10 Ways To Fight Climate Change

Fighting climate change doesn’t have to require you to change your entire lifestyle. There are so many ways to easily make a difference. Because even if it is a small difference, if we all do it, it will make a big one.

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1. Go Vote! It’s our duty and also the easiest way to have our voice heard.
2. Bike/Walk whenever possible instead of taking your car. And it will also be good for your heart to get your body moving.
3. Refuse single use plastic: When improperly disposed of (or when it’s not recyclable), single use plastics end up in landfills which increase methane emissions into the atmosphere. Also plastic is made out of fossil fuels, so as we keep consuming plastics, we allow oil companies to keep burning fuel to produce it.
4. Look for the ENERGY STAR label when shopping for appliances, lighting, electronics, water heaters, heating & cooling products, building products, etc. Learn More.
5. Offset your flight footprint: This topic should be its own blog, so I will be quick. There are several organizations that allow you to offset your carbon footprint when traveling by plane: The Carbon Fund (which I used for my section on Carbon Footprint Offset), Sustainable Travel, and Terrapass. Fly Green is an online flight booking site that offsets travelers’ carbon footprint for free. But if you want to go deeper into this and be the most sustainable you can, try to fly only with airlines that have fuel-efficient aircrafts in their fleet, or robust sustainability and offset programs. Also try to choose direct flights, and know that flying business has more impact than flying economy. Realistically, sustainable flying is not possible. It would be better to drive or take the train if the distance is not so much an issue.
6. Eat (way) less/no meat: This can be a hard one for hardcore omnivores. So if you can, go vegetarian/vegan 2-3 days a week. Just remember, the global meat industry is worse than the entire world’s transportation systems in terms of greenhouse gas emission. This industry requires an enormous amount of resources: land, water, energy, and food. Livestock excrements and runoff from grazing is polluting the air as well as waterways.
7. Shop local, organic and in season to avoid carbon emission from the transportation of the produce.
8. Don’t waste food. Unless you compost your unwanted leftovers, food waste ends up in landfills releasing methane into the air.
9. Maintain your car. Properly inflated tires and a well maintained vehicle will help reduce your carbon emission when driving. Next time you are looking to buy a new car, look for a SmartWay car (learn more here)
10. Reduce your consumption. Period. Of everything. Reuse instead. Buy only what you need. Be conscious about what you buy, how it’s been made and what are the materials. This go from the shower gel you buy to the organic peanut butter and that cozy fleece you recently saw online. Just a quick example. Most peanut and almond butters A) are sold in plastic containers and B) contain palm oil. Palm oil production has contributed to deforestation and threatening the habitats of endangered species.