It's More Complicated Than That

Maniates' overall argument in his piece, "Going Green? Easy Doesn't Do It," is both powerful and convincing, but, in my opinion, lacks validity in one very crucial aspect. While I believe he is correct in identifying that mainstream environmentalism only stresses relatively easy and cost-effective consumer fixes, such as recycling your plastic bottles or riding your bike to work, I do not think that all of the blame should be centered on leadership.

He's right, political leaders are doing a terrible job at taking any sort of major initiative with respect to the environment, but as always, their decisions and priorities are based directly on those of their constituents. This may be cynical of me to say, but I don't think that very many Americans seriously do ask the question Maniates says they do - "What can I do to make a difference?" Some, including myself, may have good intentions and actually do want to make changes in their lives to better the environmental circumstances, but there are just as many that don't really care and wouldn't be inclined to vote for someone looking to use their tax money to fund environmental programs.

While political elites certainly aren't giving the grave environmental mess at hand the attention it deserves, Maniates points the finger too far in one direction. For better or for worse, politicians are merely doing what they have always done, appealing to the biggest concerns of those who give them their jobs. It's just unfortunate that the severely declining state of the global environment is still not one of those big concerns.