The First Steps

The ideas Michael Maniates sets forth in his op-ed are quite simple: individual actions that seek to conserve will not be enough to reverse the effects of environmental degradation. Shorter showers, cool light bulbs, and recycling is just not going to cut it. We need to start thinking in terms of sacrifice and fundamental changes. This is not to say that these individual choices are not important; if we do so, our collective action can slow the growth of environmental damage. Such simple actions are not counterproductive, but they do fall far short. These must be our first steps. This way of thinking is correct, as far as I'm concerned, but the real challenge comes when we start thinking about what steps to take next. How do we go from taking baby steps to adult-sized strides? How do we go from being "lazy environmentalists," to vigorous stewards? We need to sacrifice, but how and in what way? We, as Americans, need to start struggling together, and we need the political leadership to encourage us to do so.

Politicians care about the economy, and to say otherwise would be counterproductive. We always hear politicians talking about jump-starting the economy, encouraging us to consume more. They embrace economic ethos, whether they be neo-liberal or more protectionist in nature. But is it possible for our politicians to tell us to consume less? It's unlikely that this will ever come out in such words, but it is what needs to happen. As we know, the mindset of consumerism is entirely ingrained in our collective American consciousness. Our ultimate purpose is to consume, right? It's hard to think otherwise when you look around you. Take, for example, a little place known as Friendship Heights. When I first came to DC almost four years ago, I distinctly remember this area as a place where people went to buy expensive things. I've heard that the Bethesda/Friendship Heights area is one of the most desirable places to live. As more and more people continue to move here and get their cozy, high paying jobs, they obviously want to buy more things. If you look at this area today, every available inch of property is being filled with more and more designer shops and retailers. In just four years, the pace at which this consumer mecca has grown is quite astounding. And if our leaders continue to say the same things, nothing is likely to change. So what do we do?

In my mind, environmental change begins with the individual. We take our first steps by replacing our light bulbs and recycling. Then we each consume less, telling each other to do the same. But yet, our leaders say nothing of sacrifice. They speak of innovation and new technologies, but only very slowly implement change. It is our duty, therefore, to collectively demand action. We must put pressure on our government so that they start talking of sacrifice and stop pandering to our supposed "private, individualistic, and cost-effective" dispositions. We as Americans must let our leaders know that we are struggling together, and that we demand fundamental changes in transportation and agriculture systems today, not thirty years from now. Having taken our first steps, we must now seek to take that big step forward.