Similarities Between Bill Mckibben And Jensen

Bill McKibben and Derrick Jensen were born in 1960 in the U.S.A., and both have accomplished successful academic backgrounds. McKibben graduated from Harvard University in 1982, and Derrick Jensen graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a degree in Mineral engineering in 1983. Both are environmental activists and have written many articles and books. Two of their articles “Waste Not, Want Not” by Bill McKibben and “Forget Shorter Showers” by Jensen are published in the Bedford Reader book (557-567). When we analyze these articles both authors agree on consumers contribution to environmental pollution, but they have different points of views concerning whether individuals or industrialists cause more environmental pollution. Also, they have different suggestions to mitigate environmental pollution. McKibben and Jensen have similar views on their activism: They believe consumers contribute significantly to environmental pollution. For

McKibben suggests there is inefficient spending and mechanisms by individual consumers. For example, a lots carbon emissions and sewage caused by individual consumers is the result of their inability to use the latest technology. Also, consumers’ inability to respect the regulations of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act contributes to environmental pollution. He supports this idea by saying “Our wasteful habits wouldn’t matter much if there were just few of us” (559). On the other hand Jensen argues by saying prejudicing powerless individuals instead of those who actually attain influential power in the system of government and policy making is one of the problems to mitigate environmental pollution. He supports his idea by mentioning Kirkpatrick Sale’s quote: “ The whole individualist what –you-can-to-do-save-the-Earth guilt trip is myth. We, as individuals, are not creating the crises, and we can’t solve them”