When people talk about what they are doing to address climate change people typically tell you about individual acts of “I recycle, I don’t eat meat as often, I bicycle,”
It’s rare that somebody says, “I work on getting out the vote for climate-positive candidates, I support environmental law reform, I campaign my local state government member to put solar panels over the school parking lot.”
We’ve been encouraged to think of what we have to contribute as our individual virtue, which is mostly passive—it’s mostly not doing things. We imagine ourselves as individuals and as consumers who can consume less or consume differently. Instead, we should see ourselves as citizens, not in terms of holding a particular passport or nationality but in terms of being members of civil society.
Together, we have a lot of power to influence election results, push for important laws, teach and support each other, and participate in protests to make a difference in the world.
However, when you see everyone on their smartphones, it’s hard not to feel like technology is taking the place of face-to-face interaction, dominating our attention, making our interactions less meaningful and lowering our self-esteem.
The Green Outlaw 