- when was the last time you did the action? e.g. yesterday
- how much effort was it? e.g. 5$ or 2hRecently I've been creating and sharing data visualizations to illustrate how serious the situation is becoming: https://twitter.com/oikoweather/status/1382316996604403716?s...
- Stopped eating meat 30 years ago. Easy and healthy.
- Installed solar panels on my house 2 years ago. Free installation; leasing the panels for less than the cost of the power they generate.
- Buy renewably-sourced power from the grid, and return excess solar-generated power to the grid. Not sure how much that costs.
- Never learned how to drive a car, so I always bicycle or use public transit. Easy and cheap and healthy!
- Buy food that was about to be tossed in the trash via TooGoodToGo almost every day now. Very cash positive and involves an extra bike ride.Haven't watched it yet but here's Gates on the matter in new interview: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XbZX6uj8K_M
More discussion is needed. Especially in IT where e-waste is an issue.
I doubt that my partner and I will have children. (Of course I can't foresee if any of us will have a sudden change of heart in the next years, but in my specific case I've had a strong no-children stance for most of my life. I'm no longer young either so I doubt I'll ever change my perspective).
I live a mostly frugal lifestyle, with the possible exception of cycling and tech. Even here I feel like I make good use of my purchases long after their "planned" lifetimes. (In the past 20 years I had maybe 4 phones in total. I've been riding the same bicycle for about 5 years, the previous ones I donated)
I do my part in reuse, reduce, recycle mantra. (I would say daily :D)
I support politicians that have a vision that reaches outside immediate economic benefits. (Voted in 2020 for EU/local parliamentary elections with young politicians invested in a greener future. Not all of them proved to be true to their word, but I'm not discouraged yet)
- I changed my employer in December to work on renewable energy topics. It gained me 5000€/a, so win/win.
- I switched my power supplier to eco 5 years ago. Probably 50€ per year. It is important to choose a real eco-friendly tariff. Some are only labeled as environmentally friendly.
- I am donating to greenpeace and other environmental ngos (as well as planting trees). ~400€ per year.
- I stopped using a car a few years ago. I am substituting it by public transport and/or my bike. Occasionally, I still rent a car, however much less. I would say, it costs a lot of time sometimes but it is hard to figure out the number. All things considered, I am certainly saving money.
- I am only buying organic food and especially meat with no compromise. It probably costs me 50-100€ per month compared to shopping in a discounter market. Since the meat is quite expensive, I reduced consumption drastically (but not only for economic reasons).
- I am not taking airplanes anymore to go on holiday. This costs a lot of time. My last travel to Greece took 3 days instead of 3 hours.
- I have reduced shopping and online shopping to a minimum. It just saves money and time as well.
- I have put stickers for the past global climate strike, it cost me a few hours. Participating some hours as well.
- I am always bringing my tupperware for picking-up food (except pizza), no compromise, no one-way packaging. This is not really combatting climate change but it helps against environmental pollution.
- Countless hours of debating with people :-D
Also, many little things which I forgot to/can't mention. I think everybody should do as much as he or she can, get used to it, do more, get used to it, do more, etc. :)
Yes I know: "but if everyone did it then it will make a difference"... we are not seeing this on a large enough scale to make an impact.
Possible solutions: Technology, government policies, taxation.
HN folk: I guess working on the technology side of things could provide the greatest benefit?
- two months ago
- called two az senators and potus
the whole idea of 'individual actions' -- personal consumer choices -- like not driving and recycling -- contributing to a solution, is bogus, imo.
carbon footprint scam:
https://mashable.com/feature/carbon-footprint-pr-campaign-sh....
plastic recycling scam:
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-...
i get that the idea that individual actions are near-meaningless is not necessarily fun to think about, but...
my guess is greta, and all serious scientists, would agree.
we need 'actions' that get us to a carbon tax and other measures that will address the issue with the seriousness required.
- basically turned vegetarian (like 99,99%) in 2014
- joined avaaz.org to sign petitions. 30 mins per month invest
- I'm a minimalist and avoid buying new stuff, avoid buying furniture altogether
- Use the bike to get to work
- did a sticker campaign in 2014 to raise awareness about our lives and the planet (I firmly believe that awareness is a key factor to sustainability)
The way to fight climate change is at the level of national or supernational legislation.
I replaced a gas drier with a ventless heat pump one. Replaced a gas water heater with a hybrid heat pump one.
Bought a Prius to replace a E150 cargo van as a daily driver.
I'm relatively poor for a tech bro. And hate flying. That cuts down on high carbon footprint leisure activities.
And didn't have kids.
- Changed the electricity plan to eco+ 2 months ago. This costs ~$50 more per year
- 99,9% Vegetarian since ~5 years
- No car. Always take the bike even in winter
- No children, yet :D
- Started to discuss the topic more in order to educate myself and raise awareness
- Think about the topic on a daily basis at least for 5minWhen: A decade ago. Effort: 5$ ? Something like that.