“We’re all just ants on a hill.” My mom repeats this phrase whenever life gets overwhelming. It’s a gentle reminder we’re not as important as we think we are. I’ve been thinking about this saying recently in a different context.

In my hometown, New Orleans, my generation is called “Katrina babies,” because we were born in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Naturally, environmental destruction plagues my mind often. Over the years, my city has faced harsher, destructive storm seasons and higher temperatures. Growing up, each hurricane evacuation accelerated my fears about climate change. When I think about all that’s wrong on this big hill and imagine myself as a meek little ant, I feel an acute sense of powerlessness.

It’s not totally hopeless, though, right? In college, I’ve sought courses in the Environmental Studies department, hoping to get some answers. Should I thrift more or compost my food scraps? The answer, I’ve learned, is yes and no.

While individual sustainable action is important, it can only go so far. Behavior changes, like not driving a car, eating less meat or having less children can reduce carbon emissions, but changes to political and economic systems are necessary for structural environmental advancements. The framing of climate change as an individual responsibility is not only unrealistic, but intentional.

Over the past decades, the fossil fuel industry, similar to the tobacco, plastics or waste industry, placed blame on consumers to divert attention from their own fault. For example, in the early 2000s BP popularized the term “carbon footprint” to emphasize consumer conservation behavior over corporate responsibility. Implicating individuals as consumers over citizens limits what environmental journalist Mark Dowie coins “environmental imagination,” or our ability to pursue both individual and collective action for fundamental change.

We must integrate action across many scales to bolster awareness, implement comprehensive policies and build efficient structures for widespread change. While individual action may seem more attainable, scholars hope for it to spill over into the collective realm.

Anthony Leiserowitz, Yale senior research scientist, stresses the importance of building political will for climate action. To develop a robust movement, groups should prioritize empowering citizen activists in addition to professional lobbying, economic analysis, policy and legal development. The American public is diverse, with varying degrees of concern about climate change. We should recruit those who strongly support climate action in activist coalitions and encourage more reluctant citizens to tacitly support environmentally conscious politicians through voting.

By breaking down perceptions that climate change is an issue reserved for scientists and environmentalists, and demonstrating that everyone has the ability to demand action from leaders, we can make meaningful change. In this current adversarial federal political climate, it’s necessary to uplift politicians committed to fighting for the protection of environmental programs, like Sen. Collins, who has motivated the Trump administration to renegotiate funding for Maine Sea Grant.

We must not only make individual contributions, like volunteering or showing up to vote, but also find common ground. Already, we see the impact of climate change locally, with more frequent, severe storms along the coast. These changes threaten Maine’s working waterfront; local partnerships are necessary for adaptation and perseverance.

We must educate and foster conversations among our neighbors about the climate crisis and its impacts. Among young people, studies reveal  increased anxiety and depression regarding climate change, and research illustrates how community climate work, compared to individual behaviors, uniquely alleviates symptoms of climate anxiety. Students must find a shared voice to build resilient communities for the future.

“We’re all ants on a hill” isn’t just a statement about human existence, but also a reminder to look at the bigger picture. Despite their minute size, ants carry up to 50 times their weight. One critical skill, cooperation, accounts for this strength. We, like ants, can accomplish much more with collective action. Alone, we can only carry so much, but together we can make our home hospitable for generations to come.