You tote your own bag to the store, bicycle to work, switched from burgers to quinoa, and replaced the cracked screen on your smartphone rather than buy a new one. You are a green machine.
Now do better.
The latest Greendex survey, conducted by the National Geographic Society (NGS) and the research consulting firm GlobeScan, shows that although consumers in many countries are adopting environmentally friendly behaviors, others live in wasteful cultures of consumption.
The 2014 online survey of 18,000 people in 18 countries gauged environmental attitudes and habits—and their sustainability—when it came to housing, transportation, food, and consumer goods.
Some major takeaways:
1. Some consumer behavior is improving.
2. Anxiety about the environment is growing.
3. More people trust science.
4. Americans resist going green.
5. Canada is on an unsustainable path.
6. The least green feel the least guilt.
7. Hope and untapped potential exists in the developing world.
8. Repairing, reusing, and recycling are on the rise.
Kobayashi sees the future of a sustainable culture as one that lives with trees: in his 2008 book Treedom, Kobayashi boldly posits that there is a "treehouse culture" that's taking root all over the globe, something that seems quite possible in the light of all the fascinating treehouse projects that we've seen over the years.