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Not to derail this, because hey, nothing wrong with prepping/trying to help your community. But let's not forget that 100 companies are responsible for 70% of emissions since 1988.
Woah, seems like I started something. I specifically said there was nothing wrong with doing your part, but that we shouldn't forget it's not our fault.
Which is why fighting for policy changes is important. One of the only things that can stop companies are government regulations
I fully understand what you're saying and agree that on an individual level our impact is minimal compared to these companies, but I always wonder how fair it is to say they have to change and that's the only solution.
My understand, and this is of the top of my head, is that 93 of those companies are oil/gas companies and the other 7 are cement. If they all gained a conscience today and stopped operations tonight, the world would be in chaos. People on an individual level would still need fuel to be able to get to supermarkets, and the supermarkets need fuel to get food moved around the supply chain.
Whilst I'm not saying it's a solution and I'm using a simplified example to make my case, but if everyone prioritised buying electric cars as their next car, then manufacturers would speed up production of them and phase out combustion engine cars and vehicles. This would reduce the need for oil and at some point these top 100 polluters would either adapt or collapse.
What I'm trying to get at is the masses need to put pressure on these companies both through policy changes and purchasing power. I think it's too easy to keep driving petrol cars and pointing at the oil companies as the bad guys.
Sold my car, eat a plant based diet, talk to people about climate change and what they can do, change pensions, investments etc. to greener banks. I imagine the majority of my carbon footprint is probably from electricity now. I'd like to get involved with local green politics at some point but it's something I haven't really done yet.
Good for you with investing green. Can you recommend a mutual fund?
I'm poor. So I ride the train to/from work, even though it's 4x (or more) longer than driving.
That's all I can afford at the moment.
That's already a lot more than others, so thank you for that.
I attend public meetings with my city's officials with the goal of encouraging the development of bicycle infrastructure. Ped and public transit too.
I plan on killing myself if it gets some dystopian type shit where I have to suck water from cockroaches titty or some shit.
I've swapped planes for trains, omnivore diet for vegan, I travel by bus in my everyday life, and am a member of a car collective for those few times a year I actually need a car myself.
I don't preach any of these things, but I talk about it / mention it when it's brought up. Everyone somewhat close to me knows about my lifestyle. My philosophy is to show it's not only possible to live like I am, but that I can still enjoy my life to the fullest in doing so.
I also support local organisations and political movements financially, and vote for the parties I believe have the best plans for the future.
I am working with a neighborhood organization to improve tree canopy in my urban area. I got involved with my neighborhood association and another org in an effort to build and strengthen my community. I would love to take more action but I’m not sure what or how. Starting to see now that working together with people helps make us more resilient.
I’m very interested in plants and growing food, which I think is valuable skill now and will only get more valuable. I would love to find ways to adapt agriculture to a shifting climate.
Another thing I’m doing which is simpler is some basic disaster preparedness. I have 20 gallons of water and a big box of non perishable food in my shed, and my wife and I have a plan of where to meet up in an emergency. It’s not “doomsday prepping” just a modest bit of preparation.
On water preparedness:
If your storing tap water, it's generally shelf stable for about 6 months, so don't forget to cycle it out.
If you have a tanked water heater, you probably don't need supplemental water supplies. A hot water tank provides 100-300 liters of water that circulates on its own. That's a whole bunch of water you don't need to worry about stagnating. This obviously assumes your water tank isn't at risk (i.e. a basement tank is no good when your risk is flooding).
Otherwise I'd recommend water treatment tablets. That's a whole lot more water with (almost) none of the storage space and a much longer self life. Again depends on area, that won't help you in a desert.
All good considerations for drinking water. I've also got 30 gallons stored for washing, etc. It gets cycled only every five years or so.
I started to become politically involved in a non-partisan, very low key way: I started approaching politicians, ask them for meetings and very kindly but determined ask about their agenda for climate protection. For that I connected with CCL-D (Germany) and ccl-eu (Europe) as well as with a local group, so we don't operate in a vacuum. This is surprisingly efficient and while it requires some preparation and social skills, I works well for me.
How do they usually react? Or any other details you would like to share? And what is ccl?
I think the key to greater change in ourselves and our communities is through small changes. Thats the way to get me prepared for bigger changes that might be required further on down the road. So I do the following things for myself and to maybe influence others in feasible ways:
Low-meat diet - do a vegetarian or pescatarian day every now and then, and reduce overall meat intake (I still love meat but save high meat days for special occasions)
Switch up transportation on nice weather days. I have a car, motorcycle, and e-bike. The car is used primarily for trips that are in inclement weather, when I need extra safety (sketchy area, at night, or I'm not feeling well), or need to haul stuff. I use the motorcycle and ebike for everything else. Less/no emissions and puts me in a great mood.
Always have camping utensils, thermos, and bags. Reusable bags for tons of situations. Camping utensils replace disposable utensils at eateries. Thermos for my bevs so no need to buy plastic bottled bevs or use plastic cups. I also always take my own food containers with me to restaurants and use those instead of the restaurants for take home leftovers and let me tell you - they really appreciate that.
Thrift my outfits. Online and traditional thrift stores. I sell them for cheap on online sites or donate when I get tired of them. About half my wardrobe is thrifted.
Be kind to others and myself. I think this is the most important thing. A good feeling goes a long way towards caring about bigger and bigger things. Keeps us all connected.
What are these online thrift stores? I’d like to check that out
Great idea with the reusable containers
ThredUp, Mercari, and Poshmark are my go-to's right now. If theres something specific im looking for, sometimes eBay. There's secondhand sites like DePop and Vinted that offer more specialty vintage items, and then other sites that offer secondhand luxury/designer.
Oh and if you get into thrifting make sure you get a de-piller. They take off all the little clothing nubs and make stuff look new.
The single most effective thing you could possibly do for the planet, and something that’s dead simple and basically free: not having any children.
This is the right answer, and the one that many people hate to hear. Plenty of articles on this topic, but here's one from Science.org that gets straight to the point:
The best way to reduce your carbon footprint is one the government isn't telling you about
Nothing. From India where the people are more concerned about getting food on the plate and the government is busy instigating hatred for power. We're colossally fucked.
I am experimenting with various lifestyle choices that lower carbon footprint. It's just me, of course, so a drop in a very large bucket in the grand scheme of things, but I figure you need to work some of these things out yourself before you know what to advocate to others?
A few things include:
In terms of adapting, I have been experimenting with various neck-cooling devices. The jury is still out at this point, but they all seem to help with heat exhaustion to which I am rather prone.
I know that i break with the general vibes in this thread. I think climat change has gone too far too fast, and I don't think there is any we as induviduals can do to stop it now. The politcians in my country talk about trying to limit plastic shopping bags and limiting driving by upping toll roads to hurt average Joe's wallet to stop people from driving. In the mean time the tourist cruise industry were allowing to visit our ports are poluting more than the european car park combined. They are just going after the group with the smalles lobbiest group and the frewest layewers to green wash their next political cycle.
Anyways rant over. I have invested most of my money in devidens and i'm looking into buying a bigger property in to one of the few places in europe that scientists have estimated to be the least affected by climate change. Once I find something big enought we will move up north and beg to what ever is out there that mankind can invent something to revert the damage we have done.
Hey it’s also important to prepare ourselves for a changing climate so thank you for sharing.
Want to hear something to make your blood boil? COP28 is being held in UAE and run by an oil tycoon
I live near one of the Great Lakes (Michigan) and plan to continue to do so. They're an enormous source of fresh water and will be the least horrible place to survive the impending water scarcity implosion of our wasteful civilization. IIRC one climate change model predicted that the UP of Michigan will be the most comfortable place to live in the US in about 100 years so maybe I'll move up there eventually.
i ride my ebike everywhere around town, unfortunately thats the most i can do right now. betting on something giving with the huge corps thwt have made us think that the everyday person can make a large impact on climate change over them
I'm volunteering at a thrift store. We recycle and repurpose tons of clothing, furniture and household items. By volunteering I get to use my "maker" repairing skills to keep things out of the landfill. Plus I get first dibs on incoming items!
No car, went vegan. Chose a place of living that allows to commute by bike. No more flights for vacation. No more flights for work unless other options are absolutely not manageable. Chose a 100% wind electricity provider. Voting for parties that take climate crisis seriously.
Bought an EV. Got solar panels. Moving towards energy storage options.
No car, plane rides or children. I also eat less meat than average, rarely buy new (or used) stuff and vote for one of the greener parties.
I grew up (first world) poor, so this was just the way things were, when I was a child. My income is still quite low but I could absolutely live more lavishly than I do now, if I wanted to.
Looking out and voting for politicians and policies focusing on sustainability and better transportation infrastructure. Research companies that are inventing new ways to be less dependent on fossil fuels. Watch out for companies that greenwash and don’t truly take action about their climate incentives.
The small things I do in my life is walk to the grocery store rather than drive. I am lucky enough to live near one.
I have not purchased any fast fashion in years.
I try to avoid plastic packaging and reuse plastic bags or bring my own bags for shopping.
I got solar panels with battery backup to help with preventing climate change, but now that I think about it, it could help with preparing as well. I also got a drainage system with sump pump in the foundation of my house to prepare for climate change, it had already come in handy due to heavier rain. I started supporting local farmers through our Community Supported Agriculture program.
Trees are a great idea. As much shade as possible.
My wife and I are moving to Central America next year. Once we get there, we're going to be building a partially off-grid house: electricity from solar panels with on-grid fallback, water from a spring on the property, and solar water heating. We're hoping we'll be able to grow most of our own veggies and compost whatever we possibly can.
Unfortunately, we'll need a gas-powered vehicle due to rough terrain and a severe lack of EV charging capabilities in the area. That being said, we don't drive very often at all here in the US and I expect we'll drive even less once we're down there.
