Response to Maniates

I agree with Maniates argument that the time for easy is over. Now is the perfect moment to take those strides for the environment that were not possible for the last eight years. However, we should realize that not everyone is as passionate as saving the earth as others. If celebrities and politicians can succeed in motivating those who were once indifferent to environmental degradation to recycle or conserve electricity--it is a victory for the green movement. Those people who are passionate about these issues need to be the ones to step up and take on the larger and more widespread goals of the movement. We cannot expect all people to understand and care about the earth in the ways that scientists and activists do. If we can get them to take small steps, that is a great accomplishment. However, we need to ask more of our politicians and international leaders to pass laws and agreements to slow climate change and take the issue of the future of our planet more seriously.