Reading articles like this make me quite sad, not because the described lifestyle is unappealing to me (I'm a vegan who doesn't drive, avoids plastic, and is "off-grid" on solar power), but because on an individual level, these efforts are so pale in comparison to environmental destruction caused by military, industry and large-scale commerce, I consider bragging or evangelizing them to be vain and even a bit egoistic.

Don't get me wrong: avoiding animal products, long-haul flights, plastic shampoo bottles are all worthwhile, but not for the reasons stated. They do not even begin to address the large systemic problem of climate change and ecological harm. They make us feel good, like we're "doing something" - and perhaps that's by design while the real perpetrators of our own extinction go unpunished and even unrecognized. It is "bumper sticker" activism while what's actually needed is a radical shift in collective consciousness. How do we organize such global action for effect?