Look. There's a creek near where I live that has its own volunteer non-profit organization.
It's just one creek. One trickle of water among millions. But people decided to care about that creek. A bunch of people, volunteers, got together and they cleaned several tons of trash out of the creek.
They got to work removing non-native plants from the creek banks and planting native trees.
They got a nearby water treatment plant to upgrade and stop polluting the creek.
They educate people and tell them about the fish and invertebrates that live in creeks and why they should care.
I think that it matters. I think that making sure your community has clean water matters. I think making sure one specific old lady's house doesn't flood matters. I think one stream where fish can live again matters. I think one patch of green space in a downtown area matters. If nothing else, it makes people's lives less shitty, and that's worthwhile in itself.
Stop asking "how do I save the world?" Start asking "can I get together several people to clean up that creek downtown?"
This is what "Think globally; act locally" means.
And I get it: It's scary.
The internet can make you believe you have more in common with a group of fans of the same tv show, scattered across several continents, than the two dozen people who live on your block and the next.
And maybe you do, in some ways. But. If what's bothering you - and those other two dozen people - is that the walk sign at the intersection is burned out and the green part never shows, so people don't realize it's "on" until it starts flashing red, and then they rush to get across and some of them get hit by cars...
You don't need 150 friends on 5 continents to fix that. You need three other people to go with you to the city council meeting and say "The walk sign at 4th and Manchester needs fixing; how do we make that part of the city budget soon?" (And you don't technically need those three others, but if you're not used to city council meetings, it really helps to have moral support and confirmation of your story.)
