Are we ready?

I think that Michael Maniates has a great argument that the little things Americans can do everyday are not the drastic measures which will save our environment. I think that at this point, it is really up to our government to step up and take charge of improving the way we affect the earth. If the government does not get more involved, people will not have enough incentives to change their habits. In order to truly make a difference in the world, our leaders need to use economic measures to influence the actions of the American people. This is the only way to affect a majority of citizens and really make them question their behavior; money is the best motivator.

However, I also believe that we need to make the changes at an individual level, as well. We need to show others that we care about the environment for more than just economic reasons. We need to lead by example and hopefully show our government that we are ready and waiting for them to make the big changes. I don't think that looking for "lazy" things that we can do is necessarily a bad thing. Here in DC and in other big cities, there is a lot more awareness about the environmental problems we are facing and what we as individuals can do to help. However, I'm from the Midwest, and I know that many people aren't even doing little things to help out. I'm continually amazed by how many people don't recycle, don't try to lower their energy consumption (or consumption in general), and don't think twice about buying the biggest SUV they can find and using it to drive their preschooler around. It's easy for me to forget about this while I'm in DC and surrounded by a lot of eco-conscious students and citizens, but I have to remember that this isn't the norm. I don't think most people would relate to these sentiments by Maniates: "The time for easy is over. We're grown-ups who understand the necessity of hard work and difficult choices." I don't think that the time for easy is over - we still need to work on encouraging many people to start making little changes so that when the government finally does make the big changes we need, the American public will be ready.

PS

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_52/
b4064057939494.htm?chan=search

This is a really interesting article about Abu Dhabi's plans for a green city that we discussed in another one of my classes. It's pretty ironic that while we're so dependent on the Middle East's oil, they're using the money from our oil purchases to create a sustainable environment for themselves, and they're using technology from New Hampshire.