Environmentalism Rant

With all the stuff on TV and the news, the shows about global warming and this book I'm reading (Story of B), I've been thinking a lot about the possibility of one person's behavior influencing the global environment (and I don't mean that in a limited sense of environmentalism -- more in the larger sense of one person implementing some kind of change). But regarding environmental responsibility, can one person make a difference? Is screwing in a light bulb really it?

The whole "green is the new black" thing -- the trendiness of it -- the exposure is good, but the marketing and hype and "everyone should be doing it" attitude of the ... movement ... is off-putting.

Why not continue on my poorly thought out rant?

I am also pissed that hybrid cars cost so much. Remember when they first became a real option for the buyer, how there were those government incentives? You'd get a $10k rebate or something, or some kind of significant pay off on your taxes? That may be high, but I remember thinking, wow. That's incentive. Now, no incentive. People are buying them. I myself want to buy one. But I'm mad that I have to pay about $5k more than I would if it were just the standard model.

I saw part of this show last night on the everyday effects of global warming. Part of what they said was that drastic weather patterns are going to be the norm, not the exception. Then on the news, all this flooding in the midwest. WTF people?

I guess what I rail against is that you can point out faults and flaws until you're blue in the face, you can tell me that Brazil has weaned itself off foreign oil and uses fuel that's 85% ethanol -- which is awesome -- but what good is awareness without a road map for action? Without options? It's like knowing there's a fire in the building but not having been told where the escape route is. Although in that analogy, perhaps you have to find the escape route yourself.

And that's what I wonder. If I want to be a more responsible citizen and minimize my carbon footprint or decrease it or whatev, what do I do? I have to go find a mechanic that can turn my engine into one that runs on biofuel? And where do I get biofuel? I remember hearing recently that in some city in the US [I think] there were biofuel pumps, or at least there was one, at a regular gas station. Was that local?

I know oil makes money. I know it costs money upfront to save money in the long run much of the time. Why are these alternatives not marketed? Just the pounding awareness? You can't keep drilling it in my head that I need to be a responsible citizen but then not tell me how to change. And screwing in a light bulb just pisses me off.