Conversation with my roommate

After my return from Germany this past July, I returned much more aware of the environment and living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, simply by living the mantra "everyone can do something to save the environment." My roommates however do not have the same ideas as me about environmentally friendly living.

I spoke with one of my roommates this past week about the environment and everyone doing their part to help save the environment. My argument basically was that turning off lights, keeping a close control over the heat/AC, and recycling cardboard/paper/plastics/glass is the least that someone can do to help the environment. None of these things take very long, a few minutes, and do produce some noticeable results. My roommate agreed that these recycling was important, but often would forget to recycle items after use. As for turning off lights, since she was scared of the dark, she often kept lights on in order to feel safe. While I respect her fear, I tried to explain that one small night light would suffice, instead of having all the lights on in the bottom floor of our house. As the for the heat/AC, my roommate was more concerned about being comfortable, than with energy use or costs.

Although we disagreed over some of these issues, my roommate and I were able to have a civil and calm discussion about the environment. She did believe in global warming and climate change, however she was not convinced that all climate change was man made. I realized that when speaking with people about particularly sensitive or "hot button" issues such as global warming or gay marriage, the best advantage you have is your attitude. By approaching the other person with an open attitude and by allowing everyone to formulate their own opinion, and not getting upset when someone disagrees with you, you are better able to have a civil conversation about important topics, in order to create a learning opportunity for both parties.

Amanda