Your debate is a bit maddening, ’cause you’re both right on the big picture. Can I help with a few of the details?

P is right that we need the carbon tax (hey, I’m half of the team behind the new Carbon Tax Center, scroll down a bit to view). And J is right that the London CRAG activists are a kind of vanguard.

But P: the carbon tax will also help bring about the needed change in both individual and political consciousness. It will (I believe) help usher in a different, more ecologically-aware prioritization of “wants” and “needs” — from the macro level of cities over suburbs, to the individual level of, say, canoeing over jet-skiing.

And J: Increases in prices take a little time to open up choices and affect behavior, which is why 06 showed the drop in use even though the price rises were higher in 04 and 05.

Guys, the personal and the political, the individual and the collective, all feed off of each other. Let’s cheer for both!

Jason, in the 1800′s it may have been an admirable step of for a family to take but the creation of a one-building sewer system would not have solved the sanitation crises of the era. Even if the ‘movement’ (no pun intended) had included a large percentage of the community it is not likely that a city like New York would have acheived it’s goals of reducing water borne disease. It was only the governmental and corporate recognition that a collective solution was vital to the future of the city that produced the systemic answer required.

Like I’ve said, I don’t really mean to belittle the individual efforts of those who recognize the problem before others. However, in my opinion the solution lies in another direction.

I’m sorry for the nitpicky argument- I’ll try not to be a downer for the rest of the day.

A Carbon Tax would be a huge step – but it alone is not enough. Society has to fundamentally alter the way it thinks about the environment – and itself. Too many people equate personal success with consumption. What does “the good life” mean to the average American? Its a culture of wastefulness and decadence – this is what need to change. We cannot legislate a change in thinking, can we?

Its also worth noting here that the industrialized nations has a 0.6% drop in oil use in 2006. That has not happened in over 20 years. So maybe individual behavior is starting to add up?There certaqinly hasn’t been any goverment action that would explain the 0.6% drop.

great post Sarah.

For instance, information regarding the amount of recylced content of a product or the amount of energy that went into its creation are simply not available to individuals. I recognize their actions as a political statement but it also seems to reinforce the notion that whether or not to live a sustainable lifestyle is a matter of individual preference not public policy.