A Serious Case of "Climate Change Induced Depression"

I just don't understand - I'm having dinner with a family friend, and she says something about the Chilean Sea Bass - I respectfully tell her that it's an endangered fish we shouldn't be eating - and she says she doesn't care! She ordered the chilean sea bass :(

Jamie Lansford The "I don't care/don't tell me about it/quit making me feel bad" people are difficult to deal with. Sometimes I am amazed at the lack of empathy people possess these days. It's sad. 

That was one of The Green Blog's recent Facebook statuses, and I think the topic actually deserves an entire post. Since Thursday night I have been on vacation in Florida. Away from all the sustainability events and eco-conscious people I've surrounded myself with in NYC, I've had a very unfortunate encounter with those who just don't care. That, coupled with McKibben's latest and relatively depressing book Eaarth, and I think I'm in what the producer of Carbon Nation referred to as "Climate Change Induced Depsression." We'll call this CCID from now on, as I have a feeling it may come up quite frequently over the next few days. 

Jacquelyn Ottman cites in her book The New Rules of Green Marketing that 85% of consumers are "some shade of green," meaning that they take environmental issues into concern when purchasing. Although I have not yet finished her book, I just don't get the same sense of hope. I think [hope] that Florida is one of the most materialistic places I've ever been. There is absolutely no regard for the environment or ecological well-being of the area as people sit in their huge fancy cars, driving everywhere, eating endangered fish, buying lots of things they don't need wrapped in tons of plastic, watering their expansive lawns, etc. They act like it's their right to use all of this - like the planet is there for them to take, they deserve it, who cares that happens to the other species that inhabit this [once] beautiful blue giant. 

I also had another similar [one-sided] conversation:

Do you have a glass for some water? 

Oh, here, we have bottled water. 

Oh, no thank you…Did you know that, in many cases, tap water has actually been shown to be healthier than…

Great, so drink tap water, but I'm still having my bottled water. 

How will we ever convince them? 

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but I just have to get this frustration out. If you've had similar experiences please feel free to write a comment below. Please, let's vent. :)

I have a feeling there are quite a few of use out there suffering from CCID, so I am making a Facebook Discussion, which you can view and add to here.