In a recent New York Times article, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe was quoted as saying, “Fear is useful to wake us up and make us pay attention. But if we don’t know what to do, it paralyzes us.”
Local actions, motivated and supported by individual and group advocacy, are part of the solution because timely, effective policies often occur first at the municipal level. Cities and counties throughout the U.S. have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, hired personnel dedicated to climate policy, created climate action plans and started successfully implementing these plans.