“Caring for the environment is the most important thing we can do. Without a healthy environment, there won’t be a healthy anything” – this Facebook page has 1,326,566 followers and dedicates its postings to nature and all things green. It was created in September 2014 and since then has been amusing folks with various memes and posts. In an effort to learn more about the group and the inspiration behind it, Bored Panda reached out to Thomas, one of the creators of the “Give A Shift About Nature” Page:
“The page is run by a husband-husband duo, Thomas and Cody. We’re based out of the Pacific Northwest. I (Thomas) worked for an environmental nonprofit for years. When that project came to an end, I still had a ton of passion for the environment and no outlet for it. So I created a Facebook page and started sharing content in the hopes that it would connect with people.”
BP asked Thomas why he thinks memes play such a significant role in modern society, to which he said: “In the context of an activist Facebook page, memes are important because they offer us easy-to-digest, bite-sized pieces of information that are often actionable without much additional time devoted to research. There are thousands, if not millions of environmental issues around the world creating an ecological death by a thousand cuts. People should read books and they should read long-form, informative articles, but each of us can’t do that for every environmental issue. Memes are a good tool for raising awareness. They are also sometimes extremely funny, which is great. Laughter is important.”
It’s true! Internet memes have become a new medium of communication; they’re easy to make and tend to be pretty relatable. They express opinions and emotions, and keep us grounded and alert about everything that’s going on in our big, big world, be it something as serious as environmental concerns or as goofy as a collection of stills from a viral TV show that’s taken over streaming platforms.
It's no secret that many of us have pondered about how little our civilization contributes to the environment and its well-being. Polluted oceans, never-ending amounts of plastic – the list could go on and on. We blame the problems on the wealthy folks or stay in denial and brush the disastrous statistics off, thinking that it’s not our fault that Planet Earth is literally crumbling apart.
Sometimes people need a little push, which is why we asked Thomas to tell us how to convince others to care about the environment, and he started off by saying that: “The two best ways to convince someone to care about the environment are to lead by action and to understand how environmentalism intersects with their lives.”
The creator of the page then continued: “Environmentalists tend to make a major strategic error when talking to people about environmental issues. It is easy to assume that, once people know what we know, they’ll be as up in arms about these issues as we are. But that is almost never the case. Most people want to make good environmental choices, but most won’t upend their entire worldview or system of values for it.”
“Put another way, saying ‘This is what I do and why I do it’ is far more persuasive than ‘This is what you need to do and you had better get started or else.’”
Lastly, the man finished off with a short but spot-on farewell message dedicated to our readers: “The world is at a frightening tipping point right now and it’s easy to not know what to do. My advice to everyone feeling this way: get outside. Breathe some fresh air, get some sun on your skin, take your shoes off and feel the Earth on your feet. The environment isn’t just something that we’re responsible for saving. It can also be a source of strength, clarity, and balance in our lives.”
Keep in mind that a clean environment is essential for healthy living; even if you believe that you’re unable to combat the horrible threats to our planet on your own, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t treat it with respect.
We hope that you’ve enjoyed this comical ensemble of memes and posts from the “Give A Shift About Nature” Facebook page – but now, go recycle some garbage.
