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Look out, world — I’m going to get political. In small, personal ways.

A recent blog post I read reminded me about a thought-provoking editorial published in our local paper. The op-ed piece was written by Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Among other things, his article said:

December should be national Green-Free Month. Instead of continuing our faddish and counterproductive emphasis on small, voluntary actions, we should follow the example of Americans during past moral crises and work toward large-scale change.

The country’s last real moral and social revolution was set in motion by the civil rights movement. And in the 1960s, civil rights activists didn’t ask bigoted Southern governors and sheriffs to consider “10 Ways to Go Integrated” at their convenience.

Green gestures we have in abundance in America. Green political action, not so much. And the gestures (“Look honey, another Vanity Fair Green Issue!”) lure us into believing that broad change is happening when the data shows that it isn’t. Despite all our talk about washing clothes in cold water, we aren’t making much of a difference.

For eight years, George W. Bush promoted voluntary action as the nation’s primary response to global warming — and for eight years, aggregate greenhouse gas emissions remained unchanged. Even today, only 10 percent of our household light bulbs are compact fluorescents.

The article made me, well, mad. I was a little insulted by its flippant and condescending tone. Do we really believe attempting to make personal changes is COUNTERproductive? I would be willing to consider an argument that it is UNproductive, but I don’t think switching to CFLs or cutting down on personal water use is causing MORE global warming or using MORE energy, which would be the definition of counterproductive.

On the other hand, I’ll grant that I took Mr. Tidwell’s argument personally because I tend to focus on the personal. It’s how I’m made. This might mark me as less than an intellectual, but at times, I avoid political issues. They cause conflict, and I don’t like to spend my time arguing with people. I do like to spend my time trying to do my personal best, and possibly trying to help or even persuade others by example. And in my defense, I did quite a bit of activism and protesting when I was college age, and eventually concluded that I just wasn’t sure that my effort and energy caused change.

Moreover, I think personal changes DO matter. The other day, I purchased a wallet made from recycled billboard plastic to replace my thrift-store wallet that was literally falling to pieces. The new one came with a tag saying if 1 million Americans bought that product, there would be no billboard plastic left. I think that’s something. Since we began tracking our electricity use in 2007, I’ve cut our annual electricity usage from 7,004 kilowatt hours to 4,900 last year — a 30 percent decrease. I know that makes a positive difference.

And lightbulbs? This article — from 2006 — argues that they make a BIG difference:

Compact fluorescents emit the same light as classic incandescents but use 75% or 80% less electricity.

What that means is that if every one of 110 million American households bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.

That’s the law of large numbers–a small action, multiplied by 110 million.

I agree with Mr. Tidwell that policy is important. But I also am a mother, wife, worker, writer, blogger, friend, sister, daughter, knitter … I do have time to change my lightbulbs, because I need to change lightbulbs anyway. I can bring my own bag to the grocery store, because I’m going to need a bag anyway. It’s activism in small, manageable bites.

I think it would be better yet to regulate that billboards have no plastic. I think it would be better if all our power came from wind and solar, especially here in the West where those resources are prevalent. However, I know where to make personal changes. I don’t know where to start with policy, and I don’t want to be mocked for trying.

That said, I am glad I read Mr. Tidwell’s editorial, because it got me thinking. What is one small step I could do to make a difference? What is a manageable bite I can take out of the policy-making pie?

I came up with this: I could cheer on my lawmakers when they do something right. I’m a fan of fan letters, and I’ve fallen down on the job when it comes to communicating with my elected officials. So this year, I vow to keep an eye out for good environmental actions by lawmakers, and at least send a note with my support (or lack thereof, as appropriate).

What about you? Do you believe the personal is political, or do you believe political action outweighs personal change? Do you take political action, and if so, how? And do you want to hear, here, what I find out about policy?

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Comments ( 10 )

I’m with you… I believe in leading by example — in my case, that means: washing clothes in cold water only, recycling more than I throw away, buying local (food, goods, services), buying green (CFL, biodegradable trash bags… down to eco-sensitive soaps and detergents). I think that a lot of small changes equal bigger change, and in our economy we vote with our dollars more effectively than we do at the polling box.

You’re right, though, I do need to take the time to write to elected officials when they do things “right” by me, by the earth. I can see Mr. Tidwell’s point, but to negate the efforts of thousands of people who are trying to make a difference, albeit on a small scale, just makes me angry. His argument is the same one used by many people I know who are wasteful… or too lazy to recycle or use less and I think it’s dangerous thinking. It amounts to giving up.

Angelique added these pithy words on Jan 27 10 at 9:44 am

Thanks for commenting! I agree with you that it is so frustrating to argue against. I’ve seen several bloggers and others assuring readers that recycling is basically no better than throwing away … and I think it is wise to try to reduce at the intake point (reduce overall consumption), but I also believe recycling is better than trashing. Discouraging people for what they *try* to do just encourages them to throw up their hands and do nothing — and I suspect most of them don’t turn to political action instead!

Cheap Like Me added these pithy words on Jan 27 10 at 10:49 am

There was an article in the New York Times about couples having serious arguments because one thinks of themselves as greener than their partner/spouse. The article suggested that maybe it was more of a male-female thing. Women tend to focus on the little stuff we can do in our homes – reusable bags, recycling,etc. Men tend to focus on the big picture stuff – outlaw incandescent light bulbs, set up huge solar farms, etc. Maybe his thinking is more of a Mars-Venus issue?

Condo Blues added these pithy words on Jan 27 10 at 2:49 pm

Maybe it’s my estrogen talking, but I am more like “yeah, yeah, call me when you have that solar farm set up. Meanwhile I’ll use recycled toilet paper.”

Cheap Like Me added these pithy words on Jan 27 10 at 2:54 pm

Well- Speaking as a member of the testosterone club, Let me say that I too found his article condescending. I am certain of two things- a journey of a thousand miles begins with small steps, And the exmample is the best teacher. There has to be a reason why I compost. There also has to be a reason why I grow food. Just ask me- I will gladly tell you! I believe the leading buy example is the best teacher. And as far as writing my lawmakers (and I do) it gets a little discouraging when all I get back is a form letter. But I sally forth…

Rob added these pithy words on Jan 28 10 at 7:08 pm

As I think about it more, maybe it has something to do with whether you are an optimist or a “realist”? Realists want to do something NOW just in case the future works out. Optimists think we can do so much more!

Cheap Like Me added these pithy words on Jan 28 10 at 8:43 pm

I find it counterproductive to frame it as an either-or argument.

Getting people involved on the personal level is good because it gets individuals thinking about how “green” matters in their lives, or how their lives intersect with the world around them.

And I think that over time, involvement with those smaller, personal actions leads to increased awareness of the larger political/policy issues at stake.

So in some respects, I guess I agree with Tidwell: there is a limit to what individual people can accomplish when they are essentially fighting against policies that either undermine the individual’s efforts or allow large corporations to do things that undermine those efforts. GWB’s lackluster policy on the global warming front being a perfect case-in-point.

So… to answer your question… I’d be interested in hearing about what you find on the political/policy front. I tend to shy away from reading the really political bloggers because they start to sound too…shrill…for my tastes. But I’d love to have another resource for finding balanced information on policy related to environmental matters, and I suspect you’d do a righteous job on that front!

L'an added these pithy words on Jan 30 10 at 7:20 pm

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