Will being an eco-warrior make a difference?
I refuse straws at restaurants. I pick up trash on the road.
I strengthen my quads to save the trees and not use toilet seat covers.
I only buy recycled household paper products, and those that know me know that if come to my kitchen looking for a paper towel, you will be searching for quite a while.
Most of my food is local and organic, and I try to ride my bike around town whenever possible despite my lazy side that would WAY rather take my car.
So imagine my dismay when my Dad shared an article on my facebook wall from the New York Times titled "Going Green but Getting Nowhere." For the article click here.
Gernot Wagner postulates that try as we might, no matter how green one is, "Our future will be largely determined by our ability to admit the need to end planetary socialism." Basically saying that without economic policy change such as cap and trade, individual action isn't doing a thing.
I beg to differ. If this is the case then why does Seventh Generation tell us that "If
every US household replaced just one 12-pack of 300-sheet virgin fiber
bathroom tissue with our 100% recycled product we could save 1,900,000
trees and 690 million gallons of water."
Why do we bring our bags to the grocery store? Why compost? Because I believe that every little thing helps. Am I single handedly reversing global warming? No. Am I making a difference? I have to believe the answer is yes, because if not, then the future would feel futile. Hope would be out the window replaced by negativity and dismay.
How are we supposed to "make change happen" Gernot? Should I be calling Obama night and day to tell him I want to end planetary socialism? Because trust me, I have called him multiple times, in addition to my representatives and senators, but I really think they kind of don't give a damn. Maybe if I had a million or two to donate to somebody's campaign, or maybe if I was famous, I could influence a person or two.
But for now, I will keep doing my daily green things, keep having hope, and keep calling, although I have yet to receive a call back.
3 comments:
The way I interpret his article is not despairingly (or disparagingly for that matter) but rather I concede his point that because of human nature, policy must be THE change mechanism. That does not mean that we stop doing the things that you (and I) do, but rather to effect comprehensive change we must band together and fight together to make the change. Individual action is important, but collective individual action is effective.
The Gernot Wagner article is just misdirection. To get you to stop pestering them about the environment, they attempt to distract you with socialism.
This is of course forgetting that communist nation (the ultimate socialist states) have the worst environmental track records of any nation, except for the United States.
When you read hocus pocus like this, just remember it's just propaganda. Many parties have a huge financial incentive to convince you that everything is under control.
I think you missed the point "Anonymous" (who are you anyway and why post anonymously?). Mr. Wagner clearly states: "Don’t stop recycling. Don’t stop buying local. But add mastering some basic economics to your to-do list." That does not appear to me to be a cry to do nothing, but rather a plea to understand human nature. However, his use of the term "planetary socialism" is both unfortunate and confusing. I am still mulling over what he means by that as we clearly seem to be in the throes of neo-liberalist capitalism with its over-bearing emphasis on quarterly profits. What we need perhaps is a dose of true democratic socialism which is not the same as the totalitarian perversion of Stalinism.
Post a Comment