What can be done? We don’t have a lot of time to ponder answers. The processes driving global warming are relentless and cumulative. So, rather than waiting for a national or even state initiative, I think we, the citizens of Lincoln, can ourselves initiate some of the bold action required.

Every day almost every adult in Lincoln is directly responsible for spewing greenhouse gases into the air. All it takes is a turn of the ignition key in your car. We, and our fellow U.S. citizens, produce nearly half of the greenhouse gases released in the world by cars and light trucks. There is something we, here in Lincoln, can do about this.

We can challenge ourselves and our elected officials to reduce by half the number of personal vehicles on Lincoln’s roads in 10 years. This is doable entirely on our own. We wouldn’t need to negotiate with distant power plants, await the creation of electric or hydrogen-fueled cars, or find local sources for all the goods we depend on. We have only to figure out how to get where we want to go — half the time — by means other than our personal cars. Those means are already at hand; what we have to provide is the effort and ingenuity to put them together.

And, most of all, the commitment to do so.

What good would it do? Admittedly, our efforts alone would hardly remove a ripple from the sea of greenhouse gas emissions. But what if we inspire other towns and cities to action? We, as members of the worldwide community, have to start somewhere. Why not at home?

Roger Holmes lives in Lincoln.

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