Environmental Responsibility in Action: The Global Solution Starts Locally

While keeping track of the outcome of the Paris climate change talks, I came across a video from the Natural Resources Council of Maine that illustrates how citizens are able to push forward sustainable solutions at the local level, instead of waiting for the leaders of the world to come to an agreement on an issue that is loaded with conflicting agendas.

Global warming will not be resolved by policy makers it will only be resolved by individual actions.  Our role as local and global citizens is highlighted by these individuals that have taken matters into their own hands.  There are hundreds if not thousands of other examples of citizens across Maine and across the nation that are moving toward a more sustainable lifestyle.  It is incremental and sometimes slow, but it is clearly a social change toward a new model of life.  It is a paradigm change that must begin in the rich industrialized world and one that must not be imposed on the developing nations.  We have the luxury of having at our reach the technology and the “know how” for the implementation of a more sustainable lifestyle.  Millions in the developing world do not have an opportunity to contribute to climate change, they do not have access to electricity, water, sanitation systems, communications systems or the possibilities of being part of a global consumer society.  It is up to us!

Congratulations to those making a difference in our State. Thank you for showing us that the solution to climate change is here in our local communities and not in Paris, France.

Stefano Tijerina

About Stefano Tijerina

My name is Stefano Tijerina and this blog’s objective is to connect Maine’s social, environmental, economic, cultural, and political issues to the global system, centering on how the local impacts the global and how the global impacts the local or what is known in Global Studies as the "Glocal" effect. In our present era of globalization it is crucial for the general public to understand how the new dynamics of the international system impact our lives here in Maine and how our local decisions impact the earth. These are my personal views, and they do not express those of the University of Maine System or the University of Maine.