Like a stone thrown in the water, the power of each individual ripples out into the world in many ways. As communities come together to start making change, the impact widens even further, with the force of a great boulder. Check out the great work and big waves that these communities are making, and think about the role your own communities might play in changing our world.

Community Cycling Center
Portland, Oregon
Founded in 1994, the nonprofit Community Cycling Center uses the bicycle as a tool for teaching positive life skills to youth and is the largest bicycle recycling organization in the U.S. CCC offers year-round programs for low-income youth and adults in which children learn bicycle safety and maintenance and earn their own bicycles, locks and helmets. They also run a professional retail bike shop that sells refurbished bicycles, and their Create a Commuter program is the first of its kind in the nation to provide fully outfitted commuter bicycles to low-income adults. Over 90% of the staff commute via bike daily, proving that they “walk their walk, and ride their ride!”

City CarShare
San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley, California
In 2001 a group of San Francisco Bay Area transportation activists launched City CarShare as a way to provide convenient, affordable access to cars in order to reduce individual car ownership – and improve the environment and quality of life in our cities. Their members are helping to reduce traffic, parking problems and dependence on oil – while promoting cleaner air, quieter streets and more open space.

Los Angeles Community College District
Los Angeles, California
LACCD has announced plans to install one megawatt of solar generating capacity on each of its nine campuses, which should provide enough electricity to completely power each campus. The district also plans to build a renewable energy Central Plant and is creating a sustainable development curriculum that integrates classes, green building education and certificates along with displays such as learning solar station kiosks on each college campus. The LACCD is one of the largest community college districts in the country, educating nearly 200,000 students each year.

Moscone Center
San Francisco, California
San Francisco’s major downtown conference and convention center, the Moscone Center distinguishes itself by striving to achieve greater resource efficiency and sustainability in order to lessen adverse environmental impact, benefit the local community and make economic sense. One of the nation’s largest municipally-owned solar generation installations now operates from the roof of the Moscone Center. And a slew of sustainable practices are at the heart of the facility’s management philosophy, including: food composting, resource-efficient design, air quality monitoring and maintenance, energy efficiency and the promotion of public transportation.

TransMilenio Transit System
Bogota, Colombia
Bogota’s TransMilenio mass transportation system is an example of positive change in urban mobility through a bus-based passenger transportation system. It was founded on the two general objective of improving citizens’ quality of life and bettering the city’s productivity based on six main principles: quality, consistency, affordability, respect for life, users’ time and human diversity. Important achievements since the system was implemented include: travel times reduced by 32%, gas emissions reduced by 40% and accident rates reduced by 90%.

BedZED
London, England
The Beddington Zero Energy Development, or BedZED, is the UK’s largest eco-village and one of the most coherent examples of sustainable living in the UK. Located in Wallington, South London since 2002, it comprises 100 homes, community facilities and workspace for 100 people. BedZED demonstrates how eco-construction and green lifestyles can be easy, accessible and affordable and provide a good quality of life (e.g., the heating requirements of BedZED homes are around 10% that of a typical home).

Australia’s Solar City
Australia’s first Solar City is paving the way for communities across the country to adopt more renewable energy resources and solar technologies. The trial energy project will double the current capacity of photovoltaic panels in Southern Australia and provide energy savings of US $3.7 million per year. The proposal aims to install PV panels on more than 1,700 homes in the northern part of Adelaide, roll out 7,000 “smart meters” and help residents save around US $150 a year on electricity bills. Solar Cities is part of the Australian Government’s $2 billion climate change strategy that aims to develop clean, low emission technologies; build an effective global response to the issue; increase understanding of climate change science; and help communities adopt renewable energy.

Tree People
Los Angeles, California
A nonprofit organization serving the Los Angeles area working to help nature heal our cities. They offer sustainable solutions to urban ecosystem problems, focusing on three areas: training and supporting communities to plant and care for trees; educating children and adults about the environment; and working with government agencies on critical water issues. Their volunteers have planted over two million trees in the L.A. area over the past thirty years.

Recycle Bank
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This incentive-based recycling program rewards people for the amount they recycle. Each home’s recycling container has a barcode that is identified by the recycling truck, and the amount you recycle translates into RecycleBank Dollars that can be used to shop at participating stores.

Boulder Farmers’ Market Zero Waste Station
Boulder, Colorado
Read about how trash cans have been replaced by Zero Waste Stations at the Boulder Farmers’ Market. Everything available for consumption at the market is compostable or recyclable.

Coast Economic Localization Link (CELL)
Mendocino, California
“Creating local solutions to peak oil and climate change,” CELL was formed in March of 2005 by a consortium of Mendocino coastal towns to educate the public about the pending pressures that peak oil will bring and to organize the community to create a safety net.