Response to Stanley Fish

I think that Stanley Fish’s piece offers great insight into the fact that many Americans are simply stuck in their ways. Many do not partake in eco-friendly activities because they do not want to change. One could blame the unwillingness to change on the fact that most Americans do not see visible advantages of leading environmentally friendly lives. Most cannot see how their choices affect the environment with their own eyes. As a result, they do not believe that their choice to recycle a plastic bottle really makes a difference in the grand scheme of things.
I agree with Drew’s post that living environmentally friendly in the modern-day US means reducing, reusing, and recycling as much as possible and that a culture change must take place in order to save the environment. In the meantime, while we’re trying to change society’s mindset, I think it’s important that individuals who find it hard to adjust to an eco-friendly life focus on one specific issue and try to stick to it. For example, if someone thinks it’s important to unplug all appliances then they should diligently stick to that and then try to change other aspects of their lives. It’s hard to do everything at once, therefore if individuals can focus at doing one environmentally friendly thing very well and then branching out, they might have a better chance at sticking to their new lifestyle.

Brittany Stewart