Act Locally. Act Globally.

We can only act, or do things, where we are. Sustainable development begins when we focus on real challenges in the here and now. Sustainability at the local level means taking responsibility for our actions and their impact, it means choosing to protect our precious natural resources and invest in our local economy.

The environmental movement has shown that we can protect and restore important natural habitats by mobilizing local action. Resource efficiency has been spurred significantly by the drive for local recycling. We are learning how to be more efficient in our personal energy use, and are just starting to believe in renewable energy. The immense benefits of transitioning to greater reliance on more organic and locally produced food are getting some traction in public awareness.

We can’t forget, though, that our economy is a part of the world economy just as our ecology is part of the world ecology. We have our horizon, but beyond that is a whole wide world that encompasses us. Our systems are part of those global systems. Our boundaries are permeable – water, air, and money flow in and out of Frederick County whether we like it or not; for good and for evil.

If we pollute, we pollute our neighbors, and vice versa. If we purchase a so-called blood diamond, we are paying warlords to enslave and exploit impoverished peoples. If we eat Chilean Sea Bass, we are paying to deplete the species beyond its ability to recover, not to mention to damage the ocean habitat and other endangered species that are accidentally caught up by fishing lines and nets. If China, for example, produces goods that are not safe for consumers and yield great pollution, we are paying them to do so by our careless purchases.

Recent events dramatically demonstrate that if we participate in creating a speculative bubble, such as by borrowing too much money to purchase over-valued real estate, we will shake the foundations of the global economy when the bubble bursts.

We choose our behaviors, and we need to do so first with a mind to how it affects us here in our own locality. This is practical and right, but we can’t stop our thinking there.

We must understand that we are not an island; islands don’t exist.

No man is an island, entire of itself

every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main

if a clod be washed away by the sea, 

Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, 

as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were

any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind

and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls

it tolls for thee. 

-- John Donne