“Awareness” of the environment? Oh please.
People keep talking to me about “raising awareness” about the environment. Sometimes they talk about it as a first step, as if it’s progress.
Many don’t realize it, but they actually see awareness as their final step. As in, they consider themselves aware of what’s happening, and then continue doing what they always did.
A lot of people use awareness not as a stepping stone but as a source of complacency.
The big question
Does awareness matter? I put it this way:
If you interviewed someone and their résumé said they were aware of the experience the job needed, but never actually did what you needed, would hire them?
You’d consider them a clown.
Imagine this interview:
Interviewer: We’re looking for someone with ten years experience in sales. What sales experience do you have?
Interviewee: I have high awareness of sales, though no experience.
If you want to hire a programmer, do you want someone aware of computers or who worked on computers?
If you need surgery, do you want a doctor who is aware of medical school or who did it?
Do you want a plumber who is aware of pipes or who has fixed pipes before?
People who claim awareness usually aren’t
When I ask these people who claim awareness about the environment, they rarely show much awareness anyway.
Let’s drop awareness as a target
Let’s drop awareness as a target.
The greenhouse effect doesn’t depend on awareness. It depends on your emissions—that is, your behavior. Same with pollution and depleting resources.
Let’s work on changing behavior.
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