I’ve always wondered what the best possible solution to solving our environmental and ecological crisis is? There is a lot of talk, promises, and small things being done that don’t seem to have the effect we want. Even so I have remained optimistic and books like Who Rules the Earth fuel that optimism. This book tells the reader two things. Who is responsible for the continued environmental issues we face and that the solution is to change the morals that guide human behavior and thus contribute to how we interact with the earth. Below I describe how I would potentially apply what I have learned in this book to the real world to enact real change.
It is made very clear in this book that the “little things” individuals do is not enough to enact long term environmental change. We instead need to enact change on a large based institutional level. The term “social rules” is used quite often in this text and is defined as “big levers that will ultimately decide whether we can reconcile the pursuit of property with thoughtful environmental stewardship”(Steinberg 2015, 12). This is how long term institutional change is described in the text. Various examples of how it plays out are described such as the difference between regulations of pesticide use in Canada and the U.S. Canada’s solution is described as an example as to how institutional change can be achieved. The institution that is the government was able to pass laws that significantly changed pesticide use in Canada which is proof that social rules can enact real change if we put our mind to it (Steinberg 2015, 13). One way I could see this playing out in my personal life is through my volunteering efforts. I usual go and do volunteer service on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation during the summer. I know that while what I am doing is good, I also know that it will not bring about significant change to the horrid living conditions of that community. I should take Steinbergs advice and also push for some sort of legislation that allows the people of this community to have access to decent food which would then hopefully reduce the high rates of diabetes and other diseases that plague the reservation. That’s only one of the many things I could do to solve the insane amount of problems that the Pine Ridge community faces.
Another thing that the book goes into is the problem with “thinking globally and acting locally” and how we need to “think and act at multiple levels if we are to make progress on vexing social and environmental problems” (Steinberg 2015, 163). This is what Steinberg calls “thinking vertically” which has to do with enacting change through the combined efforts of not just small scale local solution, but also through larger scale stuff as well. An example he uses is the European Union and how they have “developed the capacity to respond to environmental problems in a coordinated fashion” (Steinberg 2015, 163). I always thought of myself as an agent of change for doing things like buying food from local farmers and businesses and supporting anything pertaining to natural organic consumption. However, it seems that I once again have to be thinking on a bigger scale if I want to actually make significant change according to Steinberg. This can again pertain to my volunteer trips to Pine Ridge. Someone who acts locally would seek to solve their food problem by starting up a local garden for the people to use. I would not only open that garden, but also work with government and other agencies (including local) to create a program that would give the people nutritional training allowing them to grow their own foods and become more self-sufficient. This to me seems like the kind of large impact stuff Steinberg is looking for that can be obtained by thinking vertically.
Steinberg, Paul F. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press, 2015.