Four themes inspired by 12 of the most important solutions to global warming
Political Engagement
Effective Organizations
According to Founders Pledge, donating $1K to effective climate charities dwarfs the impact of all other actions individuals can take. And there are lots of effective organizations. Such as the Clean Air Task Force, Sunrise Movement, or one our charity partners. Pick your favorite and send ‘em what you can!
more info: strength in numbers - your biggest lever -Founders Pledge - Fridays for Future - giving green
Healthy Neighborhoods
Got time after work or caretaking? If not, don’t sweat it! Take care of you and yours until you do. When you’re ready, look local! A pipeline going up in your community? Nearby wildlands slated for development? What is your most local government doing about climate mobilization? You can have an outsize impact in person close to home.
acting local: Chipko movement - water protector - Standing Rock - cancer alley - University Park - Little Village - Goldman Prize - states & cities - spirit trees
Climate Candidates
For regular folks, our local, state, and national ballot box is one of the top places where you can take climate action. Honestly, if you live in a high-income community, because of the array of roads, hospitals, libraries, courts, schools, etc. available to you, there is very little you can do about your carbon footprint. (although it is fun to try!) Find candidates who will make systemic change + demand low carbon energy R & D and get ‘em in office!
more info: Vote Climate PAC - we not I
Empowering Women & Girls
Climate Justice
If you’re in the rooms where climate mitigation & adaptation work is happening, be sure folks from low-income countries & communities are not only in there with you, but that you’re following their lead. They’re the ones bearing the brunt of global warming.
Access to Family Planning
Millions of women in lower-income countries say they want to choose whether and when to become pregnant but lack access to contraception. Addressing population—how many feet are leaving their tracks—remains controversial. And we reject any coercion or persuasion intended to reduce population. But, when family planning focuses on women’s expressed needs, empowerment, equality, and well-being are the result; benefits to the planet are a welcome side effect.
more info: Project Drawdown
Education Equity
The cascading co-benefits of schooling for girls: less child marriage, less extreme poverty, more gender equality, women’s social & political empowerment. And the side benefits: lower birth rates by choice, fewer people, and less emissions that cause global warming.
more info: Project Drawdown
Electrification
Building Retrofitting
Better insulation, high-efficiency HVAC, panel upgrades, and all-electric at-home everything creates jobs, saves households about $4K a year on average, improves air quality, preps buildings to intake renewable energy, and is just plain fun. And of course, more efficiency means less emissions that cause global warming.
more info: ReWire - electrify everything - BlocPower - BEI
Solar Photovoltaics
Energy so fresh and so clean from the giant fusion reactor in our sky. Utility-scale. Or distributed on your rooftop. Installing solar photovoltaics creates jobs, clean air, saves money, replaces fossil fuel energy, puts market pressure on governments to upgrade their grids, builds energy independence, and is so so cool.
more info: sky’s the limit - under the influence - a 95% day
Electric Vehicles
Electric Cars. Electric Trains. Electric Bicycles. Electric Trucks. Efficient Electric Everything! EVs reduce emissions that cause global warming - dramatically so when powered by renewable energy.
more info: calculator - Project Drawdown - IRA guide
Plant-Based Solutions
Wildland Protection
Let peatlands, grasslands, salt marshes, and forests do their thing - suck up and store carbon.
more info: rewilding Scotland - REDD+ - UW Arboretum
Regenerative Agriculture
No-till farming, rotation & cover crops, maintaining soil cover, and no pesticide or synthetic fertilizer use = carbon-rich soil. And that means financial benefits for farmers, nutrient-dense crops, and lots of carbon out of the atmosphere and back home in the soil where it belongs.
more info: producer’s prospective - Regeneration International
Plant-Rich Diets
Favoring a diet rich in plants means less chronic disease for you and a vote with your stomach for low emissions foods. But also please be loud and proud about it! Worrying about your individual carbon footprint is a waste of your energy, but modeling a climate-friendly lifestyle can go viral.
more info: what’s your beef - Project Drawdown