Small Steps Matter

There is an interesting discussion going on at Grist about the importance of "small steps". Mike Tidwell wrote an article a couple of days ago suggesting that voluntary actions won't fix the climate, "While I do believe we have a moral responsibility to do what we can as individuals, we just don't have enough time to win this battle one household at a time, street by painstaking street, from coast to coast.". This is not a new discussion , but add to the mix a response to the first article by a group of psychologists, who say:
Dismissing the importance of small personal behavior choices in favor of a sole focus on policy changes is a big mistake. Small behaviors are important not only for the direct environmental impact they have, but because they often lead to more and more pro-environmental behaviors over time. and Numerous psychological studies have shown that people are more likely to agree to take a big action if they've previously agreed to smaller, similar actions. Thus, changing a light bulb may lead to higher impact behaviors like giving up plastic water bottles, insulating one's house, living closer to work, reducing meat consumption, and actively supporting legislation that will likely require personal sacrifice. Read it all at ::Grist