Is it better to act locally or globally? This is one question I have been churning around in my brain for the entire semester, but I have really been focused on it over the past week. Many of our guest speakers and conversations in class have involvedd discussing the importance of starting locally and making change by encouraging those in close vicinity to be environmentally conscious. Crystal Dreisbach told her story about how she began just writing letters to people and making that personal connection, and she said the best way to make change is to immediately influence those around you; Robin Kirk, as well, stressed the importance and necessity of starting locally in order to truly change anything. Today I was chatting with Jessie as we were making our slips of paper for the #AprilThreePlasticFree campaign and I was noting how I think this day could truly make a difference at Duke. I was, and am, confident that our day will encourage people to consider and think about their impact before picking up plastic utensils or straws, and was hopeful that this could translate into their daily activities and habits. Jessie, on the other hand, brought up Annie Leonard’s piece in Tools for Grassroots Activists: Best Practices for Success in the Environmental Movement, “Taking Our Work to the Next Level.” In this piece, Leonard notes that environmental activists have become too reserved and cautious, and instead, we need to demand what we know is needed and stop compromising. She notes that while living sustainably produces a good model to align our values and actions, it is not enough; we need to act to change the broader system by marching, voting and encouraging others to vote, and writing petitions. We (environmental activists) have the power to do this because we make up the majority, even though it often feels like we are fighting against everyone. When we start demanding what we know the Earth needs, we will start to see true change and environmental progress. This leaves me at a crossroads: is it better to act locally or globally? I still don’t know which is better, and I feel I will find the answer to be neither is better, but rather a combination is ideal. I think it is possible to achieve global affects through local actions. If we start and continue to talk and discuss environmental politics and solutions and make action that encourages one another, we can reach a broader, more global population.
Gallagher, Nora, et al. Tools for Grassroots Activists: Best Practices for Success in the Environmental Movement. Patagonia Books, 2016.
