When I came back from my first ever Greenpeace campaign (just this past Sunday), it would be an understatement to say that I was thrilled. I felt absolutely great. But aside from all the fun and excitement that derived from getting to dress up as a stormtrooper and entertain any and all passerbys, participating in the campaign also brought to light just how absolutely amazing it feels to be actively trying to make this planet a better place. Now that the local Greenpeace Exeter group is up and running, I look forward to taking part in a lot more events.
It’s the same feeling I got when I signed my first online petition, probably a good two years back. The same feeling I get when I write something about the environment and publish it online somewhere. That feeling that you are doing something. And it feels good. And, of course, every little thing we do does make us feel better, as it should. But what I realized after parading as a stormtrooper for an hour and a half is that there is no limit to how much we can do and how good we can feel. Sure, every little helps – even Tesco knows that. But the more we help the better we can make this planet, and the better we make this planet, the better we feel. There is a wonderful symbiotic relationship between our inner peace and ethical harmony and the preservation and survival of this entire planet.
This campaign focused on stopping Volkswagen’s lobbying against environmental laws that would enforce tighter regulations on carbon emissions across Europe and expose their refusal to apply the incredible green technology they’ve developed to all of their cars. It also attempted to put an end to the image that Volskwagen so proudly advertises of itself as an avant-garde environmentalist green company. And as the pressure accumulates on Volkswagen (and already we are starting to see cracks in the cement), they will eventually have to answer to the demands of their consumers, which will have become the demands of this planet.
But there will be other campaigns, because as long as there are people threatening the beautiful environment that this planet offers us, there will also be people to fight against them. And fighting in those campaigns will make us feel good, because we will have the knowledge that we are helping a cause greater than ourselves. So while it is important to know that every little thing we do makes a difference, we should not forget that the more we do, the greater that difference
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