Think Globally; Act Locally

I cannot disagree with you regarding the amount of concrete being poured in Zihuatanejo or the reasons for it. You have more knowledge and better understanding of the knowledge than I will ever have.

As the expression says, “Think globally; act locally.” Both aspects of that are important. Some (many?) of us who are fortunate enough to have been born into the wealthy North can sometimes be selfish in how we treat the world and others in it. Sometimes we do it without thinking. Sometimes we do it knowingly.

Development in places like Troncones brings benefits to many people, but I think we need to develop responsibility. My blood pressure rises when I see lush lawns, water-demanding foliage, etc. And my children or grandchildren will not experience the wastefulness of these irresponsible daily activities as will the truly local people.

So many of us use the horrible, thermal electricity from Petacalco.

The Petacalco power complex has had significant negative impacts on human health, marine life, fisheries and agriculture in northwestern Guerrero state. The Petacalco plant burns an average of 7 million tons of coal per year and has been described as one of the world's worst polluters. Its annual emissions of carbon dioxide and mercury (over 15 million tons, and 711 tons, respectively) are the highest of any power plant in Mexico. In addition, it ranks second nationally in annual emissions of nitrous oxide (228 tons) and methane (152 tons), third in nitric oxide (over 24,000 tons), and fifth in sulfur dioxide (152 tons per year). Air and water pollution traceable to the plant have created multiple negative impacts for surrounding communities, including depletion of fisheries, loss of mangrove habitat, and high concentrations of coal ash and other particulates that threaten residents' health.

Petacalco power station

Instead, we could be generating renewable energy using solar panels.

Many of us fortunate enough to be able to have a vehicle use fossil fuels, spewing more climate changing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, damaging not only health today, but worsening the planet for future generations. Instead, we could be driving on the renewable energy of our solar panels.

Our decisions are not limited to what we do in this area. What we do when we are in the wealthy North affects what happens in the Zihuatanejo area.

This is not about finger pointing. It is about each of us making thoughtful choices about what we do each day. I know that some don’t care. A wealthy homeowner in Troncones said to me, “I’m selfish. I blame it on being American.” I don’t buy that there are plenty of concerned, thoughtful, considerate, community-minded Americans. And there are plenty of non-Americans who are selfish. And each of us, regardless of origins, can change in a positive way for our community and our planet… for the present and for the future.