Think globally…. STEP IT UP!
While we have been preoccupied with the happenings here locally, the issue of global climate change has not gone away. Bill McKibben makes a convincing argument about why, unlike most movements for social progress, the movement to adjust our habits to protect the earth’s future has a distinct TIME LIMIT (read this very good article here: http://www.orionmagazine.org/pages/om/07-2om/McKibben.html).
So, what is a good global citizen living in Ulysses supposed to do? Well, STEP IT UP! April 14 will be a day of action for addressing these issues. There are currently 1,170 events planned in all 50 states, to “Help start a movement. Take one spring day and use it to reshape the future…”. We could, of course, tag along with the folks up on the Cornell campus, who will be participating in a wide range of events already planned– see schedule here: http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/sar44/events.html — as a part of “Cornell University’s First Annual Global Warming Awareness Initiative.” And, an event is scheduled for the Ithaca Commons, too. But, we could also do something more local if folks were interested… all the needed info is at the web site, http://www.stepitup2007.org/. They are looking especially for events held at “iconic places”– and, you know, Taughannock Falls would sure qualify for that…
Interesting idea. I guess it would be kind of hypocritical for us all to drive all the way down to the Commons just in order to demand that Congress do something about global warming, which is powered by our use of fossil fuels. Taughannock Falls is closer, but still quite a distance to hoof it.
Please don’t be limited in your thinking by my suggestion of the falls (although it is a place where plenty of us can be found walking on an average April Saturday). Taughannock is only a little further from my house than the Commons, Trumansburg only a little farther drive than that. I’ll likely go to the event that I find most appealing, and try to combine it with another car trip, like to shop or go to the library.
BTW, Jonathan–
You may not quite be getting the idea of Step It Up– it is to raise awareness, not “get Congress to do something.” For instance, the Town of Caroline, which, IMHO, Ulysses could do very well to imitate in the area of energy-future planning, will be sponsoring a house-to-house walking event, staffed by student volunteers (free compact flourescent bulbs contributed by Wal-Mart) to offer residents free, simple energy-and-money-saving tips. “Awareness” is for everybody, not just legislators.
That’s an excellent focus Caroline is taking – are those high school students?
The Caroline crew for Step It Up day is Cornell students, but this is an ongoing effort, and volunteers have been recruited by Energy Independent Caroline, Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension, and others.
In the category of “Just look who is stepping up to Step It Up!”: check out the breaking news on the bold stand of the Supreme Court!
Instead of fussing over whether it is ok to drive from T-burg to Taughannock, why not demand government standards for reasonable fuel economy standards for the fleet?
Sorry, folks, I am not getting the right results on this link business… if you click on the underlined sentence in the previous comment, you will get the NY Times article on the Supreme Court’s global warming decision.
Wonderful that Justice Kennedy lined up on the right side of this issue!
Krys,
I don’t think it’s fussing to consider the environmental impact of environmental activism. What the government does is important. What we as individuals do is just as important.
Right, Jonathan–
That’s why I’ve lived in a passive solar/wood heated house for 25 years– I agree. And passing out info on compact flourescents is a great idea. But, sometimes we have less control over things, and other times we have more. A lot of attention gets focused on some stuff– like discretionary auto trips of 3-4 miles, whether people take a bus or drive to work, and sometimes folks can get, well, fussy about other people’s business. When I was in city planning school, I was utterly floored by how little understanding people had, for instance, of how difficult it was to ride a bike if you had two or three kids in tow (you can probably relate to that one!). And, very few people seem to attend to the miles of truck transport their food uses before they eat it (I know you do).
All in all, the more we can accomplish through collective action, and the less we need to rely on fussing one another to “be good,” the more likely we are to succeed, I think. I’m also a big fan of using things like carbon credits and cap-and-trade approaches to rachet down the bad stuff. Guilt is just a poor motivator for lots of people.