Column:
Local actions can lead to global consequences
Published Oct. 16, 2009
Australia. More than 40 percent of this island continent is covered by desert. This land, which we affectionately term "the outback," holds enormous stretches of sand dunes and semi-arid plains comprised of tan, brown and beige. But despite sandy expanses, Australia is actually a very green place.
Take the example of the small town of Bundanoon, situated in the southeast corner of the Australian continent. In July 2009, this town of roughly 2,500 inhabitants became the first in the world to ban the sale of bottled water. This community rallied behind its own initiative, which surprisingly was put forward and strongly endorsed by local business owners, with only one of the 400 votes dissenting. The proposal to ban the sale of bottled water was put forward in light of the ecological costs of the production, transport and disposal of the all-too-common one-time-use plastic bottles.
Residents are now taking advantage of reusable water bottles, the local business owners who have committed to free refills and the tap water, which, as is the case in most developed countries around the world, is already purified and paid for by tax dollars. Of course, the possession of bottled water isn't prohibited in Bundanoon, but citizens are enjoying their green community, as well as the extra green in their pockets.
Now this might all seem very insignificant. I mean, what effect will a town of 2,500 really have on the environment at large? To answer that question, one needs to just look back six years and southwest some 525 miles to the even smaller town of Coles Bay, Tasmania. In April 2003, local business owner Ben Kearney led his town to become the first in the world to ban the use of plastic bags in local stores, with replacements in the form of reusable paper or cloth bags becoming unanimous.
But why is this town of 500 way in the southeast of our world map worth mentioning? Well, when news of this tiny town being able to manage without plastic bags, people around the world began to scratch their heads and say, "If little Coles Bay can get without them, why can't we?" There's no reason why we can't, and the growing increase of reusable bags you see at your favorite supermarket from that time until now will attest to this.
Now, my point is not to preach the benefits of sustainability, but instead I want to talk about the implications of Bundanoon and Coles Bay. These two small and remote towns have managed to make world news, and much more importantly, world impact. The coordinated work of locals in their own community created dedication to their sustainability goals and they have the rest of us watching in admiration. Admittedly, the ecological footprint Coles Bay avoids locally would have been as a step in the sand and quickly indistinguishable, but the thinking and change their community inspires has rippled across the developed world.
Reusable shopping bags are more and more present, even if not predominant. What I am trying to get at is it wasn't the action that has created the greatest impact, but the thought and commitment to that thought has seen local initiative transformed into global impact. These Australian towns serve as an example for us. So many of our generation have become apathetic, viewing local action as inconsequential, when in truth, coordinated local action has the strength and tenacity to reach far beyond its local borders and at times into global consequence.