My roommate tried to banish recycling from our house on Earth Day.

The term “tree-hugger” is no longer relevant. Probably never should have been in the first place. But while the tie-dyed folk made the push for the environment and chained themselves to shrubbery in the 70’s, they were seen as wastes of space. Now, we have the likes of Al Gore and his souped up big screen presentations showing us through fancy graphics that we’re really screwing up the planet. He started to show us that while those hippies were high as kites off their love for trees (and well, let’s be honest, grass) they actually had the right idea. Glaciers are turning into soup. But recycling should be common sense, not a chore.

And believe me, I am not an environmentalist. I throw away cans sometimes. I litter sometimes. I blow off Greenpeace volunteers. I use plastic bags when I go grocery shopping. I don’t carpool. I don’t use those eco-friendly light bulbs. But maybe I should do (or not do) some of those things.

Lately, I’ve kind of been looking for a cause important enough to me to get me motivated to contribute and help others. And for whatever reason, this isn’t it. I’m not going to go join Greenpeace. I think you can contribute to a cause without artificially joining a group or buying a t-shirt to support it. But I am going to step outside of myself for a second and realize this is not a manufactured issue and make sure I’m cognizant of my part in it.