Last year I wrote a paper concerning the sociological aspects which keep people from acting when it comes to global warming. I notice that specifically in the United States society, there seem to be major concerns when it comes to changing the way we live in order to protect the environment. Class today reminded me of some of the concepts which I discussed in the paper, and reinforced in my mind what exactly the issues are.
I believe the first issue is that it is simply easier to continue living in the way we are accustomed. Making change, on a global level, will require a lot of work. Even on a smaller level, it is easier to throw away trash than to sort it and find appropriate recycling facilities. I find myself making excuses for not recycling certain things, when I know I should, because of convenience. Often, I find myself thinking, "This one little thing is not going to make a difference." If each person feels that their individual actions cannot effect the world on a large scale, it builds up.
Furthermore, I found a sociological study in which a woman monitored people's reactions when global warming was mentioned, and found that most of the time the topic of conversation was changed rather quickly. People may have negative emotional reactions when they think about the issue, such as guilt or hopelessness. In order to avoid those negative feelings, they avoid speaking about the issue all together.
Often when asked what should be done about global warming, people talk about raising "awareness" on the topic. However, I think that at this point, most people are very aware that it is happening. Like the movie which we watched in class about disability in the workplace, it is not enough just to talk about such issues. Awareness has been raised, and now something must be done. We cannot ignore global warming; in fact, it is our generation's job to change it.
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I agree that it is time to do something about environmental degredation. The harm that the Inuit people have been subject to is a clear sign that global warming is real. It is here, and it is affecting people. This is not some issue that we can ignore (and anyway, ignoring it just leaves the situation in worse shape for our children down the road). Instead, the harms of global warming can be seen today. That's what makes people's general numbness to the issue so freustrating. I think it's incredible that we can know something terrible will happen and is happening to something as important as our home.
This is why we need to be more progressive about the issue. It might seem like a hopeless fight, but if each of us contribute to the cause, then the results would be monumental.
Your comment on the actions of the individual and how they sometimes decide not to do the "little things" because they feel it will not make any significant change shows that there is something impacting how we view ourselves in relation to the world and our interactions with others. As we have discussed in previous classes with the emergence of the nuclear family and other aspects of society that reinforces an isolated individualist society, there has been this growing feeling that each person should deal with their problems on their own. We the issues relating to the environment is not an issue that affects one person and the solution cannot come from one person, but must be something that involves many mane people interacting, and most importantly ACTING.
It was interesting that you mentioned the study of the woman monitoring reactions of people when talking about global warming. I'm not going to deny that I go through the same sort of emotions. I hear about the polar icecaps shrinking, animals dying, temperature change leading to environmental destruction--there are so many things happening that it is just depressing to think about. I want to turn off the channel or stop reading about it and go back to ignorance. Still, there has been an emphasis lately on what an individual can do to help. I think this is important in letting people know that it's not impossible to change a lifestyle that has been pretty much been ingrained into us since an early age. The next step, like you mentioned in class, is attempting to induce more impacting changes on a community and national level.
Hadas, you are absolutely correct. It is far easier to continue living the way you always have lived than to make a concerted effort towards change. No life-style change is easy. If it were, we would have no obesity epidemic to speak of and CO2 emissions would drop to all-time lows by the end of the year. But as you said, positive attitude is the key. To encourage a green revolution we must emphasize that EVERY mile walked or biked instead of driven, every aluminum can recycled, and every printer cartridge refilled can and does make a difference in our planet’s ecology. The feelings of “guilt and hopelessness” that you write about are just as much an enemy to the environment as non-decomposable Starbucks cups.
To your plan I would like to add one suggestion: formal education. I do not mean raising “awareness;” as you have mentioned, we are all already “aware,” yet the job is not getting done. I would propose that environmental sustainability be addressed within the public school system so that children are taught about living “green” from an early age. We have destroyed so many of our natural resources that we are simply not in a place where we can leave sustainability education up to parents and hope for the best. We have come to the point where knowing how to detoxify and sustain the earth is just as important as mathematics and reading comprehension. I cannot foresee a world where knowledge of the latter would do much good if our generation continues to mow down forests and allow children to sleep on toxic pillows (see Story of Stuff). Of course, I have little understanding of the national educational system so I cannot lay down a real plan of action, but the idea is there nonetheless.
Anya, I really agree with your idea about letting the environmental sustainability within the public system. You are right that most of the people know about global warmind and they are also awared with it, but the awareness itself does not force them to be more responsible. This is one of the most world's widespread problems, so we have to take very serious measures in order to make a change. I think that the Governments in all over the world should establish a new subject in their educational system devoted entirely on the environment. I strongly recommend this subject to be a part of every elementary school, because children should be introduced with it when they are in their early age. I think that parents should also be teaching their children to be more responsible for the environment.If we want to overwelghm the problem, we have to think about global warming as something important.So next time when we decide to trow up a bottle of Coke, we should look around I find a recicle bin.
Hadas, I agree with your post. It really is up to the generation to take responsibility of these issues and make the difference. Yes, many people are unaware of the issues, so those people should be educated. Those who are aware of these problems should act on what they know. I will admit that I'm guilty of not recycling all the time or turning off the TV when I leave my apartment. Yet, it is my responsibility to make sure I do these things. Every little effort matters.
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