Poor analogies. The civil rights movement and the abolition and suffragette movements only affected the pride and the feeling of superiority of those in a privileged position.

As subsequent events have shown the life and prosperity of the wealthy haven't suffered. Even the elimination of slavery turned out not to be as dire to plantation owners. It was just replaced by sharecropping and even the responsibility of providing food and shelter for workers was eliminated.

Changing from consumerism will have a direct affect on everyone. No one is willing to sacrifice. Changing a light bulb is not a sacrifice, you aren't now sitting in the dark.

Having people give up their cars or move into high density housing rather than a suburban single family home is something else.

Recycling is not the same thing as foregoing the purchase in the first place. Politicians can't get ahead of the public. The best they can do is try to change concept of what is acceptable. That's what the abolition movement did, but it took a war to turn it into policy.

Policies not Politics
---- Daily Landscape