Six ways to take climate action without breaking a sweat

It’s intimidating to try to navigate the constant deluge of news about rising global temperatures, and the debates over solutions are no less intense. But hopefully, most of us can agree that we live on a beautiful, special planet, and it, along with our community members most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, deserve to be protected as best as we can. So we decided to put together a (non-exhaustive) list of things you can do to take climate action. 

There’s a lot of disagreement over whether individual action has any value, especially compared to approaches that focus on a systems scale. We prefer to take a “¿Por qué no los dos?” attitude—climate change is a systemic issue, but cumulative individual efforts add up. At the end of the day, everything you can imagine to mitigate the impacts of climate change needs to happen. 

There’s no perfect, silver bullet approach, so the only thing we shouldn’t be doing is using one action to excuse not doing another. If you call your Congressperson every day about the latest climate legislation, that’s no reason not to eat less meat and vice versa. Below are a few actions we suggest for the climate-concerned, with a mix of individual and system actions.

Eat less meat

We know, we know, you’ve heard it before. But there’s a reason this is such a popular bit of advice for reducing emissions through lifestyle changes. About a third of greenhouse gas emissions globally are related to food production, of which meat is responsible for more than half. Aside from direct climate impacts that the meat industry is responsible for (in the form of greenhouse gas emissions), growing meat consumption is one of the leading causes of deforestation globally. And the ripple effects of destroying forests are multiple and massive—like the loss of CO2-storing “carbon sinks” and habitat loss threatening some of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. With all the nutritious and affordable meat alternatives out there, the hardest part of this action is choosing which delicious recipe to try first.

Register to vote, then vote in local elections

You have to break a bit of a sweat for this one, but the payoff is individual and systemic. If you’re here, you probably already know that you should be voting. But did you know you probably need to be voting every single year? The exact numbers vary by place, but most off-year elections see significantly lower turnout. A lot of local elections are held on off-years when institutionalist and conservative groups take advantage of lower turnout to keep reformists out of power. So if you want to see more progressive, environmentally-oriented changes in your local community, make an effort to vote every single year.

Volunteer with a local community group

This one might require breaking a little bit of a sweat, too, but we promise it’ll be worthwhile—and maybe even fun. One of the best bits of news we have for anyone who wants to take climate action is this: There are already tons of people already working on it, and they would love your help. Remember that “climate action” doesn’t have to mean going to a protest or writing letters to your congressperson to pass new regulations (although those are great options too). Tree planting at your local park? Climate action. A resource drive for the homeless shelter, which helps the people most immediately harmed by climate change-driven extreme weather? Climate action. It takes a little more effort to get started than some of the items on this list, but connecting with other people who are as worried as you and are doing something about it is invaluable.

Buy less, or buy used

The production and use of consumer goods accounts for 60 percent of climate change-causing greenhouse gas emissions, which means buying less stuff, particularly less new stuff, is a huge way your individual actions can contribute to a broader cultural solution. There’s no way for most of us to get around buying some stuff, but we’d encourage you to prioritize durability, longevity, and reparability; not just price and sustainable production practices. Local tailors and cobblers can repair or resole clothes and shoes that might appear worn-out at first glance, and local buy-sell groups on Craigslist and social media are a great way to supplement your local Goodwill’s limited inventory. Remember that when it comes to the planet, the best thing—be it your bike, shoes, cell phone—is always the one that you already own. 

Make your next trip to somewhere close to home

We’d never tell anyone to skip their once-in-a-lifetime dream trip to the other side of the world. International travel is exciting, enriching and world-opening. But there’s no denying that one of the single most carbon-intensive activities someone can do is fly in a commercial jet. But is there somewhere within a few hours’ drive (or, even, better, a train ride) of your home that you’ve been curious to see? Eliminating the emissions of traveling by plane isn’t the only benefit of a more local vacation, either. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by the interesting and beautiful places you can discover so close to home, and your tourism dollars will end up with your neighbors and in your local economy. 

Donate to groups taking action 

We know that not everyone has the spare cash, but if you do, donating to climate organizations isn’t less meaningful than going out and getting your own hands dirty. Some climate action, like installing solar panels, takes expertise the average person may not have. Or maybe you just don’t have much free time, but still want to pitch in. Either way, sometimes the best way to help out is to make sure the right people have enough money for their projects. We cosign this Vox guide of climate action groups, which includes everything from grassroots activists to large funds addressing the issue on multiple fronts.

The theme for Earth Day 2023 is ‘Invest in Our planet.’ Find out more about how you can take action for Earth on the official Earth Day website.