The Living-Green Myth: The Promise and Limits of Lifestyle Environmentalism

by Michael Maniates

Massive environmental problems threaten our planet and evoke within us a need to act – a need to do something, no matter how small, to slow the damage.

But what kind of action? Businesses, governments, and environmental groups tell us that buying environmentally friendly products while living more lightly on the planet is a winning strategy. If enough of us make these changes to our lifestyles, governments and corporations will follow suit. Environmental solutions will emerge and the planet will prosper.

Michael Maniates believes that individuals can and must stop environmental destruction. But not by living green. The mantra of “buy green, live lean, save the planet” is a it fosters pernicious assumptions about social change, separates individuals from their real power in the world, and fuels damaging consumption. It’s high time to find more rewarding and promising avenues for saving the planet. This book shows us how.

168 pages, Paperback

Published November 18, 2025

About the author

Michael Maniates is a Senior Fellow at the Story of Stuff, an environmental organization that focuses on sustainable consumption and system transformation. From 2013 to 2025, he served as Professor of Social Science and the Inaugural Chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, among the first liberal arts colleges in Asia. Along the way he’s cofounded two environmental organizations, taught repeatedly aboard a floating university, lived in India for a couple of years as a Fulbright scholar, launched two undergraduate environmental studies programs at top ranked liberal arts colleges and retooled a third, and helped run for 15 years the world's highest volume frozen yogurt shop. He can still fill cups and cones with the best of 'em. For more on that frozen yogurt shop (still going strong!), and for other juicy tidbits, type "michaelmaniates" into your browser and go from there.

Reviews

[John Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very helpful book. It reminds me of The Shrewd Samaritan which is another book that dispels popular misconceptions held by well-meaning folks that actually get in the way of solving problems.

Maniates’ thesis is that Green advertising is a misdirection for the consumer and an excuse for government and business to avoid substantive, beneficial and necessary changes.

In my opinion, there is a common misconception among progressives is that increased education will lead to necessary change. Maniates points to examples such as the personal carbon footprint concept to show how people can be “educated” to believe things that are actually unhelpful. Instead of saving the planet, the living green myth of small gestures and big change is actually a deceptive distraction from more helpful actions.

I appreciate Maniates’ optimism and his willingness to offer alternatives for those of us who want to live a Green lifestyle and make a difference and his seven suggested strategies are a very helpful start.

I suspect that many readers will find themselves identifying with many of the characteristics mentioned in this book. And if you’re a non-academic as I am, I think you will be especially benefit from his explanations of environmental concepts, movements and ideas. His generous attribution of other authors and thinkers and his helpful chapter on other environmental resources make this an excellent reference for anyone interested in living or learning about the green life.

[Brad Battson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book! It is a brilliant, well-documented, timely, inspirational, and very readable critique of the “living green” movement and its limitations. It discusses the history of the living-green philosophy, challenges widely held assumptions about how to reverse humanity’s negative impacts on the environment, and provides suggestions for the best ways to achieve social change in this area. While acknowledging that we won’t be saving the planet anytime soon, the author makes the case that it is not too late. A must-read for those who are concerned about Earth’s future and want to make a difference.