By Anne Rhodes

There is evidence of the climate crisis everywhere. Each year, we see an increase in fires, floods, and migration as a result of climate-related issues. The past eight years were the hottest on record.

So maybe you are wondering “But what can one person do?” And maybe you’ve taken a few steps in your own life. Most of us are already recycling. And maybe we’re composting, shopping at ReUse, and switching to LED’s.

“But that’s not fixing it,” you say.

You’re right: individual actions are not enough. But let me tell you a story.

In the 70’s here in Tompkins County many of us were angry that people we knew were being fired from their jobs and rejected as tenants, just because they were gay. We talked with each other, we organized, we protested, and talked one-on-one with county legislators. Eventually we were hundreds strong. It took us two years, but we got the anti-discrimination law passed. None of us could have done that alone.

Let me tell you another story. In 2007 and 2008, an oil and gas company, Anschutz Exploration Corporation, sent salespeople door to door offering leases to Dryden residents. Some people signed, not understanding what hydraulic fracturing was. Anschutz applied for a permit to begin drilling.  But that wasn’t the end of the story.

A group of residents and friends started meeting in people’s kitchens, talking about what could be done. The drilling would endanger creeks and fields and pollute the aquifer. Some of us had already signed over our drilling rights. But we didn’t give up. We didn’t give up! We did a listening campaign, going door to door, to understand what people knew and thought about hydraulic fracturing, and collected names for a petition to show to the Town.

Eventually, a couple of lawyers who had moved to the area helped us draft a zoning ordinance that would supersede the leases that had been signed. The ordinance would allow us to ban fracking and protect our waters and our fields and our community. That ordinance was passed by the Town Board in 2011.

Immediately, Anschutz sued the Town of Dryden over this ban, and the issue escalated. It went to higher and higher courts. Eventually, our efforts attracted national attention and Earth Justice came to help, bringing their legal clout, funding, and know-how. The case made its way to the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state.

And there, the residents of Dryden won. There would be no fracking in Dryden. We were the first municipality in the country to ban fracking.

Could one person have done that alone?

Talk to everyone you know about the climate crisis and the amazing local solutions. In fact, talk to people you don’t know – your dentist, the check-out person, your landlord, your neighbor. You can start with “Weird weather we’re having.” Or “Have you heard about…” Get your people together to make noise, make demands, get your voices out there, organize.

Hundreds of thousands of people organized to stop the Viet Nam war. Tens of thousands of people protested Trump’s Muslim Ban. Standing Rock protests went global. No one paid any of those people to protest and organize. We did it because something we cared about was being threatened. And we found that lots of other people cared about it too. It’s the numbers. And it spreads once it has started.

Don’t be shy. Another victory is waiting to happen. Think of it as helping to develop a community-wide sense that we are all in this together. Because we are.