I think one of the issues is the sheer overwhelming nature of the challenges we face. We hear so much about so many different things that it is almost paralyzing. Icebergs melting, bees dying, jellyfish taking over, etc. While some of the issues share the same root cause, it can be too much to contemplate for many.
There is also a lack of connectedness to these issues for many, who are simply trying to subsist or are otherwise entrenched in our endless culture of distraction. It's the same reason that we can engage in a war for over a decade, killing and maiming many of our own, as well as (some estimate) hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, yet be largely consumed in our own personal lives. We compartmentalize, which is in part a human survival tactic. It is also because we literally do not connect our own actions with the problems or solutions, and we have a broken politics which makes many of us feel largely powerless.
To this mix, you add countervailing interests, who know that they need only use media and various other tactics to sow the slightest bit of confusion over an issue to freeze any meaningful mass action.
But, with all of this, there still seems to come a time for some things, wherein a critical mass or tipping point is reached. People mobilize and a new zeitgeist takes hold. Then it becomes comfortable, convenient, and important to be part of the solution. I think having enough people personally affected by an issue is one impetus, and another is what forces or other voices can be galvanized to participate (even if their own motives for doing so are selfish). See the Breast Cancer Awareness Movement.
There is also a lack of connectedness to these issues for many, who are simply trying to subsist or are otherwise entrenched in our endless culture of distraction. It's the same reason that we can engage in a war for over a decade, killing and maiming many of our own, as well as (some estimate) hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, yet be largely consumed in our own personal lives. We compartmentalize, which is in part a human survival tactic. It is also because we literally do not connect our own actions with the problems or solutions, and we have a broken politics which makes many of us feel largely powerless.
To this mix, you add countervailing interests, who know that they need only use media and various other tactics to sow the slightest bit of confusion over an issue to freeze any meaningful mass action.
But, with all of this, there still seems to come a time for some things, wherein a critical mass or tipping point is reached. People mobilize and a new zeitgeist takes hold. Then it becomes comfortable, convenient, and important to be part of the solution. I think having enough people personally affected by an issue is one impetus, and another is what forces or other voices can be galvanized to participate (even if their own motives for doing so are selfish). See the Breast Cancer Awareness Movement.