Most of us want to live greener lives, recycle more, purchase more sustainability, and generally be kind to the earth we’re leaving our kids. The problem? As busy moms, it can feel impossible to do all that we want for the environment—and that can lead to eco-guilt. A new book by Heather White, founder of the nonprofit OneGreenThing.org, addresses how to ease this environmental anxiety and make small changes that can make a big impact. 60 Days to a Greener Life: Ease Eco-Anxiety Through Joyful Daily Action, out April 9th, is a must read. For more, read our interview with Heather below:
What can readers expect from your new book?
Readers can expect bite sized actionable direction for living a greener life. There are focused points that people can take action on instantly.
Erin Brockovich called you the Brene Brown of the environment movement. How did you become connected with her?
I worked with Erin for years and she’s an environmental hero. When we talk about these issues there are a lot of guilt and shame, and people are often afraid of doing sustainability wrong – I chose the wrong product or I tried to recycle plastic and found out only 98 percent is actually recycled. Erin and I have a mission of eliminating that shame and recognizing that we all of a role and we can all have a daily practice that then creates an important culture shift. When we have more sustainable habits like choosing better brands or composting or using an electric car we inspire others to think differently. It’s about progress not perfection.
What are some examples of this daily practice?
For instance, the book looks at the importance of meal planning; food waste contributes to 8 percent of global carbon emissions. Being mindful of the food you’re wasting by meal planning can help so much. Even just buying ugly fruit and using them for sauces. Moms are already wired that way!
How are you instilling environmentalism into your daughters?
My kids are 18 and 16 and they’re the reason why I wrote my first book. We were having a dinner table conversation and one of my kids wanted to walk out of school to participate in the Greta Thunberg climate change cause, but I checked the weather and it was going to be a thunderstorm. I said I’d pick them up and drive to the climate really and she was like what….you have a gas car mom.
She then said “Where are the Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials? Gen Z feels like it’s all on us.” And she started crying. Gen Z has more GAD, more chronic loneliness, and a hyper awareness of the climate crisis from social media.
What is eco-anxiety and what are some examples of ways to ease it?
Eco-anxiety is a relatively new term: it refers to unease or apprehension about the state of the environment caused by human activities that are driving global warming. More and more young people are worried about the future we are leaving them. As environmentalists, we can be negative and pessimistic but it could also be a beautiful future and we need to start talking about what that could look like.
More About Heather: Heather White brings two decades of environmental advocacy work and national nonprofit leadership to life with her joyful and practical book, One Green Thing: Discover Your Hidden Power to Help Save the Planet. The CEO & Founder of the nonprofit OneGreenThing.org, Heather was named “One of the Top 15 Women Leaders in Sustainability” by Green Building & Design Magazine and “100 Women to Watch in Wellness” by mindbodygreen.
