The problems presented by Maniates should be of serious concern for any environment-conscious, informed American. The environmental situation is dire, and the proposed solutions from the government and leading environmentalists are well short of necessary, even without anticipating future growth in greenhouse gas emissions. Maniates is right in arguing that there must be a dramatic change in the environmental movement and in discussing the consequences of continuing to do the bare minimum.
However, the author is not considering the reality of environmental discourse in the United States when he is demanding the real deal from politicians and environmentalists. To begin with, there is a huge amount of disagreement in the United States about the very existence of climate change. This argument even extends to the country’s political elite, such as Senator Inhofe, minority leader of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, who uses the committee’s webpage to denounce what he calls Climategate.
Taking a firm stance on climate change, and treating Americans like adults by revealing the true dangers of continued environmental neglect will not result in the automatic shift that Maniates says is necessary. Politicians like Inhofe are waiting to attack these environmental concerns as conspiracy, and he has plenty of support among Americans. Any approach that is looking to fundamentally change our American systems will have to deal with these non-believers
- Nick Dreher
Nick, I too follow the ups and downs of Climategate. Just how might a person who sees Americans as woefully undereducated on the climate combat the conspiracy theorists? Let's say I agree with you based on your post, so what ought I to do?
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