Hi, I'm Hannah, and I was not a tree-hugger until approximately two months ago. I mean, most self-proclaimed tree-huggers would probably spit on my shoes if they heard me identify myself as one of their own, but I have recently discovered my own value for the environment that I never really had before. I know this is a cliche topic but please just bear with me for a second, I totally understand your fidgeting.
So I have this internship type thing at Haworth (shoutout to West Michigan, office furniture capital of the world) twice a week and the company keeps us busy by giving us challenges to tackle that the company itself hasn't been able to solve. This semester, our challenge was to find a way to stop Haworth's use of expanded polystyrene (better known as styrofoam) in the company's packaging techniques. I totally rolled my eyes when I first read the prompt for our semester quest, but I've grown to value the environment in a way I've never valued it before.
My views on the environment were not gleaned from the research I did, but rather from the criticism I received from representatives at Haworth. I found a great solution to the issue and thought all would be hunky-dory when I presented it to them, but I heard a lot of "too expensive" and "not reliable" (the company making the biodegradable packaging is fairly new). While I completely understand the concern for expenses and risk factors when getting involved with a start-up company, I do not understand why a few cents difference in cost and a lack of willingness to make small investments in a company with immense potential would trump concern for the environment, especially when Haworth is proud of its "green" and "earth-friendly" reputation. I suddenly started asking MYSELF the big questions: why would you not make a relatively minor change in the way you go about packaging when tons and tons of non-biodegradable, useless, ugly, pellet-y styrofoam is being dumped into landfills and forgotten until future generations have to figure out what the heck to do with it? Here's the nasty reality: Styrofoam was invented by Dow (frick you, Dow) in 1941 and currently makes up 25% of the mass of our landfills. Not the area, the ///MASS///. Think about how light a piece of styrofoam is. Doesn't that just make you want to set the human race on fire?
This qualifies as a "Convince Me" post because I'm trying to convince you that the environment is worth caring about. Here's where I start to sound like the narrator of a Nike advertisement. YOU are one small part of a very large world population. Sorry if that makes you feel insignificant. But in all honesty, you really can't do a WHOLE lot to save the planet if you recycle one piece of paper every once and a while. The real individual change comes into play when you convince others to care about the environment, too. Take me, for example. I'm doing my VERY best to convince a very powerful company to stop using styrofoam in their packaging. Imagine how many tons of styrofoam can be kept out of landfills if I make a strong case on behalf of our planet. Not to brag, but that's pretty sweet! So hop to it, bro. Get creative and figure out how to keep the nasty crappy expanded polystyrene out of landfills and into nonexistence. The thing that made me even bother to care was the hate I got from corporate leaders. But I endured through these trials thanks to these wise words of my idol, Drake:
"F*** you p***y a** hater you should do what you do, you ain't heard of me then you should go get a Blue's Clue [about how much you're hurting the environment]."
Do you care about the Earth a little bit more? Just a little? Ok cool.
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