{"id":224,"date":"2011-08-31T03:03:43","date_gmt":"2011-08-31T03:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/?p=224"},"modified":"2011-10-03T16:01:14","modified_gmt":"2011-10-03T16:01:14","slug":"a-step-in-the-right-direction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/2011\/08\/a-step-in-the-right-direction\/","title":{"rendered":"A step in the right direction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Combatting global climate change is an incredibly pressing and controversial issue. The predominant strategy of confronting climate change in place today is consumption. Ironically, this is precisely the root of the problem. Consumption of goods, even those with the \u201cenergy saving appliance\u201d emblem, fails to reach the heart of the problem. Promoting the consumption of these more efficient technologies, Michael Maniates argues in <em>Individualization: Plant a Tree, Buy a Bike, Save the World?<\/em>, only scratches the surface of reducing human impact on the environment. Rather than companies and communities alike banding together to demand political change as a sweeping force, purchasing power has created a sense of complacent \u201cindividualization of responsibility\u201d where buying a reusable shopping bag and using efficient lighting satisfies consumers about their concerns for climate change. Consumerism, in a sense, acts as blinders and inhibits more drastic action on a large scale.<\/p>\n<p>Planting a single tree cannot save the world, however, it can open the path for further contribution. Contrary to Maniates, I believe the individual is a very important component in countering global climate change. Furthermore, I believe that if individuals \u00a0 expect to combat the changing climate, it is far more efficient to investigate the root problems proactively rather than acting from a reactionary position. While recycling a glass jar is a better alternative than tossing it in the trash or dumping it in the woods, reusing the jar is a much better solution. Decisions such as this can help reduce waste as well as eliminating the need for a new bottle.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, though, people consume goods. Maniates criticizes the consumer for simply buying \u201cgreen\u201d products and becoming complacent and unmotivated to accomplish further environmentally responsible acts. I think this is a gross oversimplification of a complex issue. Currently we are in a period of transition between older, less efficient technology and newer technology. Things break and people will need to replace them. Buying goods with sustainability in mind can help reduce our carbon footprint while maintaining a comfortable lifestyle. Purchasing environmentally friendly products, like planting a tree, is merely a stepping stone in the fight against global climate change. When people begin to gather and demand radical change to production and policy, humanity will be on its way to a brighter future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Combatting global climate change is an incredibly pressing and controversial issue. The predominant strategy of confronting climate change in place today is consumption. Ironically, this is precisely the root of the problem. Consumption of goods, even those with the \u201cenergy saving appliance\u201d emblem, fails to reach the heart of the problem. Promoting the consumption of these more efficient technologies, Michael Maniates argues in Individualization: Plant a Tree, Buy a Bike, Save the World?, only scratches the surface of reducing human impact on the environment. Rather than companies and communities alike banding together to demand political change as a sweeping force, purchasing power has created a sense of complacent \u201cindividualization of responsibility\u201d where buying a reusable shopping bag and using efficient lighting satisfies consumers about their concerns for climate change. Consumerism, in a sense, acts as blinders and inhibits more drastic action on a large scale.<br \/>\nPlanting a single tree cannot save &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":844,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40557],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-consumption"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/844"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/cop17durban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}