Environmentalists: Give up individual pleasures to save the world?

Question

Everybody is green now. Society is urging us to recycle or turn down your AC or carpool. OK, I see why this helps reduce your personal Carbon footprint, but if I start going to great pains to help save the enviornment, what is that going to do about the whole problem?

How can one person, or an entire city, for that matter, make any difference when the entire world is being wasteful? How can the actions of individuals make dents in the problem?

If just the actions of individuals cannot make a difference, then why should we give up personal pleasures, like a cold or warm house, or showering longer? Why do they tell us to recycle and make these prickly changes in our perfectly good lives when the effort of the conscience few don't matter in the long run?

One person, one community trying to reverse "Global Warming" will not make a difference, it takes world leaders and international efforts. Untill then, untill the goverment makes sweeping regulations, why recycle, why be green?

Answer 1

Individuals can  make a big change! Can you imagine if every household in the United States was "green"? Our environment would be a lot better! Here are some facts:

"The energy saved by recycling 1 bottle will power a computer for 25 minutes."

"Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water."

"Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius) around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades, according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "

"Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for example, Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also come a week earlier in spring and freezes begin a week later."

"More than a million species face extinction from disappearing habitat, changing ecosystems, and acidifying oceans. "

If you are really interested read this site:

http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips....

Its really good.

Answer 2

Whenever I am making a decision where I know I have the choice to be green - all I can think of is " What am I leaving to my little Grand-daughter? What sufferings will she have to watch HER kids go through because of MY selfish behavior? Will they have parks to play in? Clean air to breathe" I know how much I love my kids and it breaks my heart to think of forcing her to watch her kids suffer with health problems, and knowing I hepled cause it.... thats my motivation. I recycle my plastic bags. I mulch my lawn clippings for my flowerbeds instead of plastic bagging and tossing them, I moved 15 miles closer to work, I do what I can to make her world and her childrens' world as good if not better than my own.

Answer 3

"Everybody is green now."

Now that's just a flat out lie.

The "whole world" is made up of individuals. To say one individual can't make a difference is a silly thing to say. It takes everyone working together to affect change. And humans are social creatures, they see what others are doing and it influences them.

"our perfectly good lives"

You also assume that everyone has a perfectly good life that isn't being messed up by environmental issues or the damaging effects of a materialistic and consumerist culture.

Why should one person give up their perfectly good life of eating burgers and fries and driving everywhere and competing constantly with everyone else for the material gain that is the sign of success? Well, they'll live longer, and be happier.

One candle doesn't give off a whole lot of light. But fill a room with them...

Edit: Ha. Sorry for missing the literal irony. Most people posting on yahoo don't know what irony is let alone how to incorporate it into a paragraph. I just assumed you were being literal.

Answer 4

Good question.   You can call turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth  a "great pain" or maybe you determine that rerouting your plumbing to create gray water for your yard "great pains".   In either case all you really are doing is raising awareness not only within yourself but in others as well.  When the awareness is raised,  there's a collective conciousness that takes over and the politicians and govt. officials jump on it.    Study the simple measures one man, Ghandi,  took.  Study what happened when some students in Berkely decided to protest a freedom of speech problem in their classes in the early 60's which created an anti-war movement so strong it took over the nation and changed it permanently.  You must be young otherwise you would indeed understand the power of raising conciousness within a community and the enormous difference it makes   The focus is not about you changing your life and going to "great pains" - it's about transformation within all of us.

Answer 5

Not true.  Everyone is not green and One person can make a difference.

World leaders don't make sweeping changes until public opinion tells them to.

The entire world is not being wasteful.  The actions of individuals can make all the difference in the world.  We are America because of a few individuals who stood up for what they believed in and urged the colonies to unite.  

We as individuals are capable of much!

Answer 6

Its just a bunch of scared Stupid people,

Just another Gov. SCAM

Answer 7

There are a number of reasons that individuals ought to be making "green" choices.

Personally, I believe that we are all responsible for what we can control - and that we are responsible to God for whatever actions we make.  Taking care of the world was the main thrust of the first thing God told Adam and Eve. As for the other reasons:

One is the economic factor:  when green companies are successful, other companies take notice.  Like you said, one person doesn't make a huge difference - but when companies begin to see that there is a viable market for ecologically sound products, there is an incentive for more companies to risk going green, or at least greener.

The other reason is political.  Particularly in a democratic nation such as the United States, which typically plays a huge role in world policy, it is important for politicians to be aware that their constituency is interested in a particular issue.  Ours is a representative democracy, and our representatives have much more power to set environmentally responsible policies when they know they have the backing of their constituents.  

These two factors are linked in many ways.  When industries see that their profit margins are not impacted, but rather helped by using ecologically sound practices and materials, there will be less lobbying against industry regulations.  Instead, there will be a push towards self-regulation and increased compliance with the existing environmental protection policies.  

It is true that those small things that we do at home may not add up to a whole lot.  I believe that as far as impacting the world, our dollars carry a whole lot more weight.  Buying products with high percentages of recycled materials, and becoming aware of the environmental practices of the companies you do business with can do a whole lot more.  Participating in email campaigns and calling your representatives in support of green legislation also carries much weight and can mean the difference between acceptance or failure of a bill. It seems to me that to attempt to try to change the whole world without doing anything in your direct sphere of influence - the part of the world that is under your control - would be hypocritical.  That is certainly what you are asking of larger establishments of power, right?  Because your influence may be smaller does not make it less important.

Now, all that said, honestly, if you are going to make changes in your lifestyle, they need to be ones you can live with - otherwise how will you keep them up?  So creativity and flexibility are key when it comes to what you do to be green.  Take advantage of green products that have comfort and convenience in mind - like aerated shower heads that use less water or ceiling fans that can increase the efficiency of a lower AC.  Buy recycled paper goods.  Check what kind of "greening" programs your local electricity company has - some are prepared to repair or replace broken or old appliances (costing you money as well as increasing you carbon footprint) as well as windows, and many can do an energy-efficiency evaluation of your home.  Maybe carpooling isn't really your thing - keeping your car well maintained (correctly inflated tires and consistently clean air filters, as well as eliminating unnecessary weight out of the trunk) and some simple driving techniques (not leaving the car idling more than two minutes, going the speed limit, using slower take offs and a longer time braking, and using the car's AC reasonable) can improve your gas mileage.  In short I'm saying, work smarter, not harder, when it comes to "greening" you life.  If your conscience bugs you,  (mine tells me that we are called to take care of God's world) do something about it.  Pick your battles, and believe me, you - and the rest of us - will enjoy the results.

Answer 8

it will be better than this if we do it right.

http://www.greatturningtimes.org/

http://www.eatthesuburbs.org/

Answer 9

You are 100% right. The funny thing is for every douche bag who gives up some personal convenience to help the environment there is a person like me who doesn't even bother to turn off his lights when he leaves his house and just throws his garbage on the ground. You living "green" will have absolutely no effect on the environment.