Trinity of Despair

Professor Maniate's Trinity of Despair seems to be a very helpful tool to use in understanding the problems in thinking within the environmental movement which prevent it from being fully effective. I particularly appreciate the first element which he discussed - the idea that people are self interested as opposed to inherently selfish. The difference between self interest and selfishness is an important distinction to make because selfishness implies that people only look out for themselves where as self interest opens up the possibility that people may consider that the well being of others may also be good for their own interests. It is tempting to just toss aside the entire environmental movement under the pretense that nothing will ever be done because people are selfish and will never make sacrifices or think outside their own personal space.

The second part of the Trinity of Despair, the idea of environmental action as easy and individualized is an interesting element because this concept is so widespread. Elementary students learn about using less water or recycling, adults carry their groceries in reusable bags and on AU's campus, we get to feel better about ourselves by reading our paper coffee cups which tell us that by using this product, we are able to save enough energy to power a household for 810 years. These actions have become the base of the environmental movement and even the people who embrace these ideas may not recognize the small impact that they have. At the same time, how do you ask people to address this large issue when it seems like only a few people have the power to really make changes to the system?

I am most guilty of getting caught up in the third element of the trinity, the idea that everyone must be on board for the environmental movement. This is because I can not imagine policy changes that can occur without strong Congressional support and if people vote out legislators who support environmental protection, nothing will ever happen. After thinking about this part of the trinity, though, I recognize that living in DC has made me think only about government action and completely forget about the private sector. Professor Maniates talked about changes that companies could make - like Starbucks halting the use of paper cups - or changes in schools and other institutions. This seems like the place where the most progress could be made in the environmental movement because it is the place where a few individuals can take charge and alter the system without requiring the permission of hundreds of thousands of people. I am interested to know about more projects and ideas that look to make large scale change outside of government policy.