An Article Forget Shorter Showers By Derrick Jensen

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Forget shorter showers
Jensen questions why anyone in their rights minds would think that dumpster diving will stop Hitler or "composting would have ended slavery or brought about the eight hour workday, or that chopping wood and carrying water would have gotten people out of Tsarist prisons, or that dancing naked around a fire would have helped put in place the Voting Rights Act of 1957 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964?" then why now, with all the world at stake, do so many people retreat into these entirely personal "solutions"?
"Forget shorter showers" by Derrick Jensen is an article that challenges the idea of simple living to be great and can be the best solution to minimize environmental degradation. Jensen believes that personal change is good but cannot be the solution to our environmental problems. He further cites that 90percent of water is used by industries as individuals get a small portion yet they believe in personal responsibility. He argues that the ongoing environment problem seems like a personal responsibility yet the main problem is caused by the industrial capitalism.
Jensen begins his writing with a rhetorical question questioning if what we are doing as individuals can really change the world. The question effectively challenges readers, making them get hooked on the content of his article. He argues that people are trying to do small things which will not really save the planet. These small initiatives are a way of making them feel better about themselves. Jensen points out on issues to do with recycling, taking shorter showers and using less electricity as some of the personal initiatives that cannot solve the environmental degradation.
He clearly points out the main cause of the problem saying "those in power might try to kill us if we seriously impede their ability to exploit the world," he believes that those in power are the ones destroying the planet as powerless individuals suffer in silence. His second argument is about incorrectly turning the blame on individuals who are powerless and cannot do much to change the situation. He says "instead of to those who actually wield power in this system and to the system itself," this is to show that people in power take advantage of their position for economic gai...