Don’t stop at easy

Michael Maniates sent me a link to an opinion piece that he wrote for Washingtonpostcom in 2007 in which he again returns to the question of what we can/should do to address environmental challenges such as climate change. His message is that doing only what is easy and cost-effective is not enough. More is needed.

He writes: “Surely we must do the easy things: They slow the damage and themselves become enabling symbols of empathy for future generations. But we cannot permit our leaders to sell us short. To stop at “easy” is to say that the best we can do is accept an uninspired politics of guilt around a parade of uncoordinated individual action. What of the power and exhilaration that comes from working with others toward bold possibilities for the future? What of present sacrifice for future gain?”

See the full article, “Going Green? Easy Doesn’t Do it.”

Neil Leary