Call to Action

I finished The Story of Stuff this morning (at least one of the 4 books I brought with me on this conference will be completed!), and I am overwhelmed.  Leonard actually does a good job of reassuring her readers against that despairing feeling of being overwhelmed - as though the issue is so big no amount of help can fix it.  I can admit to a tinge of that in the middle of the book.  But I got over it, and I appreciated these words of acknowledgment:

There's too much wrong with the system for even the most obsessive-compulsive among us to get every action and every choice just right.  And because that scenario is so overwhelming, the individual-responsibility model of change risks causing people to freak out, throw their hands up in despair, and sink back into overconsumptive, wasteful lifestyles.  People are busy enough already; rather than offering an overwhelming range of green lifestyle choices, we need meaningful opportunities to make big choices (for example on policy) that make big differences (240).

I also especially like the extended vision of a possible future she provides.  I agree that "the important thing is to keep in clear sight a vision of what we are fighting for, because the things we are fighting against are all around us" (248).

And though the individual-responsibility model can be overwhelming, I still leave this book with 10 major things I have already begun implementing in my life, and I know the ripple effect can and should be possible with many of these changes.  It won't save the world, but it can help.