What Can I Do About Climate Change?

To be alive today, living on Planet Earth, is to be on a personal and collective climate journey. The 8.5+ Bn humans sharing this period in history will all be affected by often cataclysmic changes in our environment.  Millions already are affected and have suffered devastating losses.  That our environment is changing is true whether you or I believe a global climate polycrisis is underway, or not.  Just as our Earth remained a sphere whether tens of millions of humans in the Middle Ages believed it or not.

Given our historically unique global connections and practices, crisis no longer happens in isolation, to someone else, somewhere else.  Pandemics threaten all of us.  Pollutants in our air and water threaten all of us.  Burning fossil fuels affects all of us.  Shortages in the food supply affect all of us.  Species extinctions affect all of us. 

These multiple crises are dynamic, interacting with and impacting each other.  Crisis begets crisis with serial knock on and ripple effects, putting life as we know it on Planet Earth at risk.  As dire as this sounds, and it is, within crisis there is opportunity. Each of us has an opportunity to take action to change our trajectory based on who we are, where we stand, plus the will and experience we bring to the climate party.

We Need Our Earth More Than Our Earth Needs Us.

For much of my adult life I overconsumed, overachieved, and generally operated under the myth, the magical thinking that our Earth provided unlimited resources, so there always was, is and will be more of everything for us lucky humans.  I lived within this delusion, aided and abetted by Western culture and habits.

During the downtime of Covid, I undertook to research and study the state of our environment.  I wanted to understand the scope and scale of the problem, what affected and impacted what, and what was known about priorities for reducing the progressive harm to our environment.

The more I learned, the more threatening and at risk our present, and future, appeared. To really let myself understand and acknowledge the state we are in, to face it squarely, was frightening, overwhelming and anxiety-inducing.  Further, to realize that my beliefs, habits and lifestyle choices contributed to the problem made me cringe and feel regret.  I was way off base.

I experienced genuine despair and felt powerless.  This state of being was not the way I wanted to spend my limited time on our Earth.  I know that when I take action, when I find what I can do and do it, empowerment and hope replace despair and fear.

“When You Realize You've Made A Mistake, Take Immediate Steps To Correct It.”  —Dalai Lama

As I explored, I encountered the work of legions of committed people around our Earth already hard at work to reduce emissions.  Parents, grandparents, educators, game and park managers, politicians, writers, researchers, naturalists, neighbors, librarians, architects, business owners, sailors, scuba divers, scientists, children…people of all ages, all cultures, all nations and all walks of life are banding together to tackle something, to be a force for change. 

Their communications about their climate action, and sharing their knowledge and results far and wide inspired and gave me hope.  I felt an urgency to take part and to make my contribution based on a simple and powerful premise: what is good for our Earth is good for me and what is good for me is good for our Earth.  We are inextricably bound together, in sickness and in health.  

Shifting From Excess To Sufficiency

Thus, began my climate journey.  I continue to learn and change as I shift my life away from excess and more attuned to the mindset and practices of sufficiency: I use less of everything; I simplified my lifestyle; I grew to understand that a life of abundance means having just enough of what I need. 

The rewards of sufficiency are remarkable.  I am healthier, more satisfied and more purposeful.  I feel less manipulated and preyed upon, more in control of myself and wealthier. I feel good about my choices and I sleep better. 

I won’t presume to counsel anyone on what their climate journey could or should look like.  Everyone must create their personal blueprint of changes and actions depending on their life circumstances and what they value and love.  What is important, right now, is for each of us to make the changes we can, and to talk to others about them. 

Through writing and posting about my own climate actions and those of my family and friends, I plan to share what we have learned.  If you find something useful then, by all means, use it and let me know how it works.

Do One Person’s Actions Matter?

In a word the answer is yes.  Since 42% of global energy-related emissions come from decisions we collectively make in running our individual households, our choices have negative or positive emissions impacts.  We make decisions every day about how we cook our food, what food we eat, how we acquire it, how we wash and dry our clothing, the clothing we select, what we dispose of and where, how we heat, cool and clean our homes, how we use transport and how we power it all.  Our daily and seemingly mundane choices have a positive or negative impact to our environment.

What I do matters.  What you do matters. I invite you to join the conversation, to subscribe, to share your climate thoughts, actions and successes.  No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

Note:  If you are curious about your household’s impact on the environment, click here (www.footprintcalculator.org), answer a few questions and see your profile.  Understanding your impact is a powerful and eye-opening place to begin.