You

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.        Margaret Mead

I think we all feel small when compared to the enormity of the world.

Humans are a part of the world's ecological balance. If you removed all the decomposers in the world's ecosystems, the living systems of the Earth would cease within a day. If you removed all humans, the ecosystems would become much healthier.

This is a sobering reality. But it is not the reality you should focus on in that you want positive action. You have to acknowledge human nature. This is like all those masks we wear when we deal with different people. One for children, one for the elderly, one for mom, one for the grouchy customer, you get the picture.

You have to be upbeat with your message. There are three things you have to remember.

1. Focus on one issue. If you discuss or list 20 worthy causes, you are going to get less support than if you list two. They did a study selling flavors of jams. People got to test two. In one situation, there were twenty flavors available to test two. In another there were only six available. The study with 20 flavors generated more traffic. However, sales were considerably higher when there were only six flavors.

You can overwhelm people with choices.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/your-money/27shortcuts.html?_r=1

2. Focus on good news. People will read longer articles if they agree with the subject matter. It is pretty much like the adage, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make them drink. This is something that people who work with the public learn. It is about communicating with people who are not going to be able to look at things outside their perspective. It is not ignorance so much as being to put yourself in someone else's shoes.

You present honest, easy to comprehend information.
http://crx.sagepub.com/content/36/3/426.abstract

3.  Discuss the successes. People like to back a winner. If you go to a political rally, they always have people that will jump up and clap and feign approval of a candidate because it is contagious.

You are selling an idea.
http://www.thedominoproject.com/2012/07/voting-for-a-winner.html

I got the articles for these three ideas from a CNN opinion column by CNN commentator Mel Robbins. It discussed politics so I will not produce a link. Nor does a political discussion indicate any of my own political inclinations. People feel very strongly about politics and religion and get quite passionate. That is why the world over will say, never discuss politics or religion. Taking care of the environment is the sane, nonpolitical thing to do.