The starfish boy – can one person really make a difference?
One of my favorite stories is of the boy throwing starfish back into the sea. You’ve probably heard it or seen it on motivational posters. It may be somewhat trite, but nonetheless, I believe the message is important.
A older man was walking on the beach one day and noticed a boy who was reaching down, picking up a starfish and throwing it into the ocean. The man called out to him and asked, “Hello! What are you doing?” The young boy looked up and said, “I’m throwing starfish into the ocean. They were stranded by the tide and will die in the sun if I don’t throw them back in the water.” The man shook his head. “There are thousands of starfish on this beach – you’ll never be able to throw them all back. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The boy listened politely, then picked up another starfish. As he threw it back into the sea, he said, “It made a difference for that one.” (adapted from Loren Eiseley, The Star Thrower)
A single person has the power to make a difference to their friends, family, and local community. The effect of one person making changes may be minuscule, but the cumulative effect of many people making minuscule changes can be vast. If any of our leaders throughout history decided that one person could not make a difference, America wouldn’t have gained independence from Britain, the Civil Rights movement would have never happened, and we would not see ordinary citizens creating millions of online petitions that spam your email inbox!
Leave No Trace principles illustrate this cumulative impact. If one single person takes a rock from a stream bed in one of the 59 US national parks, no one will miss it. But if each of the 84 million yearly visitors to the national parks believes that just one rock won’t be missed or that just one person taking a trail shortcut won’t do any harm, that’s millions of damage to the ecosystem each year. The cumulative impact of those 84 million people is a powerful thing!
On average, each American purchases 13 disposable water bottles per month. One person buying a reusable water bottle instead of a disposable plastic one may be a measly 156 bottles per year saved from the landfill and the oceans. But if every one of the 327 million people living in the US gave up plastic bottles for one year, that’s 51 billion bottles each year saved from disposal. There were 7.7 billion people on this planet in the beginning of 2019. Certainly not all of them live in areas that have access to clean tap water – let’s assume that the 1.1 billion people living in “first world” countries can safely use tap versus bottled water. Collectively, that would save 392 billion bottles from landfills and oceans each year!
(This is not to say that tap water cannot be contaminated, as we’ve seen in Flint, Michigan — but by and large, tap water across the country IS safe. You can find out the status of your tap water by getting your water tested and referencing your municipal water authority annual report.)
Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” The power of the collective is far greater than the power of one, but it all starts with a single person deciding that they want to make a difference. I believe we can and I want to try — will you join me?
Easy ways to make a difference for the planet, right now:
- Buy a reusable water bottle
- Carpool or use public transportation
- Compost food waste
- Use cloth napkins and towels instead of disposable paper towels
- Bring reusable bags to the grocery store
- Buy items in bulk
- Organize a clean up at your local park
- & many more!
Let me know in the comments what action you choose to make the world a better place!
Sources: https://www.statista.com/statistics/206801/number-of-visitors-to-national-parks-by-type-of-park-in-2010/ ; https://www.earthday.org/2018/03/29/fact-sheet-single-use-plastics/ ; https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ ;
http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/first-world-countries/
