I’ve done what I know to do (installed solar, switched to a heat pump, minimize vehicle use, eat primarily vegan), but I want to do more.
I am interested to hear what the HN community is doing to fight climate change? Beyond what I’ve listed, what else can I do to have a greater impact? I want a better future for my kids.
- not owned nor operated a car for 8 years, relying on public transport and car pooling as much as possible.
- live sparsely, buying way less disposable junk, buying more expensive well built things that last (but only if they are absolutely needed and will be used)
- lower meat consumption to around 250gr per week. Could probably go lower.
- put money where my mouth is; sponsor foundations and initiatives that are helping to restore ecosystems (I would recommend 'Mossy Earth').
- also related to money and my mouth; put funds into certified green investment funds. I can't say if you can be sure they are green where you are based, but mine are government certified so I trust it.
- push against comments from friends, family and coworkers that hint at futility of, or lack of responsibility for, our own individual action in the face of this crisis. Help them to see that our collective actions are numerous and can extend way further then just to something like recycling.
- buy food stuffs from outlets that allow you to bring your own container rather than getting it wrapped in disposable plastic.
I live in a streetcar suburb that has a high quality rail link into the nearby major city, but the stations are all surrounded by parking (despite the walkable downtown) and lots of people drive to them from under half a mile away. Making it comfortable enough for more people to bike to the station and to shops downtown feels like low-hanging fruit here. :)
Personal actions are great to demonstrate to others that living differently is possible, but we need to funnel some energy into influencing government action too. Start going to your local city/town council meetings and advocating for what you think the town should be doing. Especially if you live in a smaller town, because it's likely you'll actually be able to talk to your elected officials. In a town of say 13,000, there will probably only be 4 or 5 people at those meetings - so you'll have a stronger voice than most others who don't show up. (Or email them, if you don't have the time to go to meetings in person!)
2) I am strongly advocating continued nuclear energy development. That is one thing that everybody should be able to agree on regardless of their stance on climate change. It's mystifying to me that the people who vocally care about climate change the most seem to resist this the hardest.
I rarely drive anymore which contributes to saving the earth from my gas-guzzler not only in the gasses it lets off but also doing my part not driving on roads with a multi-thousand pound vehicle for no reason. Cars destroy roads over time and in that way are a huge contributor to climate change is simply paving/maintaining roads.
Finally I want to promote planting more trees not only for the carbon capture they help with but more importantly how they help cut down on the heat-island effect which plagues so many cities including my own. Again, my neighborhood has these huge trees that cool the area so much. Meanwhile other parts of my town people are required to rely on 24/7 AC units to cool them off, contributing more to climate change.
I bought an earth bermed home in a cool climate but that might not even be enough if the talk about climate change is real. I am considering putting the entire home deep under ground correctly as the underground temperature is about 50F year-round vs. the -25F to +90F swing throughout the year. That means I can make up the 15 degree difference using sparse solar heating and heat batteries. The biggest challenge is the cost of steel and high pressure concrete right now is quite high and finding reliable contractors in a very rural area is not easy. I may end up just doing it myself knowing I will miss out on many tricks of the trade.
At this point in my career I've helped build over 200 wind turbines, 3 solar installations, restored a good stretch of wetland, and been involved in two dam removals.
If you work on climate tech and want free help... be it pitch deck building, extra hand in marketing/positioning, basically anything related to biz dev/ops, I'm happy to chat (email in the bio).
Grow your own food, cuts out industrial ag and the massive transportation required to move the food.
If you have a lawn, turn it into a garden. The yields will be more than your family can eat and you can share it. Unless you don't want to put any sweat in and just want some easy feel good solution..
Personal action has failed every year for decades. We need global co-ordinated action.
That won't happen as long as people (wrongly) believe they can fix this by buying a hybrid or doing meat-free mondays. In fact, I think many people are NOT supporting action in the hope OTHER people will solve it for them.
So I am refusing to do anything until the problem is actually taken seriously.
I reduced my consumption of everything by a lot. I own a car, but rarely drive -- instead, I bicycle. I prefer to do business with companies that are at least somewhat conscientious about environmental effects. I vote.
I'm not sure what more I can really do, honestly. Most of the things we as a species do that are problematic aren't really things individuals have a lot of control over.
2. Conscientious recycling. Grocery stores recycle plastic bags (LDPE) and it's a trip I make anyway. I've introduced other people to metal recycling for old electronics, car parts, dehumidifiers -- and they're excited to turn non profit, corporate, and my car used parts waste into donations back to the non profit. I'm also that annoying friend / family member that tries to collect all of the aluminum cans at parties.
3. I've started investing in a couple green ventures each year via StartEngine over the last 3 years. Terracycle US is the only one paying dividends so far, but feeling like an owner of that is rewarding every time i see a new product that works with terracycle.
Batteries essentially enable planners to increase renewable generation and make it less variable.
For gas plants, they can avoid or reduce the need to run gas turbines as peaking power plants which are typically needed to cover the significant gap between renewable generation and residential loads in the early evenings. The batteries can cover that period with energy shifted from the day to the late afternoons and early evenings.
Of course there is still CO2 emitted in their manufacturing, but I am coming from a previous career in making gas turbine control systems, so it's still an improvement. I'm trying to make the broadest impact I can as an engineer.
I like using biodiesel when possible and don't eat meat or commute. These are lifestyle choices that would be made regardless of environmental impact, though
Companies can do more to fight climate change than most individuals can.
Some things I think I've learnt (but am open to being proved wrong):
Climate models are very rough, so take all catastrophic predictions with a grain of salt (eg this year's record sea surface temps were not predicted by IPCC models, the main factor discussed for the difference (policies reducing aerosolized sulphates) are not accounted for in their models. Heterodox hypothesis are not tested in sophisticated mainstream models)
IPCC goals are arbitrary and designed for political purposes (eg there is no fundamental reason why 1.5C goal is a better limit than a 2.5C goal, it is likely worse since it is currently unachievable), so don't get too upset if we don't meet them
Most of the popular 'solutions' don't bother with sophisticated methods to determine impact, like Life Cycle Analysis, and often rely on hidden assumptions that are mostly ignored (eg "we can install 95% renewables _IF_ the grid is upgraded and battery tech gets X% cheaper", "We will 'solve' plastic pollution from wind turbines") so be wary of those saying X tech will save us before they've built anything
Some of the 'solutions' counter-intuitively make things worse (eg biofuel policies causing 3rd world starvation http://theoildrum.com/node/3495)
The most obvious low-carbon solution, nuclear, has a bad history and so will not be accepted by the environmental movement for decades at minimum
Even IF the west stops all emissions, the rest of the world is not likely to follow (eg China increasing absolute emissions, even whilst increasing renewable share).
So in summary, I don't think the solution is technological, nor personal. The problem is fundamentally political, so the solution will need to be political. Solving this will require realism (eg accepting that downsides of nuclear are necessary evil to gaining the upside, accepting that poor countries don't care about your "net zero" targets until they are prosperous).
Believe me, you are not making difference you think you are doing. All the wealthy people I know don't care. I know a guy who flew more than 50 times last year, private jet and most of the times only he, the pilot and a third person. The less wealthy, who also emit a lot, don't care either as they can't afford to save the planet. Just look at Billionaire's row in NYC.
For personal impact: vote, support core green innovation like Charm Industrial, Recoolit, etc., and do whatever you can to disempower the oil lobby.
My current job is with Recoolit -- https://recoolit.com -- which is not only tackling a big climate issue, but also depends on concerned individuals and organizations to fund our work (through voluntary carbon credits).