Response to Prof. Maniates

While I understand the argument Prof. Maniates makes in his article "Going Green? Easy Doesn't Do It," namely that small consumer shifts in behavior will not bring about the large-scale environmental change necessary, I believe that he belittles the contributions these efforts make, and ignores a very important aspect of the battle to halt environment degradation. While I believe large-scale change initiated from above is necessary to truly impact our environmental impact, when people are willing to make the small sacrifices in their daily lives that, while limited in impact, signal a shift towards more responsible consumption habits and attitudes, it will be easier to call upon people to make the large scale shifts necessary. Yes, the "10 easy ways" type of sacrifices are not going to save the planet, but what Prof. Maniates ignores, is that these types of sacrifices are consistent with the American way of life, which is fast paced and busy. They are an effort to synthesize the American way of life with these new environmental ideals. When we as Americans can begin to change our personal consumption habits to be slightly more environmentally conscious and lower-impact, it signals an embrace of the ideals behind the environmental movement and the recognition that we as individuals bear some of the responsibility. If anything, it does not symbolize laziness and apathy, it symbolizes the awareness of the American consumer that they too are partly to blame, and that the effort to reduce our impact will be one of individual as well as societal efforts. While the ten easy steps may be of far too small scale to make real impact, we as Americans have a hard time having things imposed on our culture, rather, Americans need to incorporate the green life-style willingly and in their own way in order for them to really accept a shift in their perceptions and values. Over time it would be appropriate for Americans to further alter their individual consumptions habits on a larger scale, and hopefully our leaders will begin to enact the society-wide changes necessary as well. However, while I understand that Prof. Maniates would prefer to see progress on a much greater scale, it is important to recognize that even a little progress is a step in the right direction, and the fact that we have begun moving in the right direction at all is an important first step. Hopefully over time we can bring about the real large scale changes needed, but that our society is beginning to embrace these changes at all is a hopeful sign for me.