The EcoRes Forum Call for Action

To All Concerned Citizens

Citizens of those nations most responsible for generating greenhouse gases have a particular moral obligation to change their practices, especially as the damage is most likely to fall most heavily on the poorer countries of the world who have done little to contribute to the problem. We call upon all concerned citizens:

• To inform ourselves about these issues in order to ensure the most accurate possible understanding of what impact is implied for each of us, for our families, for our communities and nations;
• To cultivate our critical thinking skills and learn about the scientific research and publication processes in order to effectively evaluate the viewpoints voiced by all camps;
• To educate ourselves about the interdependent and profoundly fragile web of life, our place in it and our responsibility to it, as well as to current and future generations;
• To examine our personal sets of beliefs, attitudes, and convictions in relation to our natural world to determine if our priorities and perspectives are accurate, and to adjust – even jettison – them if necessary;
• To look at our individual social and economic positions to determine how and where we can have the most positive impact and then to take action;
• To calculate our personal carbon footprints and reduce them where possible and offset them where necessary;
• To share our new knowledge with those in our communities via discussion groups, and by engaging political, business and community leaders in public dialogues;
• To hold our elected representative and political leaders accountable for their mandated responsibilities as leaders of our societies, and to let them know how we intend to do so;
• To cultivate a “think global, act local” mindset by actively engaging in cross-cultural exchanges;
• To exercise our right to vote, at the ballot booth as well as with our bank accounts, in terms of what we buy, where we buy it, which investments we make, and which causes and industries we support;
• To encourage further political participation, by writing local and national politicians, by encouraging involvement by educated voters and those willing to enter the public arena, by identifying local politicians’ stand on these issues and educating local voters accordingly;
• To get involved with local grassroots organizations, from environmental groups to political parties, from religious and philosophical organizations to educational initiatives (those who cannot become actively involved can provide financial and other resources);
• As parents, to teach these principles to our children in order to cultivate a culturally sensitive, open-minded and caring generation aware of their place in and responsibility to society and their home, Planet Earth; and
• To recognize that these changes will carry a price tag and be willing to pitch in on the costs (such as increased taxes for education, energy, and social programs), recognizing that just as each person will benefit, so too must each person contribute.