For as much as the New York Times is a favorite source of mine, I don't subscribe to TimesSelect and, thus, miss the occasional opinion piece on climate change. Such is the case with a recent column by Nicholas Kristof, titled The Big Melt.

Thanks to David Roberts and Gristmill, however, we can all consider the crux of Kristof's piece:

Concern about greenhouse gases and reliance on imported oil usually leads to a focus on the supply side of the energy equation, particularly exotic sources such as wind, solar, waves and hydrogen. … but the low-hanging fruit on the energy front is curbing demand — meaning more energy conservation. And it's appalling that our government isn't leading us on that.

And consider it they did: the comments to Roberts' post run the gamut from thoughtful commentary on the difference between wants and needs, to the observation that "it's all about sex and status" and the suggestion that:

The most effective thing we could do is hire the best ad agencies to make fun of low mileage cars. If done well, this would lower the status of these cars and trucks, sending consumers to higher mileage cars to scratch their status itch.

I doubt it's a simple as that, but we do need to do something to bridge the gap between what we can easily (and painlessly) accomplish as consumers, and what we expect (and need) in the way of leadership from our elected officials.

As long as the politicians frame the issue in terms of sacrifice, rather than conservation, the general public will never demand policy change.

Carbon Neutral Journal's thoughts are brought to you by Hawtin Jorgensen Architects.

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