Creating Real Change

I really liked reading the "Leverage Points" piece by Donella Meadows. I'll admit when I first started reading it, I thought that it was going to be very dry and full of a bunch of crazy ideas that made no sense. However, she was very clear about her definitions and the different jargon that she used. Her analogies were incredibly helpful in understanding just exactly what she meant when discussing the different leverage points that are in a system.

From her definitions of the different leverage points to intervene in the environmental realm, it seems as though today's environmental movement is stuck too far near the bottom of her list of 12 leverage points. Most of the actions taken by those who deem themselves as environmentalists are somewhere around number 12 on her line of effectiveness. It has become ingrained in the minds of most Americans that by simply tinkering around the edges of a major problem, we are actually solving it. By creating slightly more efficient cars, lightbulbs, and other electronics, we are saving the world. Or so says the conventional wisdom. However, these small changes are really only putting off the inevitable and are simply buying time.

Instead of focusing the environmental movement on these "edges," we need to begin to focus on the real issue at hand: the system itself. When we get to numbers 1, 2, and 3 on her list, we see how we need to change the goals of the system, the mindset out of which the paradigm arises, and to harness the power to transcend paradigms. These goals are all about changing the heart of the issue and acknowledging that without considering these problems, we will never really be changing anything. I think that if people who truly care about the environment and are passionate about creating positive change begin to look at these ideas, we can actually get somewhere.

But still many people think that it simply is not possible. They are content with playing with the margins instead of getting down to some real work. They always say that the system is too much a part of our culture and our lives to be able to be changed. I admit that I still think this way a lot of the time. There are so many people who may not be willing to go for these far-fetched, "crazy liberal" ideas. But as we have seen this semester, there are a lot of people on our side. In just 20 minutes in class, we came up with 5 off the wall ideas to create a real change in our society. So lets do it. Stop whining about how things can never get done and get out there and try. The future of the environmental movement need not be one in which we know nothing truly helpful will be done. The future can be bright if we are just willing to try.