This year, many more people have made it one of their New Year’ s resolutions to be greener as they can no longer dismiss the warning bells that Mother Earth has now been sounding for some time.  Big or small, as individuals or as communities, we can make a difference and inspire others to “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”, in other words to live more mindfully.  It is all too easy to think that we are too small and powerless; doing our little bit for a better world begins with each and every one of us and it begins now.  One person makes a difference and the ripple effect of his/her actions will always be greater than initially thought.  If each and every one of us encourages another person to make one change, we will make a difference.  But on the other hand, if we continue to do what we have always done, we will end up with what we have always got.  So if we want to leave a positive legacy in the world we live in, we need to change what it is we are doing. “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change” – Wayne Dyer.
I can think of two fairly obvious obstacles standing in the way of positive change.  The first one is that we are always looking for sweeping change or nothing.  However, what is often only needed is for us to make small changes in order to obtain the greatest change.  It is always preferable to add onto what already exists than to scratch everything and start completely anew.  Drastic changes are very difficult to sustain, they can leave us feeling totally overwhelmed and discouraged by the tasks ahead.  All that is really required of us is to readjust our focus and gradually regain some control over the way we live our lives.  The second obstacle is our lack of patience.  We live in a society where we want everything to come our way right here right now and few are willing to wait until positive change becomes manifest.
We have been enjoying Nature’s generous gifts without a thought for tomorrow, as if they will always be there for us, as if they are infinite.  We are all in for a rude awakening.  Mother Earth is not just another resource but the very source of Life itself.  We are meant to look after it, protect it and respect it, not destroy it. 
By sowing the seed of environmental awareness within us and caring for it, we can watch it grow and spread to other aspects of our daily living.  Our mindful living on this planet will make life sustainable for the generations to come. 
Undoubtedly, the general trend nowadays is to be greener and live more ethically.  One just has to watch TV, listen to the radio or read the tabloid press to ascertain this for themselves.  However, there are certain things that being green definitely is not.   Being green is certainly not about social status and consumerism.  Being green does not equate with converting a barn in an idyllic rural setting, equipping it with expensive solar panels and windmills, and buying the 4X4 to complete the status image, and so on. 
Being green does not mean either having to relinquish all of one’s creature comforts overnight and return to prehistoric living with no electricity or running water.  It is quite possible to include advantages of modern 21st century Britain into an eco-friendly sustainable lifestyle.  No one is advocating a radical switch to a totally green lifestyle but a better understanding of the impact of our lives on the planet.  Being green means becoming more responsible about everything we do.  Being green means a change of thought.  Being green means not just thinking about oneself and one’s immediate comfort, but about the rest of the world too.  Here, in the West, we live a fairly sheltered life and we are certainly not the first ones experiencing the negative effects of our “mindless” living and paying a high price for it...  Going green has now become an absolute necessity.
For most people, the question about going green is where to start.  There is definitely a total lack of direction, certainly because, and as always, a lot of money is at stake. Our society is a consumer society and if we stop consuming as much as we presently do, if we stop heeding the relentless marketing messages telling us ad nauseam to buy more and more, many are bound to lose money.  Going green does not mean to spend more but to re-evaluate our lifestyle and consider what needs to be done and what can be done.  What is wrong for instance with reusing items?  This is what our parents did; they re-used everything, they kept odd bits and bobs (perhaps a few too many sometimes, for the rainy days); they made their own compost with vegetable and fruit peelings, etc.  The point I am trying to make here is not so much a financial one but an ethical one.  It is not a question of having the money to buy the same item again and again because one has discarded the previous one instead of keeping it, but of showing more respect for the value of things in general and acquiring more knowledge about what is involved in their manufacture, transport, distribution and disposal, etc.
The UK are the worst EU offenders when it comes to dumping waste – with no less than around 27m tonnes of household waste finding their way into landfills every year!!!! 
There are many ways to reduce the mountain of waste we create, by re-using and recycling whenever we can, as well as by reducing our overall consumption (conserving energy in particular).  Going green can add up to saving a few pounds and for many, this may be the only way forward.  One certainly doesn’t have to be wealthy to be green.