At the end of 2019, Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg was named Time magazine’s 2019, “Person of the Year”. Thunberg is described as the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet; climate change. The politics of climate action are as entrenched and complex as the phenomenon itself, and Thunberg has no magic solution. But she has succeeded in creating a global attitudinal shift, transforming millions of vague, middle-of-the-night anxieties into a worldwide movement calling for urgent change.
Climate change is a global challenge, requiring solutions on a global scale. Our lands provide an untapped opportunity—proven ways of both storing carbon and reducing carbon emissions in the world’s forests, grasslands and wetlands: natural climate solutions.
Natural climate solutions can help address climate change in three ways:
1. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, related to land use and changes in land use;
2. Capturing and storing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere;
3. Improving resilience of ecosystems, thereby helping communities adapt to the increases in flooding, dry spells, and other impacts of climate change.
We know that climate change is happening—but what individuals can do to help mitigate it?
Climate change is real, but not unsolvable. There are lots of actionable steps you can take to save the planet from an ever-changing climate. Here are five ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
- Learn the 5 R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse, rot, recycle:
Going zero waste is a great step towards combating climate change. Practicing the 5 R’s of zero waste can help.
You’ve probably heard of the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. But there are two more that are equally important.
Let’s break it down:
- Refuse – Avoid single use plastic and paper products and opting for reusable items.
- Reduce – Downsize what you purchase, opting to be more mindful of what you really need. So much plastic, clothing and other rarely used items end up in landfill.
- Reuse – Always find a way to keep an item out of the landfill by keeping it in great condition, repairing or upcycling it when it breaks. Also, donate used items to charities so they can reuse them.
- Rot – Set up a compost system for your food scraps if possible, or find a food scrap drop off center (like a neighbor or community garden) near your home.
- Recycle – Try to recycle plastic, paper, glass or metal that you use. Google search or ask your local government for places to do this (if available).
- Use public transport:
Traditional cars put out a lot of exhaust, which pollutes the air. In fact, vehicles produce one-third of all air pollution. The toxins emitted by vehicles are also very dangerous for human health, considering the tailpipes are at street level where humans can breathe the air directly into their lungs.
Challenge yourself to drive less and bike more. Riding your bike forces you to utilize your own muscle power. You’ll get a workout all while helping the environment. Plus, it requires much less energy to produce a bike than it does to manufacture a car.
If you can’t bike to work for whatever reason, take public transportation. It puts less cars on the road, which reduces the amount of exhaust filling the air.
- Conserve water and protect our waterways:
Reducing your water usage is essential: There’s only so much water on this earth, and we can’t make any more of it.
Did you know 96.5 percent of the water on earth is too salty for human consumption? Two thirds of the remaining fresh water are locked away in polar ice, glaciers, and permanent snow.
Melting it won’t help, seeing as most of it will just end up as sea water. That’s why it’s so important to cherish the water we have.
Here are a few ways to help conserve water and protect our waterways:
- When you brush your teeth, be sure to shut off the water while you do it. Don’t leave it running: Only turn it on when it’s time to rinse your mouth out.
- Take shorter showers. A fun way to do this is by listening to a 4-6 minute song, then shut the shower off when it’s over.
- Don’t flush things down the toilet to dispose of them. One flush can waste up to 20 litres of water!
- Avoid dish/body soaps filled with toxins. Conventional dish and body soap contain ingredients that go down the drain and only further pollute our water supply. Make the switch to all-natural, eco-friendly soap.
- Host or join a waterway clean up in your local community. Keep those waters plastic free!
- Opt for reusables. Lots of disposable items take many litres of water to make. For example, one roll of toilet paper takes 140 litres of water to produce; a single disposable diaper takes 550 litres of water!! There are several other products, like paper plates, cups and towels, that hundreds of litres of water to make as well. That’s why switching to reusables will help you save water in the long run.
- Eat seasonally, locally, and more plants:
Try to buy the majority of your food as local produce. Animal products are much more environmentally damaging as they require more water and resources.
Making the majority of your plate plant-based foods is healthier and better for the planet.
Eating seasonal also means eating local, which is great for the environment. When you support local farmers, you don’t have to worry about how far your food travelled to get to you.
It doesn’t have to sit in traffic for days, spewing exhaust fumes into the air. It gets to you quickly, without polluting the air.
- Be an encourager
When you see your family members, friends, students, colleagues or neighbours doing something environmentally friendly, praise and encourage their actions. Humans love positive reinforcement. So positively reinforce their good, eco-friendly habits. It totally works!!
Our everyday actions affect people, plants, and animals all over the world—including polar bears! So be cool by doing the best to keep Earth well … cool!
Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” Native American quote
Source: https://issuu.com/kiwimag/docs/kiwi19-spring; https://issuu.com/greenlivingaz/docs/green_living_september2019-issuu; https://issuu.com/foescotland/docs/what_on_earth_no_79_web; https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg-choice/; https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/playbook-for-climate-action/; https://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/top-10-ways-can-stop-climate-change/; https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/5-ways-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint
Writer: Aulia Nurdini
Editor: Todd Cordy
