Is Environmentalism up to the Climate Crisis?

Climate Change

I posted this comment at Grist.com this morning.

David Roberts recently asked a provocative, timely question. As I understand it, Is the American environmental movement an effective vehicle for galvanizing mass public opinion around climate change, or, is it too compromised by its own history and culture to do more than achieve within limits?

For me, this thread illustrates that, no, American environmentalism is a poor platform for climate change. Environmentalism is truly un-American. Americans don't believe in limits to growth. The mythos is the city on the hill, the boundless frontier, the proximity of personal freedom with natural abundance, more recently, of super-abundance through technology. Environmentalists believe in limits to growth, are respective of constraints on individual liberties (an authentically conservative principle), and most radically, do not entirely believe in linear progressive history. Setting history and culture aside, it's literally not in our nature not to procreate. The critique of reproduction that has been going on at Grist is perfectly rational and desirable, but it's outside of our evolutionary makeup, let alone our culture heritage. Environmentalism can't focus mass concern on climate when it is wont to put the polar bear cub, not the human child, on the milk carton.

Now, before I piss off everyone at once this is not a bad thing. If the environmental movement were truly able to speak to the psyche of the average American suburbanite, like say advertisers or movie producers do, than it could be deformed in a way that would compromise its integrity. Keeping environmentalism at arms length from the center of the public square will protect its ability to severely, trenchantly critique the master narrative of progress through unbridled growth and consumption. With any luck, that has to endure the climate crisis.

Commentary in this thread reflects thinking that is typical of environmental culture and which is a-typical from mainstream thought. I wouldn't want it any other way. However, it means to me that some other medium has to carry the torch respective of a goal for broad public policy consensus on climate.

http://www.grist.org/article/2010-09-01-discovery-hostage-taker-population-obsessed-kid-hating-eco-wacko/#comments