I recently speculated as to whether or not Christmas is wasteful. In writing about this, I spoke to my environmentally aware 17 year-old cousin about whether or not everything we do, to some extent, is wasteful, and what's realistic to expect of ourselves in terms of social and environmental consciousness. He made the very good point that what would help is if people just thought twice.

As simple as that sounds, I think he's right. He got my aunt and uncle to think twice about their new car and buy a hybrid. This year I thought twice about all the bottled water I was drinking and bought a Brita. A friend of mine now thinks twice about the number of paper napkins she grabs when leaving a Starbucks.

There is no absolute measure of environmental awareness, and considering how much easier it is to not bother, thinking twice can go a long way. For better or worse, the environmental trend is hot right now. Let's hope that 2008 is the year that our efforts accumulate and people think twice about making our planet a greener place.

Photo:Natebeaty, Creative Commons, Flickr

Photo:mollyeh11, Creative Commons, Flickr