The average Syracuse University student knows that humankind is severely impacting the environment, which in turn detrimentally affects the climate. Students constantly hear from experts that they must change their environmentally irresponsible behavior immediately or face the direct consequences of environmental degradation and climate change. Missing from this discourse is the understanding that there are many ways to take environmental action.

Undoubtedly, unsustainable Western consumerist habits and industrial pollution are at least partially responsible for severe environmental change. We know more action must be taken to mitigate the effects on the climate and environment. However, acknowledging the threat human actions pose to the environment and taking actual action are two separate realms.

Environmentalism is commonly regarded as a niche category reserved for people with financial resources and people willing to dedicate their lives’ missions to sustainability. Combined with the knowledge of environmental doom and gloom, practicing environmentalism can seem unattainable. This image of environmentalism is misleading. Environmentalism is more pragmatic than its gatekept social definition.

To save the environment, the people acting cannot be a niche group of individuals ready to call out anyone who missteps their choices relating to pollution. Rather, environmental issues require collective action of everyone to achieve the scale of change necessary for sustaining a livable planet.

The collective change required is exemplary of the first wave of modern environmentalism in the early 1970s. The first Earth Day in 1970 was spurred by collective individual demands against the polluting habits of American society and industry. It was not reserved for specific people who changed their entire lives. Rather, a collectivized group of average Americans sparked a national change that resulted in landmark clean air and water regulations and some of the first polluter accountability ever.

Today, environmental concerns have evolved to encompass more than clean air and water regulation. In the 52 years since the first Earth Day, scientists have developed stronger understandings of the human impact on the environment and have reached a consensus on the dominant trends of climatic change. Despite knowing more about the human environmental footprint, that same philosophy of collectivizing individual action remains necessary to tackle environmental issues. Through this understanding, environmentalism must consist of small-scale action. This is what makes the concept so accessible.

Environmentalism does not require driving an expensive electric car, shopping from Whole Foods or spending abhorrent amounts of money on “sustainably” marketed products. Converting to a “granola” lifestyle is not the end-all-be-all mending of humans’ relationship with nature.

Becoming conscious of one’s consumptive choices makes environmentalism attainable for the average student because it incorporates the practice into daily life. Environmentalism in the Western world looks like ditching disposable red solo cups or plastic bottles for reusable ones, carpooling and riding public transportation where possible, buying out of necessity and not on impulse. All these actions reduce environmental impacts on a small level individually. If more people practiced these habits together, the environmental issue of pollution would be reduced.

If the goal is to change the institutions responsible for massive pollution, then changing consumer habits is one route to follow. Current Western consumer demands incentivize unsustainable practices. Meanwhile, companies will not change their own habits unless consumers — those of us giving these organizations money — change their habits. This form of consumer-based environmentalism opens the gate for anyone to partake regardless of income or social status. But change is only possible if enough people act.

The major obstacle that individuals face when confronting their poor environmental habits is self-disempowerment. It means that people, concerned that they can not make a difference, do not change their habits despite their real impact. The notion that environmentalism must look a certain way and result in massive individual change is a false notion. In reality, the average citizen lacks the ability to make substantial change alone, which is why collective action is the goal — small actions combined to make great change. It relies on that small, seemingly unimpactful change that students can make in their daily lives.

Environmentalism is not hard to partake in. It does not mean an entire life switch. It is not reserved for the institutions that pollute. It requires re-thinking what it means to consume, something that we all can do. Next time while going out across campus, consider what it means to buy that disposable cup; it may just lead you to a step in reducing your environmental impact. Environmentalism is for everyone.

Harrison Vogt is a junior environment sustainability policy and communication and rhetorical studies dual major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at hevogt@syr.edu. He can be followed on Twitter at @VogtHarrison.

Published on April 18, 2022 at 10:53 pm