Shailene Woodley Speaks On The Hotly Contested Issue Surrounding Climate Change
One of the most hotly contested topics in recent times has been climate change. The topic has not only been controversial but also divisive. While many celebrities have advocated and raised concerns regarding climate change, some of them have faced criticism and accusations of hypocrisy over their jet-setting lifestyle.
Hollywood star Shailene Woodley, an environmental advocate, reflected on the hotly contested topics in an interview with People. The actress, whose job forces a jet-setting lifestyle upon her, told the outlet that life as an eco-conscious advocate can be very challenging. She, however, suggested that the fight against climate change involves smaller steps in the face of larger steps forces.
Shailene, who spoke with People following her speech at Uber’s Go-Get Zero conference in London on October 8, insisted that those large forces make it difficult for climate change advocates to be perfect when it comes to living sustainably.
“I think taking the pressure off has to start with yourself,” she said, speaking to PEOPLE.
“It has to give yourself the grace and compassion to go, ‘I am a human being. I’m not perfect and the systems that surround me do not support the choices that I want to make. And so until those systems can support that, I will do what I can when I can and have the grace to trust that eventually those systems will start changing,’” she added.
The actress, who starred in the emotional movie The Fault in Our Stars, told Uber’s Jill Hazelbaker that even eco-warriors are often faced with making choices that do not align with their environmental goals. Jill is Uber’s Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President. Communications and Public Policy.
Shailene, who is famous for her role in the Divergent series, revealed that her message to her fellow environmentalists is about “doing what you can when you can.”
“It’s constantly just asking myself these questions: All right, you know what? Right now, I do need water, and this is my only option: I’m going to drink out of this plastic water bottle. But next time, maybe I’m not, because I’ll have my stainless steel water bottle. … All we can ask is being aware and doing what we can,” the actress said.
She further suggested that attaching rewards would be one way to get more people engaged in protecting the environment and fostering sustainability.
“It makes it fun! We are reward-based as a species. We really enjoy rewards,” she stated, adding, “And so I encourage all companies, when it comes to that circular economy of clothing, to participate more in the reward-based aspects.
She also suggested that everyone can contribute in their own little way to save the environment.
In her words: “Being aware in our personal lives and encouraging corporations to do the same and then watching those ripple effects. Consumers drive everything.”
