Local Buy IN

by EDWARD R. (TED) LEACH

 "Buy local" is a valid component in the climate change sweepstakes, but I would like to give a little different twist to that slogan and pitch it as "Local buy IN."

In this presidential election year, the chatter about climate change is cranking up and, unfortunately, much of it finds its way into the swamp of partisan politics.

I have observed over the years that people of any political persuasion are often looking for permission or validation before they will fully sign on to a cause or subject. They are waiting for a candidate or some other authority figure to say, in so many words, "It's OK to be for/against this." Once that "permission slip" is out there, people feel empowered to join the ranks - to buy in to your point of view.

The most glaring example of this is, perhaps, the whole topic of global warming. For almost eight years, one party has been led by a person who is ambivalent about the subject. Early on, loyal party members echoed that attitude. As more and more empirical evidence has appeared, it has become pretty difficult to remain in the ambivalent arena. And that's where the "permission slip" comes into play. People want an excuse to break with the tired old mantra of denial. They are seeking reasons to validate a personal change in position.

And here's where you come in. Every day, new evidence of the impact of humans on climate is revealed. Climate zealots are up to speed on much of this, thanks to websites such as Grist.com, Thedailygreen.com and others that report the latest, most up-to-the-minute news about climate change. But, more often than not, that is the extent of the message. The choir has been preached to, but the message doesn't reach the people that should hear it.

YOU need to make that next step happen.

It's simple, and it's a HUGE piece of the solution. Check out those web sites and when you spot something of interest, turn it into a SHORT letter to the editor and send it to your local newspaper. When published, you have exposed that fact that to thousands of people, believers and deniers alike. A constant stream of such letters and eventually the denier is going to find the "permission slip" that he/she needs in order to climb aboard the climate change bandwagon.

A letter from an advocacy organization is probably only one-tenth as powerful as is a letter from a real citizen. Your letters will have a cumulative effect, and within a very short period of time, you will start having "local buy IN."

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Ted Leach is Co-Chair of the Carbon Coalition