NEWS

A year when lessons were learned?

In a survey by Spain’s Granada University which used a sample of 525 students and 154 housewives, the majority of the former said they were extremely aware of environmental issues and naturally more informed in theory, compared to the housewives, who did not have the same knowledge and most of whom did not declare themselves to be ecologically aware. Nevertheless in practice, as the survey showed, the housewives recycled far more than the students did. The differences were quite clear: The housewives were more willing to separate glass from the rest of their garbage, and were more favorably inclined toward the idea of recycling and in their intention to do so. In practice, students don’t recycle glass, as they meet obstacles and restrictions in the process that they are not willing to overcome. This is just one more indication that just because someone is environmentally aware does not necessarily mean that his or her behavior follows suit. Many see themselves as environmentally aware but rarely do they actually practice what they preach. So, apart from politicians, who very rarely carry out their pronouncements about the environment themselves, we ourselves are also not as consistent as we should be. Just think about it. If we are honest, we can all see something of ourselves in the Spanish students. In 2007 major events happened. «This past summer, we changed,» said President Karolos Papoulias in his New Year’s message. «We lost the illusion that climate change is a phenomenon that has nothing to do with us personally. Let that wake-up call be a beginning in the redefinition of our social culture. Each citizen’s environmental awareness and his or her commitment to protecting the environment is the only way to save nature.» Let’s not be like those Spanish students this year. Let’s talk less and do more.

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