Friday, September 19, 2008
Blog Topic #3 by Tuesday 9/23
This week I'd like you to read and comment on this piece, which appeared in the Washington Post on Thanksgiving Day last year. The article was written by Michael Maniates of Allegheny College, one of the authors of the "Confronting Consumption" chapter we read a couple of weeks back. What do you make of Professor Maniates' argument?
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3 comments:
I agree with Maniates on the fact that we need to begin to address the larger problems; however, the small matters are what the majority of the population needs to do in order to play their part. The families in Suburban Town, USA cannot have an impact on whether or not India and China decide to have a petro-revolution; however, they can recycle when possible, use less water, and promote good sustainable values to their neighbors. If all of the citizens just decided to give up this crucial step, pollution would run even more rampant than it is now.
The idea of the “lazy environmentalist” is a bit far-fetched in my opinion; obviously it is going to take a lot of work from both the government and the American population. But if one side does not hold up its part of the deal, we will find ourselves struggling even more than we are now. Let the citizens do their part (even demand it! Make it law!) And let the government do its (and let the citizens demand as much of it as it is demanding of them).
Some specific aspects of this concise and well-crafted piece:
“None of these blessings come without cost or sacrifice…”
“The glorification of easy” It’s not as easy being green as everyone would like to make it out to be. It takes consistency to be efficient on the long term, something many consumers find too difficult to succumb to.
“ Never has so little been asked of so many at such a critical moment- obsessing over lightbulbs and recycling wont cut it.”
And most importantly,
“Americans are at their best when struggling together and sometimes with one another toward difficult goals.”
We can address the issues at hand if we can truly assess them from a realistic standpoint. The majority of the global population knows something is wrong with the planet and its going to get worse before better. Unfortunately in America where we have the power to change things the public isn’t globally educated well enough to understand the impact of the changes to come, if we don’t act accordingly, as well as within a realistic timeline, it may be all too little action at too late a time.
Maniates is correct in asserting that we have the power to make major changes in as a larger portion of the population acting in small ways together, asking ourselves “what can I do to make a difference?” AND DAMN STRAIGHT HE’S RIGHT when stating that our government treats us like children, ignorant and easier to deal with while in the dark. It’s time to unveil the future, once everyone can see for themselves what’s coming, it’ll be a hell of a lot easier to gain realistic reactions and timely actions.
“Sure we must do the easy things- they slow the damage and themselves become enabling symbols of empathy for future generations. But we cannot permit our leaders to sell us short”. The time for easy is over. The party is over. Leave the easy aspects for older generations to tackle, as most don’t have the energy to truly change their lives. As for the younger generation, I sincerely believe we’re ready to take on the new life of living with convenience lower on the list. I’m the freak person who thinks at times we’d be better off living in caves and bringing community back to the people, living and working every day for the shirt on your back. Fuck this four –car-garage-and-a-yacht-to-top-it-off mentality, that party is over and it’s time for something new, where the price tags and materialism don’t qualify as cool anymore.
What’ll be cool in the new party is what you do with your time, rather than what you buy with your time besides bureaucratic bullshit. Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin, is a multi billion dollar man, and yes, he’s a walking pricetag, but he’s the only wealthy guy on the news who isn’t into making his name bigger for profiteering.
We need more people like him provoking the people to make major changes in their lives, inspiring us to then stick it to the man on the hill to enforce the real changes in American infrastructure. If we don’t tackle the future from the two aspects of grassroots coupled with policy to make our infrastructure 200% more efficient than it is, we won’t be doing enough. And we may never be doing enough in the fight against climate change, but Jesus Christ leaders of America, it’s about time we did something.
Finally, it’s about time that someone is starting to make sense in this humdrum of a mess people like to call the environmentalist movement. Professor Michael Maniates makes a phenomenal point when he references the fact that most people in the world today are only given (and accept) what is easiest for them. Everyone seems to be afraid to focus on or draw any sort of attention to the bigger picture. Much of what this article suggests references to many of the ideas brought about by the article we had to read several weeks ago entitled I Am, Therefore I Pollute by Stanley Fish. Much of what the environmentalist movement draws itself from is the idea that changing a few light bulbs, turning off the shower a little bit quicker, using a washcloth instead of multiple paper towels, and even recycling everything you can possibly think of at home will NOT solve the global environmental crisis. However, it seems that whenever we turn a corner, open a newspaper, or flip on the television, we are surrounded with celebrities, regular individuals, and even politicians (including those fallen from grace and searching for a fleeting chance at a return to glory like Al Gore) who say that if we take care of these seemingly easy tasks, if we all do our part, we can solve the problem. Just like the article states: “Obsessing over recycling and installing a few special light bulbs won’t cut it.”
It’s as simple as this…we need to stop looking at the world by the rose colored, let’s everyone hold hands and everything will ok type of glasses. The truth is never pretty but it’s something we all need to face up to. When in the history of our country and of humanity in general have we been ones to shy away from problems like World War II and the Great Depression? Though as tragic as they were, didn’t some of the greatest minds and events in history arise from the ashes? This situation is no different. A lot needs to be done and it can’t be done on just a ground level. Looking at the bigger picture, we as a communal society need to continue doing the little things such as recycling but we need to pressure major powers and government officials to change their ways as well. Futile embarrassments to the idea of global cooperation such as the Kyoto Protocol will not help the problem. The article makes a phenomenal point when saying countries like China and India need to be brought up to speed, not lagging behind. Honesty, dedication, and the ending of these childish games are the only ways in which we as grown, competent beings are going to be able to face up to what is going on and put a stop to it once and for all. Maybe more of these radical environmentalists who preach the use of Farmer’s Markets and Energy Efficient light bulbs can take a few points or two Professor Michael Maniates’ article and maybe begin to realize that concentrated efforts on the overall picture, not harassing people, is the way forward to a just and beneficial cause.
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