WHAT WE CAN DO
We all need to come to grips with the climate crisis, and reckon with the reality that it is our growth-oriented, profit-driven economic system and consumer culture that has caused this and other crises we face today. We live on a finite planet with limited resources for nearly 8 billion people to share. We cannot expect this endless cornucopia of abundance to continue. If we carry on with business as usual it will cost us our lives, and the lives of millions of other species.
To avert the worst emergencies we need to come together. We need to simultaneously take serious, disciplined personal responsibility to shift our lifestyles in the right direction, and also to make strong efforts for our public policies to shift towards our long-term survival on the planet, which means engaging in politics with a new vision of our future.
SOME SPECIFIC THINGS WE CAN DO IN OUR PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE LIVES FOR POSITIVE CHANGE:
Eat less meat and junk food. If every American were to eat just ONE less hamburger a week, it would be the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the road each year. Be mindful of waste. Food waste accounts for 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Consume less and consume wisely. Buy local. Everything we buy requires carbon as it is created and then moved to your home or refrigerator. As best you can know how and where the item you buy is made. Buy from companies who have policies and practices that are socially and environmentally responsible. Buy things that are of good quality that will last and / or can be repaired.
Cut energy consumption at home.
See this homeowner’s guide to going solar.
Drive and fly less. Drive thoughtfully. Driving 60 mph instead of 80 mph uses 30% less fuel. Remember the days when President Nixon mandated the 55 mph speed limit?! Use public transportation where possible.
Support tree-planting and reforestation efforts. {See links below for recommended projects.)
Check out Project Drawdown, the book and the website to learn of the 100 solutions to reduce carbon emissions.
Electric cars? If you need a new car consider a used hybrid or an electric one, but keep in mind that the production of any new car requires natural resources and energy. It may be better from the planet’s point of view to preserve your old car.
Use our power. Support political leaders and candidates for elected offices who are actively engaged in dealing with environmental and social justice issues. Likewise, withhold support from those who are in climate denial. We need to think about the pressure we can exert on governments. All our politicians need to hear that we insist on effective and strong climate policies. And given the lack of progress to date, each of us has to be considering how and where to take to the streets. The Global Climate Strike September 20th is a start.
Support campaign finance reform: Most of our government leaders are bought and paid for by corporations and special interest groups. We must get MONEY OUT OF POLITICS.
Be kind to yourself. “Very few of us are squeaky clean in carbon terms. You don’t have to become so overnight but most of us do need to make serious changes over the next few years. It’s important to keep moving in the right direction and enjoy the process of cutting carbon out of our lives. Don’t beat yourself up, but don’t let yourself off the hook either.” This quote is from the article “What can I do to stop climate change?”
Doing nothing is no longer an option because there is no Planet B. We wouldn't stand around and watch as our house was burning. Let's not stand around now and pretend that everything is normal while our common home is burning.
Our time to effectively address our crises and build a new vision for our future starts . . . now. As Bill McKibben says, "We need to be honest about the scale and pace of the problems we face so that the scale and pace of our solutions have some hope of matching them." 350.org
We can do this.
RESOURCES AND GOOD READING
GLOBAL CLIMATE STRIKE
Find an event near you.
“What can I do to stop climate change?”
“How planting a trillion trees could stop climate change”
Tree Sisters
Stand For Trees
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