Keeping the Climate Crisis at the Forefront: Why Individual Action is just as Important as Massive-Scale Policy Change

By Katherine Pane

In the grand scheme of the massive issue that is the climate crisis, it often feels like individual action has no significant effect on solving it. While there are many people advocating for vegan or vegetarian diets, more fuel-efficient cars, and waste reduction through things like composting, recycling, or using reusable products, many take a more pessimistic view: that their actions alone could never make a dent in reducing humanity’s carbon footprint. This idea is not only wrong, but dangerous. As cheesy as it sounds, change starts with one person, and this can spread through communities and entire countries, even. Not only that, but the lack of incentive for change on this individual level is exactly what will put the conversation about climate change to a halt. Pressure from the actions of collections of people—actions that start small—is what drives national policy reform, a key component to reducing the carbon emissions necessary to save the planet.

It is no secret that massive-scale change is necessary in significantly reducing, and stopping, carbon emissions. Even if every person on the planet suddenly decided to go vegan, the world’s carbon emissions problem would not simply disappear. While the carbon footprint of the food industry would drastically decline, there would still be many other areas of concern. However, focusing on the large-scale can be harmful to the momentum of climate change conversations. As Jason Mark states in an article of Sierra Magazine, “A fixation on system change alone opens the door to a kind of cynical self-absolution that divorces personal commitment from political belief” (Mark). Expecting all the change to come from big companies and government action is ignorant. If your yard had been covered in dead grass and fallen leaves for weeks, would you wait for others to fix it up for you? No, you work on it, and as you do, others see how beautiful your yard is and decide to fix theirs as well. Before you know it, the local hardware shop has sold out of their rakes and bags of soil and has to get more from their supplier. Because of the increased demand in these products, the shop introduces new and improved kinds of soil mixes and sturdier rakes that make future yard renovations more convenient for you and your neighborhood. This is how everyone must view the importance of individual action. 

Australia has been seeing increasing demand for meat-substitute products in grocery stores and restaurants. According to Mike Wheeler’s article in FoodMag, “Australians are increasingly concerned about their impact on the environment” (Wheeler), a culture that undoubtedly started from a small group of people hoping to change their lifestyles. The effect of this culture shift ended up making a big difference. First off, it is expected that the number of people adopting vegetarian and vegan lifestyles will continue to increase for multiple years (Wheeler) due to the fact that change ripples out from an existing platform. As a further ripple effect, demands for meat substitutes skyrocket, thus prompting food companies to “increase the range and quality of their plant-based foods, driving further demand” (Wheeler). Thus, the growth in demand allowed a wider, better variety of eco-friendly options to Australians. The significant decrease in meat product sales in Australia had nothing to do with policy change or government incentives towards meat manufacturers. This goes to show that individual action can make some impact, and can even lead to eco-friendliness becoming more accessible and do-able.

Though it is now clear that individual action can impact larger-scale carbon footprints, you may still be wondering how this prompts government action in hitting carbon emissions where it hurts: fossil fuel companies, transportation companies, food manufacturers, and other big name businesses. Going back to Mark’s article, “dodging the issue of individual behavior could lead the climate movement into a cul-de-sac in which the public won’t be willing to shoulder the work of the climate transition” (Mark). And the reverse is just as true; a population that is exposed to and comfortable with eco-friendly habits (due to individual action that has made headway) is open to the idea of change in favor of the environment. And when people are more open to change, not only will they take part in policy changes as they come, but they are more likely to put pressure on people of higher authority to make changes, through things like protests. Once this can be achieved, communities will be more than ready to foster massive change towards bettering the environment.

When it comes to the daunting effects of climate change, do not be discouraged by your size in relativity to the issue. The world’s yard is dirty, and fixing it up can start with cleaning your own yard first. Individual action proves to be a means of spreading opinions, facts, and making change with time. Even though the climate crisis absolutely depends on changes being made within big companies, every person can and must contribute to the cause if the world is to bring its carbon footprint down to zero.

Citations

Wheeler, Mike. “The Effect of Veganism on the Meat Industry.” Food & Beverage Industry News, 11 Apr. 2019, www.foodmag.com.au/the-affect-of-veganism-on-the-meat-industry/. 

Mark, Jason. “Yes, Actually, Individual Responsibility Is Essential to Solving the Climate Crisis.” Sierra Club, 4 Dec. 2019, https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/yes-actually-individual-responsibility-essential-solving-climate-crisis