Holiday Tips #4
New Years Resolutions can have a big impact on our water resources.
You’re an average human trying to have fun while balancing different areas of your life – work, relationships, health. Chances are, you care about having clean and healthy water for drinking, swimming, and bathing.
When it comes to taking action to reduce your water footprint, there may be too many other things competing for your headspace and time. Plus, it’s easy to feel like our individual actions won’t make a difference without political leaders on board and system-wide change.
But we propose a different theory: make a resolution to improve your water footprint through one specific behaviour change, and you’ll have the power to set the trend with your peers and join a growing group of kick-ass people doing the same.
Research demonstrates that behaviour changes by minorities can tip social norms and inspire broader societal change. People are more likely to change their behaviours when they have role models leading the charge, and when expectations about social norms are set for them.
This means you can be a role model and a trendsetter -- and inspire more people to take care of our shared water resources.
New Years is a great time to do this. You’re probably already setting aside some headspace to contemplate what you want for yourself in 2019. It’s a great time to re-set and re-focus.
We advocate for individuals to strive for behaviour changes as well as continuing to focus on system-level change. This way, we share the responsibility of being good water citizens.
check out our Responsible Living page for ideas to get started
Remember, it doesn’t need to be New Years to reflect on how we live and make adjustments to stay the course.
From the Girls Gone Water team, wishing everyone a safe and happy 2019!
@iebrueck
This blog post is from Irene Brueckner-Irwin. Irene is a Girls Gone Water co-founder and works in nature conservation. She hails from Kingston, Ontario (but is currently living a nomadic life). She has a passion for connecting diverse people to the diversity of nature.