My Platform - Sustainability and Resilience

Our economy has been founded upon the past 150 years of industrialization and globalization, in which we have shaped the growth of our communities according to the trends of profit. This is evident in towns across the United States; in Maine, we have seen our towns and cities built around mills and shipyards meeting the demands of the day. As global economics incentivized companies to leave for cheaper labor and tax breaks, or as demand for a product ceased, our towns felt the effect of their absence. South Portland is no stranger to this, as it has seen many of these industries come and go. As a result of the global economic current, the backbone of South Portland's workforce is now in retail, insurance, and semiconductors.

Today, we find ourselves at a pivotal point in history. As evidenced by the unemployment rate (9.7% for people claiming benefits, 16.8% unofficially), we can no longer place our security in the hands of those who seek to maximize profit rather than caring for the communities that work for them. These industries will come and go, but the people of South Portland will remain. This begs the question, "What do we do?" My answer is: invest in ourselves.

We must be proactive in taking care of the basic necessities for our survival (food, clothing, shelter, and community) through the localiziation of these things. In doing this, we have to take into account the effect our development (residential, commercial, and industrial) will have on the environment, and strive to make as little of an impact as possible. We must look at our dependencies on fossil fuels and corrupted economic systems and strive to find alternatives. We must put the well-being of people, now and for future generations, before profit.

South Portland has many hardworking, intelligent, and innovative people living in this community, as well as the resources to accomplish the task. We can be the change we want to see in the world. All we have to do is try.

*Illustration taken from The Transition Handbook: from oil dependency to local resilience by Rob Hopkins, edited by Chris Kessler