Does Blogging on Renewables Change People's Minds?
I was listening to an interview with Pulitzer-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof just now, probably best known for his coverage of Darfur. In the discussion, he said that when he was first given a column, he thought he could change people’s minds, but soon realized that the best he could do was to shed light on certain ideas that otherwise would not have received any attention at all.
First, let me say that I do not compare my writing — its quality nor its importance — to Kristof’s. But I do have to say that I smiled when he made that remark. I’m sure I haven’t changed anyone’s mind on the imperative to break our addiction to oil, the validity of global warming, etc. If I’ve done anything here, it’s to provide a forum for discussion — and I thank the many people who have been a part of that forum with their questions, their comments, and their guest blogs.
I always say, “It is better to light a single candle then to stub your toe on the dusty skull of the guy who didn’t.”
Seriously, though, I think your work definitely has the potential to help shift the discussion in favor of enlightened self interest and realism.
As Gandhi observed, we may each regard our own actions as insignificant, but each one of us playing our part constitutes the whole of progress. Most of our oxygen is produced by trillions of tiny plants floating in the ocean. One of them has an impact that’s hardly even measurable but, collectively, they made and continue to make the stunning variety of life on Earth possible.
To paraphrase Margaret Meade – never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can overturn and defeat the potent forces of ignorance and greed. We just need to remain determinedly thoughtful and continually committed, and persist in our small acts, and do the best we can to broaden and deepen our already significant circle by communicating outward as well as reinforcing inward. Blogging – using our sacred freedom of speech (while that’s still not prohibited) in the still fairly open public sphere of the internet – is a vital way to do both.
The forces of avarice and anti-intellectualism are very strong indeed in this country and across the globe, but they have an important and lethal vulnerability – they rely on good people to do nothing. While I quite certainly am not wholly good, I just as certainly will not simply stand by and do nothing, and I’m very pleased to count you as company, Craig. Keep floating and pumping out the oxygen!
That’s very kind of you. Thanks, Cameron.