If you hop in your car and take New York State Route 13 highway south from Ithaca, you will eventually come to Madison County, NY. With a population close to 72,000, Madison County is to some, a rural paradise. This small county is full of grassy free ranged dairy farms, rolling hills, and lush temperate forests. If you are able to navigate correctly through a number of small country roads you will find my hometown, Hamilton, NY. At first, Hamilton looks and seems a lot like the rest of Madison County. However the prestigious Colgate University, located in Hamilton, makes it a very different place. Colgate generates wealth that is then distributed throughout Hamilton, making it more economically successful than the rest of Madison County. The wealth of Hamilton surrounded by the rural farmlands of Madison County, give the county as a whole a lot of potential to have a positive impact on climate change. Unfortunately, this potential has not yet been put to use, and Madison County, like the rest of America, continues to release a harmful amount of carbon. However, unlike a lot of other places in America, Madison County can reverse their negative carbon impacts through a number of relatively simple steps. They are capable of this through a larger distribution of Hamilton and Colgate’s wealth throughout Madison County and increased use of plentiful local resources. By doing this Madison County could become an example of sustainability in an unsustainable world. The great thing about Madison County is the majority of what you need is right there. All the food necessary to sustain a population of 72,382 people and then some is within 650 square miles. The local agriculture, the three colleges, and other various establishments make it so long car rides to work are unnecessary. And it is located right next to an ocean of shale gas . Despite the close proximity of these resources, Madison County still outsources an unnecessary amount of resources, resulting in an unnecessary amount of carbon emissions. An example of this unnecessary outsourcing is the large amount of food that is brought in from all over the country to Madison County. In the county there are approximately 750 farms that produce everything from poultry to milk to honey . Despite Madison County’s economy being based off farming, large corporations have sprung up throughout the county, like McDonalds, Price Chopper, Subway, etc. Buying food from places like these have a huge carbon footprint. Meat, dairy products, vegetables, and fruits, all of which are produced within walking distance are instead shipped from thousands of miles away by truck, car, or train, while releasing large quantities of carbon in the process.. It is almost ironic to see an economy run on food production that eats hamburgers from McDonalds that were made from a cow in Idaho, or goes grocery shopping at price chopper and buys a head of lettuce that was grown in California. The carbon footprint that results from importing food is only part of this food dilemma. The farmers of Madison County are also exporting their goods outside of Madison County. For all of the food that is imported into Madison County, an equal amount must be exported so that farmers can make a living. Although the food produced in Madison County doesn't go all over the world, it is still being transported outside of the county, resulting in an unnecessary amount of carbon emissions. What Madison County is left with is a vicious system, in which the supply of food that is needed by people is exported. Therefore, they import a new supply of food to meet this need. Because of this, the demand for that food that farmers rely on is being imported from elsewhere, so they are forced to export and find a demand elsewhere; all while contributing more and more to climate change. However, neither the producers nor the consumers are to be blamed. The farms in Madison County are small operations, with free-ranged animals, fruits and vegetables that are either organic or sprayed with light pesticides, and out of date farming equipment. Although, most of people would probably prefer to eat a free ranged cow or an organic apple, these methods of farming are by no means cost efficient. The food that is imported into Madison County comes from industrial farming operations in which they have access to cheap labor, animals are packed into tiny spaces and raised in the cheapest most efficient way, fruits and vegetables are sprayed with chemicals that make plants invincible, and they use farm equipment that can get a weeks worth of work on a farm in Madison County done in an hour or two. This results in cheap food that can be found in commercial grocery stores and food chains all across the country. Therefore, even though the food being bought in Madison County is being imported from half way across the country, it is still much cheaper than the food being produced on local farms. There is o