In Michael Maniates’ article, the author makes the case that our leaders hesitate to ask much of the general populace when dealing with climate change. Few in government want to tell us want to do, for fear they might be criticized for infringing on our personal rights, while self-help books suggest measures that only barely counter the environmental crisis. As a society, we seem to be looking for an easy way out.
It seems as though our consumer economy has been structured to be guilt-free. We have no effective means of measuring the effects of our purchases on the wider environment. As a result, our society does not feel the need to make the drastic stages it should to counter climate changed. We retreat to the half-measures that we know so well. Radical change would just be too complicated, too confusing, and not at all efficient.
Recalling Jared Diamond in The Last Americans, he makes the argument that societies are not bound to make decisions on issues that they cannot readily perceive as problematic. For example, the ancient Maya had no idea their farmland was becoming depleted until it was too late. We too cannot simply look out the window one day and realize that climate change is upon us. The key to solving the problem is educating our entire society. Only with the knowledge of the challenge can we involve everyone to work toward the solution.
No comments:
Post a Comment