Following the UN climate summit known as COP15, the international youth climate movement sent the following message to world leaders: “You’re not done yet. And neither are we.”

Now keep in mind that world leaders are not the only type of leaders we have that we can work with to solve climate change.  For that reason, to spur people to action, it might be a positive thing that people perceive Copenhagen/COP15 as a failure.  That puts the responsibility back on to us, and on to everyone else in every country.   We now know for sure we don’t have the luxury of sitting back and letting the world’s leaders solve climate change for us.  The decision-making and idea generation also falls back to every one on the planet.  We all need to think more creatively about what we can do and who we can work with.  This might kick-start people into starting work that was previously only an idea. What we can visualize, plan, invent and solve with others will have a big impact in the next 10 years.

We also have city, state and federal leaders.  Every country, every state and province and city can do its own environmental work.   A group in my city just won a “Make a Difference” award for promoting sustainable farming and local food, and working with new citizens from countries like Somalia to do that.  Things like that will help solve climate change.  It’s all about changing what people think is important.  My state leaders are putting together ideas for transportation that will take much of the pressure off people commuting and traveling in their own vehicles.  They are planning more light rail and new high-speed trains  to connect the people of Minnesota with Chicago and Winnepeg and all cities in between. That would be huge progress for transportation in my state, where nearly everyone owns a car and depends on it every day, due to current lack of mass transit, or even something as simple as dependable bus service.  Cars and trucks are responsible for almost a quarter of annual US emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). Evolving and solving private transportation issues are essential to solving climate change.

What we all do matters.

It’s like Pete Seeger said to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now.

“. . . . today we’ll end this tribute to Pete Seeger in his own words. Back in our interview in 2004, the last question I asked Pete.

AMY GOODMAN: And for someone who isn’t so hopeful, who is listening to this right now, trying to find their way, what would you say?

PETE SEEGER: Realize that little things lead to bigger things. That’s what Seeds is all about. And this wonderful parable in the New Testament: the sower scatters seeds. Some seeds fall in the pathway and get stamped on, and they don’t grow. Some fall on the rocks, and they don’t grow. But some seeds fall on fallow ground, and they grow and multiply [...]