Realistically, we’ve got a long way to go before such a claim can be made with a straight face, but progress is being made. Some of the bolder initiatives that City Hall has launched in recent years have worked to expand the use of green roofs, support sustainable architecture, and reduce waste from plastic water bottles. There are other examples, but suffice to say that the mayor is backing up his green rhetoric with some real political muscle in a bid to leave a legacy as an early 21st century environmental leader.

But one criticism that can be made about Daley’s approach so far to creating a more sustainable city is that it is very top-down. Municipal government can put in place programs to encourage better resource management, but it can’t mandate a local green economy into existence. Achieving that goal takes the vision, dedication, and hard work of countless green business entrepreneurs and environmentally conscious consumers. And let’s face it, most of us don’t really enjoy when the government tells us what to do. Even when City Hall tackles an issue we’re passionate about, most of us wonder to ourselves, “Why are they doing it that way? Wouldn’t it be more effective to do X with the money?”

If you’ve ever had such idea, imagine for a moment that you could get help from your local government agencies to help make it a reality. Wouldn’t it be great to have such ideas nurtured instead of being left to die on the vine?

Enter the Chicago Conservation Corps.

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What is most needed in your area may not be exactly what you had envisioned doing. For instance, you may want to protect snow leopards and there are certainly many ways to do so; however, you may have an even greater opportunity to help large cat species by working in your community to resolve conflict between local residents and mountain lions or to prevent game hunting of these magnificent animals. By learning about and addressing the real needs of your community or ecosystem you are guaranteed to make a real and positive impact.

And remember to approach the issue with respect for the needs and concerns of the people involved. In the above example, you may find that conflict between cougars and people arises because of fear of these powerful animals. On the West Coast, the same conflict is present between people and sea lions, especially when these large predators visit local beaches and frighten families or eat fish caught by local fishermen. In these cases, effective activism may involve education, animal rehabilitation, or working in hand with the farmers or fishermen to offset or prevent their loss of profit while protecting the species they view as a threat.

If your interest is improving the environment, it helps to learn about the native ecology of your area. Think about how the environment where you live has changed in the last 200 years. Maybe the land was converted to a city or turned into farmland. What strains does this place on the local ecosystem? For example, if you live in the Great Plains States or the Prairie Provinces, perhaps you see farmlands that use more water than the natural aquifers can support. This is a major concern to farmers and environmentalists alike. Then why not get involved by encouraging more efficient drip irrigation on farms, promoting less thirsty native plants in the front yards of nearby urban areas, and educating others about the importance of water conservation?

One famous example of someone who learned to address change by meeting the needs of local communities is Jane Goodall, who set out with an interest in chimpanzees and a desire to protect their declining populations. Along the way, she learned about some of the important issues for villagers in the local communities that depend on the same land and resources as the chimpanzee populations. She realized that to be successful in her conservation efforts, she would have to also address the needs of the community. Today, the Jane Goodall Institute (and other organizations, like the Wildlife Conservation Society) are helping local Tanzanian communities to meet their needs and solve their most pressing issues in ways that don’t harm chimpanzee populations.

Even far-reaching goals like the protection of an entire species must start by addressing the needs of the communities where they are to be implemented. This creates a situation where everyone wins.
What if your interests are different from the community’s needs? Rather than abandoning your interests, be creative. Try drawing a Venn diagram where one circle lists actions that will respond to your community’s needs and another lists solutions to an issue about which you have an interest. The overlapping area of the diagram will give you creative ways to approach the needs of the community while pursuing your interests.

Even issues that at first seem distant can often be approached from the same angle. For instance, if you care about global warming, but your community is more concerned with the rising cost of health care, it might be most effective to approach the issue of health care first and find out from that perspective how you can include solutions to global warming as well. In this case, it may be that you end up working with the American Lung Association to prevent childhood asthma by decreasing air pollution and greenhouse gases. Or, you may contribute to public education about human influences on the climate with the support of insurance companies that have begun to raise their fees in areas that are most vulnerable to health and property damage due to climate change. In any case, you will succeed at generating support and accomplishing your goals best by working for and not against others in the community.

But wait, there’s more! So that you can have the funds to make your community activism dreams a reality, The Case Foundation is offering the Make It Your Own Awards for "inspired individuals and passionate teams who are connecting people to discuss what matters, find smart solutions, and take action.” They are offering an impressive $35,000 grant to fund deserving community activism programs. But you don’t have to come in first to win their support. All in all, the Case foundation is “giving $100 to the top 100, $10,000 to the top 20, and an extra $25,000 to the final four.” If you enjoy community activism and want to do more, then don’t miss your chance to apply by August 8.

Additional References and Resources:
The Center for Ecoliteracy: www.ecoliteracy.org

Local Ecology of San Francisco, "Nature in the City:" http://natureinthecity.org

Rock the Vote in partnership with the Make It Your Own Awards: www.rockthevote.com/makeityourown
T

he Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots Program, engaged in positive community activism: www.rootsandshoots.org
Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benevolink/82714178/

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Editor's note: We're very pleased to welcome Max Lindberg to our writing team. The publisher of the Lindberg Report podcast, now a part of The Fuels Report, Max is a retired broadcast journalist. We're very happy to have his wealth of experience on the team! Stay tuned — once we get the technical kinks worked out, Max will be producing the first GO podcast series, "Greening the Golden Years."

So you're going to join the May 15th MySpace members Gas Out. Good for you! We need to show those greedy, and not necessarily nice, oil-rich countries in the Mideast that we don't like their attitudes and hit 'em where in counts: in the pocketbook.

What a great idea: 72-million MySpace members avoiding gas stations for one day. I didn't do the math ( too complicated for me!), but based on a fill-up costing between $20 and $30, the boycott would cost the Middle Eastern oil companies more than $2,000,000.000 in revenue. That's $2 Billion. Wow!

But, wait a minute. There's only one hitch to this great idea. To pull it off, all 72 million who drive a gasoline-fueled vehicle would have to leave their cars, trucks or whatever, home for 24 hours and take a bus, ride a bike, walk or hitch a ride with someone who doesn't care. You can bet your baby-blue-booties it ain't gonna work.

And what about those who do avoid filling stations for 24-hours and still drive? Well, bunky, think about this. On May 14, the price of gas will be, let's say for the sake of argument, $2.85 a gallon. So you drive on the 15th, and you burn several gallons of gas, which eventually has to be replaced. On the 16th, the price of petrol jumps to $2.95 a gallon. So on your next fill-up, you'll pay $.10 more for a gallon of gas, and the oil companies would have made a modest profit anyway.

But, if you must, join the "gas out", I'm sure they'll notice your absence at the pump.

Why not take a more pro-active approach? Drive a little less than usual, join a car pool, support the use of alternative fuels and use them if appropriate for your vehicle. Use less energy any way you can. The emphasis here is not to "punish" the oil companies, but to save our environment. It's the least we can do."

Oh, and if all this sounds very familiar, you're right. According to Snopes, the Urban Legends people, this particular message, or a variance, has been around since 1999. Read the above paragraph.