Is Individual Action Enough?

We live in a world with so many people and so much waste that individual actions seem overwhelmingly inadequate. Alone, they are. But when individual efforts are aimed towards driving systemic changes, they will be successful if enough individuals are involved.

It doesn't take the entire population to make change. It doesn't even take a majority. We just need a critical mass to press the right buttons of society, and change will be made.

Whether that means ten percent of the population or forty percent, we won't know until we get there. But if no one is willing to step up and be part of the five percent because it's not yet enough, then we'll never get there.

No doubt, systemic change is needed if we're going to prevent the worst of climate change, plastic pollution, soil depletion, and all the other environmental challenges we are facing. 

But individual actions can be highly symbolic, awakening others and proving that it's not so hard to live with less or to live without plastic or to generate only one mason jar worth of trash in a year.

If enough people start doing these things, or less extreme versions of them, they become normal, and most people want to follow the crowd. If these things start to trend, many others will follow. 

One of the best things most of us can do is to do small things for the environment regularly and share with others the joy and benefits that it brings without making a big deal about the “sacrifice.” 

For example, you could talk about the money you save by carrying a water bottle instead of buying bottled water, and how you were able to take a weekend vacation with the savings. Or how taking public transportation gives you time to catch up on your favorite author's new series of books.

I think part of the reason that environmentalism hasn't resonated with more people yet is because we're always emphasizing what we need to get rid of and do without instead of what we'll gain by being free of pollution. All the non-action takers see is sacrifice, and they've never considered the upside.