Rubbernecking the commons.

• Author: Ayres, Ed
• Position: Note From a Worldwatcher - Small acts of social responsibility add up

It's a familiar question, one that environmental authorities are often asked by frustrated folks to whom they have just delivered yet another grim lecture about the precariousness of life on our ever more crowded, depleted, and polluted planet:

"What can I do?"

It's a question of ambiguous meaning, though--the verbal equivalent of an image some of us may recall from our psychology 101 courses in college. When you looked at it you saw either an "attractive young woman" or an "old hag." Whichever image you saw, if you stared at it for a few seconds, it suddenly flipped, and then you saw only the other. Same visual stimulus, completely different perception.

On one hand, this question so often asked of environmentalists--what can I do?--comes up as a straightforward inquiry about what actions a conscientious citizen can take to deal with some pervasive environmental challenge: How can I do my part to combat global warming, or suburban sprawl, or the decline of birds? We get frequent reminders at Worldwatch that our readers and supporters want this kind of information. They understand that one person out of 6 billion doesn't seem likely to make a noticeable difference, yet also know that the collective movement of humanity as a whole is made up entirely of the movement of individuals.

On the other hand, shift the intonation of this question just slightly--What can I do?--and it becomes less a request for information than a rhetorical question that means, essentially, "There's nothing I can do that makes a difference, so forget it." It's a disavowal of responsibility, a shrugging off. It may even be a kind of fatalistic surrender, a reflection of a subconscious decision that you might as well live it up now, while there's anything left to enjoy.

It's possible, though, that this sense of futility is founded on an illusion. The idea that you are only one of 6 billion implies that the actions individuals take are simply additive. But there's reason to believe they're far more than that. To begin with, it is ecologically naive to think of any individual as an independent actor. All individuals exist as interdependent members of communities, and communities share large complexes of commonalities, beginning with common physical and cultural environments, or "commons." Any act you take is very likely to be taken by others who share your environment, and who are therefore responsive to the same stimuli. When an action is taken by a number of people (even...