There is an ugly vein of skepticism which runs through a large part of society. It’s understandable, we all have our cynical side and that’s important – no-one wants to be gullible even if we want to think the best of people and organisations. But skepticism for the sake of it is so pointless. If we all thought “What’s the point?” about things that didn’t immediately profit us then the world would be in big trouble – and not from global warming, but from global apathy.
If you start to be active in green issues, even if it is just separating your garbage for recycling, then there is a real chance that someone will look at you and ask “why are you doing that?”. Any answer that you give them will be met with a scornful remark and some laughter. And while you may feel like strangling the person who does this, that is not really in the spirit of looking after the planet and its people. You might also feel like giving up, but don’t do that either.
It’s not even about converting others. People will come to their own conclusions and very few skeptics will be won over by an impassioned speech on our planet and what we need to do to look after it. All you can really do is get on with what you are doing. In time, maybe the skeptical neighbor will come round to your way of thinking. Maybe they won’t. But if you let the knee-jerk skeptics grind you down, they’ll be insufferable.