problem was the burning and clear cutting of forests, and not that we use too much paper or don’t recycle.

The point is that my ignorance eventually was defeated with knowledge I received through reading about and discussing the issue with others. I cared about the environment and thought I knew what was right, but now realize that no matter what the biggest problem is, confronting the smaller problems also leads to an improved situation.

People who are trying to live greener can be discouraged by the easier track of polluting, by others asking, “so what?”, by fatigue with general systems not being easier to engage for a greener lifestyle. When you share some encouraging story, blog post, article, or new idea about improving your envirohuman impact, yes, you are helping to improve the overall situation by encouraging exchange of ideas, further action, and building rapport with someone who may feel alone in his or her efforts to live a greener lifestyle.

Preaching to the green choir about the environment? Just be sure to also engage the group who just joined us in the back. Maybe the important idea here is to not preach so much as to discuss.

EHi There! What do you think? We want to hear back from you!

Related posts:

1. Environ|Mental: Why to Carry Out Environmental Dialogue Keeping ways to improve our envirohuman impact in the spotlight...
2. Environ|Mental: Greener Keeps You In Shape This entry is part 5 of 9 in the series...
3. Environ|Mental: Making Excuses vs. Having an Excuse This entry is part 5 of 9 in the series...