Its just as easy to get involved

I definitely agree with the bulk of Maniates' argument about the 'easy' efforts of the environmental community. For the most part, convincing the average American that their role in the big picture is to conserve and recycle on a personal level creates a nationwide pandemic of complacency. If someone is given an easy out like this, then they will stick to their simple life changes and deny allegations that it will never be enough. Letting Americans get away with this type of social change is highly dangerous. Not only does it prevent meaningful action from starting at the grass-roots level, it also allows consumers to feel more comfortable continuing their destructive lifestyle, with the rationale that they are "doing everything they can".

On the other hand, I think mobilizing America into action on environmental issues is a very tall order. It is not going to be easy to get our government to enact meaningful legislation to begin reevaluating our impact on the planet. Therefore, the first step must be to create a national sense of environmental awareness. This is often most effective, as we have seen with the movement so far, with the "10 easy things you can do" mentality. However, we need to revitalize the American public using this same methodology, but with a different aim. It is just as easy for the average citizen to add their name to a petition or call their Congressman as it is to change all their lightbulbs to CFR's. It is no more difficult to attend a rally or a conference than it is to buy a Hybrid car. Instead of giving Americans easy ways to lessen their environmental impact, we need to give them easy ways to join the environmental movement. After all, change starts from the bottom up. Maniates used the example of Martin Luther King, Jr., which I think is very appropriate. The civil rights movement was full of people willing to give their lives over to an important cause. There are just as many, if not more, people willing to do so for the betterment of our planet. All we have to do is show them where to sign up.