Eco-living: the opiate of the masses?

I do not agree with this article in the Boston Phoenix that "the idea of a consumer-led environmental movement has pollution-belching multi-nationals rolling in the aisles — and the joke is" on the consumer.

Eco-living is the new opiate of the masses. The captains of industry have duped you — like master magicians, they have used simple tricks and toys to divert your attention from the real source of global catastrophe, tucked securely up their sleeves. They could not be more pleased that you and your fellow self-satisfied saps expend your righteous Earth-saving efforts in pursuit not of them but of your own lighting fixtures and water bottles — while they merrily maintain an unfettered raping of the planet.

Personal responsibility comes first and once the mindset changes in this regard, the masses will automatically demand responsibility from industry - not merely in terms of their product offerings but also in how they make them. We are setting ourselves up for failure by putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of the 'pollution-belching multi-nationals' or China or some other upcoming nation that is growing rapidly and adding new coal plants and buying more cars! (What do these people expect? That Chinese and Indians and Indonesians and East Europeans and the other 5 billion people living outside of the Western world will continue to live in the 20th century or even the 18th/19th century in some cases? Only the western world has the privilege to enjoy/abuse the luxuries of life? Lets be practical - the effects of globalization will level the playing field a lot more in the years to come and instead of pointing fingers and playing this us-and-them game, lets think pro-actively on how to win together. Because if we lose, we will all collectively lose. The effects of climate change will affect everyone across the world - not just China or India or the Tulavu islands, although admittedly the effects and their magnitude will vary from place to place.

By shirking personal responsibility, we are sending the message to the companies that we do not care to change our lifestyles.. and so are giving them tacit approval for them to continue their rake-in-the-profits-at-the-expense-of-the-environment ways. Yes... put the pressure on the Exxons of the world but at the same time, embrace a more efficient lifestyle - 'greener/eco-living, call it what you may - taking due cognizance of the fact that animals and plants of all kinds, including humans, have to go on living for centuries more to come.