In what ways have you felt empowered or discouraged by society to make eco-friendly choices?

I have felt empowered by online discussions and new posts to put more effort into how I affect the environment in the area. I have begun to check whatever I throw away to see if it is recyclable, I have been considering how I could invest in more eco-friendly power for when I am older and I have begun to consider how to improve our renewable energy sources as an aspiring engineer. However, I have felt discouraged in conserving my power use and community projects because environmental issues I have heard online make me feel that I can't do anything until big businesses try to improve our environment.