peer apathy

I have recently awoken to the fact that many of my peers and friends are hugely apathetic towards taking positive action to minimise their impact on the environment. The feeling seems to be that one individual cannot make a significant enough difference by living more sustainably, so really, what is the point? As individuals can we really make a difference in combating global warming?
In reference to an earlier blog post, I debated with a friend the demerits of air travel. She suggested that a single person boycotting a flight would not stop the airplane from filling up with other passengers and taking off. Her point was valid. One person’s attempts to make a global change would probably have minimal impact, but if everyone took the same stance, perhaps one less plane would have to take flight.
One person cannot conquer the world’s production factories. One person cannot go up against multi-billion dollar corporations and fight for a decrease in air pollution. One person cannot solve a global problem. Through education and awareness programmes, maybe the one person will become two, will become four, will become ten. Everything starts with the individual. Everything starts off small. This should not despair us in our attempts to spread the knowledge on how to live sustainably.