I completely agree that individual changes are necessary, they just aren’t sufficient, which apparently you have come to realize as well.

I read your article on personal change (I must admit, I started glancing through it, then when I saw a reference to Derrick Jensen, I went back and started at the beginning. :) I think the one quote that hits the point is “Personal change doesn’t equal social change”. I also agree that people start with personal changes, then move from there to taking other action. There’s no contradiction there.

At the same time, some of the critics you quote are missing the point. On the latest episode of Radio ecoshock (ecoshock.org) Canadian scientist Bill Rees talks about how much of the “eco” movement is missing the point. For example, we can make “green” houses that are 25 percent more energy efficient. But the average house today is 2300 sq ft or more and it was 900-1000 sq ft in 1950. And the average occupancy used to be 3.6 people per house, now it’s 2.7. So, even with that 25 percent efficiency, we’re blowing, per capita, more than twice as much as 50 years ago.

His point is that we’re still growing and we’re already over the carrying capacity of the planet, and we’re essentially just burning ecological capital at this point. Every day that goes by, we have more people and less of a land base. That’s obviously not sustainable. We need actual *cuts* in emissions, not reduction in the growth rate of emissions. That’s like saying I’ll only play russian roulette once a week instead of twice a week! :) You still end up dead.

As for Jensen, I don’t care if the solution is ripping things down or officially scaling back, whichever does the job. I read about “no impact man” and that’s a great example to set, but even a homeless person in the US or Canada is living off our excess, which is unsustainable. If you don’t change the infrastructure, it doesn’t matter what you do.

You might be interested in my article “Recycling is Self Destructive”:

http://www.selfdestructivebastards.com/2009/09/recycling-is-self-destructive.html

Anyway, I think I’ve gone on long enough. Yes, we need to act personally, but we also need to do what’s necessary to make sure that the world as a whole reduces emissions, whatever that might mean.
.-= Canada Guy´s last blog ..Water Bottle Manifesto =-.

I actually wrote about this topic in a couple of places. Check out these posts and let me know what you think. Comments on those posts would be greatly appreciated:

http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/08/reusable-bags-stainless-steel-bottles/

http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/no-impact-man-teaches-me-to-suck-eggs/
.-= Beth Terry´s last blog ..Hey Wal-Mart! I See Glaring Omissions in Your New Sustainability Index =-.

http://www.selfdestructivebastards.com/2009/10/voluntary-lifestyle-changes.html
.-= Canada Guy´s last blog ..Water Bottle Manifesto =-.

http://www.selfdestructivebastards.com/2009/10/water-bottle-manifesto.html
.-= Canada Guy´s last blog ..Water Bottle Manifesto =-.