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Cassandra Robbins
Instructor: Robert MacDonald
ENGL 1010-110
10 December 2013
The Eco-Footprint
Gernot Wagner , author of the New York Times article “Going Green but Getting
Nowhere”, challenges readers to “try to become a no-impact man” (Wagner). Wagner boldly
proclaims that despite our individual efforts to become green, the result would be fruitless.
Although any help to the environment is congratulated and encouraged, Wagner claims that “the
changes necessary are so large and profound that they are beyond the reach of individual action”
(Wagner). So just “try” not leaving impressed eco-footprints; that doesn’t mean the rest of the
world will.
Wagner mentions some deeds many do for the economy such as recycling, buying foods
in their seasons and using an eco-friendly grocer bag rather than a plastic one. He continues with
even deeper personal sacrifices like selling your vehicle, using less heat in the winter and no airconditioner in the summer while still reminding the reader that “you would, in fact, have no
impact on the planet.” Then, Wagner reaches the conscience of the more passionate type who
would give “two weeks of silence in a Buddhist yoga retreat […] with [their] BlackBerry
checked at the door.” Yet despite all this, Wagner skepticizes that many would live their “entire
life voluntarily […] off the grid” (Wagner).
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This is what Wagner means: your individual footprint is little or nothing compared to the
millions and billions of others who are not as cautious as you may be and you as an individual
may be willing to make drastic changes, but communities as a whole might not be.
What if the Pope and those who follow him, “decrease their emissions to zero overnight”,
Wagner argues? It might be something to note, yet the pollution in the atmosphere would still be
on the incline. Through Wagner’s research, “leading scientific groups and most climate scientists
would say we need to decrease global annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least half of the
current levels by 2050 and much further by the end of the century.” According to Wagner, this
would seem near impossible since even a billion-member society, such as the Catholics cutting
off all resources, would barely make a dent in the entire planet’s eco-system. “You have nowhere
to go but up,” Wagner states (Wagner).
The problem of our individual efforts in preserving the eco-system, in Wagner’s opinion,
narrows down to “self-interest” not “self-sacrifice.” The cost of pollution, emitted by all, costs
hundreds of damage to the “economics, ecosystems and human health […] per American per
year,” Wagner declares. This is a current issue. Unfortunately, the society as a whole, not
individuals or particular groups at fault, pay this cost (Wagner).
However, those few who readily submit themselves and their wallet in the pursuit of
economic change are overlooked because we, as a society, are comfortable with our choices
regardless of the consequences. Wagner uses airlines as an example of this by explaining that no
one wants flights cut and contributions do not encourage the airlines to go green with better fuel
economy and flight plans. Instead, to make everyone happy, marketing veils the pollution to
make everyone feel better about the whole situation. Wagner refers to this as “planetary
socialism”-meaning everyone is accountable for an individual’s decision (Wagner).
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There is a compromise, Wagner ventures. Limitations; or as the government says, “cap
and trade” is when undesirables are eased out of the market as preferred changes are slipped into
place instead. This gradual transition from so-called bad to good has been used in the past to get
rid of lead in gasoline in the 1980s and is even now in effect by regenerating fisheries and
lessening carbon pollution overseas in Europe. The only problem: Washington has rejected this
solution (Wagner).
Wagner supplies other options in “carbon tax” or that each person, or group of people
accept their own consequences for their choices. The former is rejected simply because of the
word “tax”. The latter, is ideal in an ideal world if only people freely chose this, if not, it would
be considered socialism, which clearly is not welcome in democratic America (Wagner).
Therefore, what seems to be the only other choice, Wagner offers, is to come to a
conclusion or idea that there isn’t really much we can do to stop the inevitable pollution of the
earth on our own. By doing this, we are not giving up. In fact, Wagner urges the continuation of
recycling and other eco-friendly decisions. He adds that in doing so, we must also understand
how our actions do affect society individually and as a whole. He ends his argument by saying
that, “our future will be largely determined by our ability to admit the need to end planetary
socialism.” We can do this by understanding the way our society and policies are run and by
becoming more consistently aware of these things by continuously keeping a practical mindset
about who’s really in charge of how big each footprint is (Wagner).
As I read this article, I was, at first, somewhat taken aback and a bit irked. I felt that I do
make a difference when I pick up the litter someone left behind, or when I buy a fuel-efficient
car. Where was Wagner getting his facts or were these all very well thought-out opinions?
Although, I must admit, to some extent, whether Wagner’s statements were gathered facts or
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years of observations, I knew he was right about one thing: the political and economic systems
rule the roost in this territory.
For example, where I grew up in Georgia, I had a friend who’s dad invented and created
a shock system for jeeps and trucks that would increase the safety of the vehicle by decreasing
the roll-over rate while using more miles per gallon. These new shocks were sure to be a huge
sell-out for all jeep and truck drivers, especially for the off-roaders of Georgia. Better gas
mileage and a safer vehicle with some simple additions would definitely be in demand and be in
competition with the local dealerships. The government, or some private party, found out about
his designs and bought him out to keep his product from entering the public market and changing
the economics in that particular industry. I didn’t understand until I was older that the buyers and
sellers market of eco-friendly products is the government’s playground. The U.S. Department of
State even describes this practice as such: “The government -- and, sometimes, private parties -have used antitrust law to prohibit practices or mergers that would unduly limit competition”
(About.com).
From this I gathered that perhaps Wagner was onto something when he said, “it [meaning
the way we live by going green] won’t change until a regulatory system compels us to pay our
fair share to limit pollution accordingly.” This seemed like the best solution with proof of
functionality and effectiveness until Wagner continued, mentioning that Washington had moved
past this objective due to “self-styled free-marketers” (Wagner).
As Wagner’s article continues, ideas to solve the pollution output were then given as tax
and or socialism - which in this country and for myself personally, neither options are appealing.
Therefore, we are left with what Wagner believes to be the most probable solution: “admit the
need to end planetary socialism” by getting to know the economy and the way by which it is run
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in order to understand it and know how to make it work for our benefit as individuals and as a
society (Wagner).
It took awhile for me to understand by what Wagner was meaning and then it hit me. If I,
and others, engage myself in learning the way the economy is run, perhaps I can make decisions
that can and will make a bigger change for the environment because I will understand how my
choices will affect the economy as a whole or contrarily affect myself individually. By doing
this, I will then control the size of my eco-footprint whereas doing nothing would allow society
to govern that for me.
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Works Cited
"Regulation and Control in the U.S. Economy." About.com Economics. U.S. Department of
State, 2013. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
<http://economics.about.com/od/howtheuseconomyworks/a/regulation.htm>.
Wagner, Gernot. "Going Green but Getting Nowhere." The Opinion Pages. N.p., 7 Sept. 2011.
Web. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/opinion/going-green-but-gettingnowhere.html?_r=0>.
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