Think Global, Act Local

Wem Area Climate Action (WACA) is a group of local people working on a voluntary basis who, with the Town Council, have come together because we believe everyone can contribute through small actions at a personal and local level, towards the bigger picture.

Wem Area Climate Action is one of a number of similar groups initiated by Councils across the country. Wem Town Council is initiating policies to make its own buildings and operations as carbon-efficient as possible and has asked the local community for their own ideas for responding to the climate crisis.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been a wake-up call for many people by showing how frail our social and economic systems are and how we can survive with simpler personal life styles.  It might prompt us to reflect how we might respond to Global Warming, which is already upon us with melting ice caps, wide-ranging forest fires, and flooding. It also shows how irresponsible governments can make lethal mistakes by either denying or downplaying e.g. the burning of rainforests for short term gain. By contrast, professional government can get to grips with lesser damage. 

WHAT CAN ANYONE DO?

We might think that, in Wem, there is little that any of us, as individuals, can do in the face of these huge problems. But, at their root, these problems are the result of an economic system that relies on overconsumption without paying the true costs of its actions. As consumers, we can take control of our lives. For example, we do not have to fly half way round the world to look at the last of the cuddly penguins, we do not have to buy cheap clothing that we will only wear a couple of times, and we can eat more sustainably-produced foods and cut down food waste  - all of which will affect global warming and climate change.

​

See our post on '9 Things You Can Do About Climate Change' for some useful tips.

​