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Abstract

People don’t spring into action just because they see smoke; they spring into action because they see others rushing in with water.

Leor Hackel and Gregg Sparkman

This is the second of two chapters on actions that move toward sustainable living for individuals and society. This chapter is a companion to Chapter 11, which focused on collective ways to achieve a sustainable society, often by changing the rules of the game. In contrast, this chapter (Chapter 12) focuses on individual actions that can be taken within existing systems, structures, and political environments. Individual actions are steps that can be taken to become more sustainable despite trends or incentives in broader society that foster unsustainable practices or consumption.

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Van Antwerp, J., Heun, M.K. (2022). Individual Action. In: A Framework for Sustainability Thinking. Synthesis Lectures on Sustainable Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-79179-6_12

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