Climate change, global warming, the Chesapeake Bay, oceans, rivers, toxins, renewables, biodiversity and on and on. Name your environmental issue, and it's in the news and on people's minds. The energy (no pun intended) to change is in the air. Hopefully we will all have the opportunity to promote our environmental messages in one way or another: blogs, conversations with friends, letters to legislators, emails to associates, presentations, etc. As we do so I recommend we adjust our nomenclature and replace "the environment," "the climate," the planet" with "
our environment," "
our climate,"
our planet."
Words can be powerful tools. This relatively small change carries strong meaning and reflects more accurately our close relationship with nature.
Try it out. Get in the habit of checking yourself as you write and talk, using "our" instead of "the." It took me a few months for the change to become habitual, but now it is.
Thanks for helping to protect our environment.
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And thanks to those who agree:
SaveOurEnvironment.org
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Thank you for saying this, it needs to be said. I think it is just part of our disconnect with our environment. And language absolutely frames the issues.
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