"What can I really do about climate?"
I often get the “what can I really do about climate?” question from those outside the climate space, including family, friends, and the majority of my professional network who work in software/tech. Yes, you can take action on protecting our environment and addressing climate change. It can easily be overwhelming– the amount of bad news, the complexity of the topic, and the politicalization of the issue. But everyone can do something, and if we work together, we will make an impact.
FIRST STEP: Remember there are solutions and there is hope! If you don’t have hope, there’s no reason to do anything. Here’s a website that collates good news about new climate solutions, people banding together to help their communities, policy wins, and more. And here’s a report on the 3 million and growing clean energy jobs in the U.S. Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about a wide variety of technical & policy solutions to climate change globally, check out Project Drawdown.
There are multiple ways to take action. I like to categorize them into 4 buckets:
PERSONAL. Things you and your family can do to lower your own personal impact on the environment and reduce your carbon emissions.
PROFESSIONAL. Things you do as part of your job that help the cause.
FINANCIAL. Investment choices that can make a difference.
SYSTEMIC. Pushing for systemic change– that means advocating for the structures, policies and politicians that will protect the environment and combat climate change.
Below are a handful of ideas for each category that are likely to have the biggest bang for the buck.
PERSONAL. For the average American household, the biggest impact is how you heat & cool your home, what you eat and how you drive.
Check & improve your home insulation (and adjust your thermostat). Make sure your home is well-insulated. Adding insulation, sealing off drafty doors/windows and installing thick window curtains/blinds can all reduce your heating & cooling usage (and utility bills!) And yes, do adjust your thermostat to be warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter.
Replace your A/C and furnace with a heat pump. A heat pump is a device that can replace both your air conditioner and your furnace (it can both heat and cool your house.) Modern heat pumps are way more efficient than traditional A/Cs and furnaces. They’re more expensive to buy upfront, but there are big federal tax credits for heat pumps in the newly passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which will come into effect in 2023. So research them now and install next year to get the big tax credit.
Consider solar panels (plus a battery) if you’ve got a sunny rooftop. If you also install solar panels along with a battery, you can use clean, free energy from the sun to run the heat pump and the rest of your house most of the time (and still use electricity from your local utility when your own solar isn’t enough). In most cases, you will save money vs. your current electric bill by installing solar. With most solar companies, you don’t have to pay anything upfront as there are very good financing options, and there are also great tax credits in the IRA.
Fly less, fly coach. Air travel generates an enormous amount of carbon. Consolidate meetings for business travel so you can fly less frequently, and of course use Zoom when you can instead. Do a road trip for a family vacation rather than flying to a distant tropical island. And yes, fly coach even though it is less comfortable, as a coach seat requires a proportionally smaller amount of carbon vs. a business class seat.
Eat more plants, less meat. Each calorie of meat has a 10-50X greater carbon footprint than the equivalent plant-based food (beef is the worst). So eating more plants is a good thing. (Here is my son’s favorite video on the topic.) You do not have to become vegetarian or vegan. Reducing even 30-50% will make a difference! You can have plant-based breakfast & lunch, and save meat for dinner. Or have plant-based meals 3 days a week. You can also eat meat more strategically– like enjoying a rich meat sauce with your pasta where a small amount of meat gives a lot of flavor, rather than eating a 12 ounce steak.
Use less water. Especially for your lawn/garden. Did you know it takes an enormous amount of energy to clean and pump water to your house? When you save water, you also save energy. If your lawn and garden require a lot of watering, consider replanting/replacing with landscaping that doesn’t need as much water.
Buy less stuff– especially disposable stuff. Buy fewer, higher quality things that can last a long time and are reusable– whether that’s clothes, water bottles or housewares. Recycling helps a bit, but most plastics can't actually be recycled so it's better just to buy less stuff to begin with.
Walk/bike/take public transportation. Many Americans rely on their cars to get around, and cars are a necessity for most people. But is there driving you can eliminate? If you are getting a cup of coffee and Starbucks is a quarter mile away, consider walking rather than driving. If you need to get groceries and run other errands, can you consolidate your driving so you hit multiple stores in one trip?
Make your next car an EV– but then you really want to have solar panels, too. Whether or not an EV makes sense depends a lot on how electricity is generated in your region. A lot of my extended family lives in Ohio, and I have advised them not to get an EV unless they also get solar + storage, as Ohio’s electricity is generated mostly by nuclear, coal and gas generators. But if you live in a region where renewables or hydro are a major source of electricity, or if you have solar panels, then an EV makes much more sense. Also, waiting a year or two will make EVs more affordable as more mid-range models are introduced and production increases.
PROFESSIONAL. There are many different ways to boost climate action through your jobs, from helping to make your workplace more energy efficient to actually working in climate directly.
Talk to whoever manages the building where you work. Can it be made more energy efficient? Can the heating/cooling be set to lower/higher temperatures to save energy? Can lights be set on motion sensors? Can solar panels be added to the roof or the parking lot (and offset the electricity bills)?
If your work involves a car/truck/bus fleet– can you reduce the emissions by reducing idling time, or by switching to electric trucks or buses? Lots of delivery companies and school bus services are switching to electric vehicles to reduce fuel costs and lower maintenance costs. Did you know EVs are a lot lower cost to maintain than gas-fueled vehicles (when your vehicle isn’t powered by small explosions of combustible fuel, it turns out things don’t break down as fast.)
If you are in a position where you can use your job to discuss climate action with other employees or customers/students/congregation, do it! This needs to be subtle and reflect what is appropriate where you work (and it may not be appropriate at all.) But it’s another way to reach more people if it is appropriate.
Volunteer or help out part-time. Use your professional skills to help the cause. If you are a software engineer, participate in a climate hackathon. If you are an electrician or contractor, join a local community solar organization’s volunteer installation crew.
Screw quiet quitting. Take the plunge. Why languish in a job you’re not passionate about? If you are “quiet quitting”, then maybe you should look into the climate sector. There is huge growth in the industry now in the U.S., spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act, and tons of investment, even as the overall tech sector is tightening its belt and inflation is cooling down the economy. There’s even a Climate Draft where climate companies are recruiting people from tech and other industries as all types of skills and talent are needed in climate.
FINANCIAL. If you are in the fortunate position of having sufficient financial resources to be an investor, you can divest from companies exacerbating climate change (oil and gas companies in particular), and invest in companies and funds who are creating positive environmental and social impacts. There’s some amount of greenwashing amongst ESG funds. Nevertheless, investors are able to influence CEOs and boards to take climate seriously. And proposed new SEC regulations on climate disclosures will accelerate this trend.
Beyond ESG funds, there are many funds that now specifically focus on energy, climatech and/or sustainability, ranging from venture capital (such as Powerhouse Ventures) to strategic investment funds (such as Energy Impact Partners, an investment consortium of utility companies) to funds that invest in hard asset/infrastructure development (such as Generate Capital).
SYSTEMIC. Even if every individual chips in by taking their own personal actions to protect the environment and our planet, it won’t be enough. Whole systems have to change– and the key is collective action. This does not mean becoming a left-leaning tree hugger and attending climate marches. Instead, it means you can:
Talk about climate with people in your community (neighbors, book club, church, gym/sports buddies, etc.) This is the key message in Katherine Hayhoe’s TED talk and book Saving Us which I shared over the summer. As Katherine says, “By bonding over the values we truly share, and by connecting them to climate, we can inspire one another to act together to fix this problem.”
Write to/call your government officials to demand climate action, regardless of their political party (and yours). Let them know you are extremely concerned about climate change and that you want them to take action.
Did you know that the vast majority of energy regulations in the U.S. are set at the state and local levels, not Federal? It’s more important to lobby your mayor, state legislators and governor than your Senator or Congressperson-- and they're more likely to listen to you. You can demand them to take actions such as ensuring local utilities allow consumers and businesses to install solar panels; set renewable energy and/or net zero targets; and ensuring your state and local governments set up tax incentives for clean energy & energy efficiency that have been made available by the Federal Inflation Reduction Act.
Express your point of view, regardless of whether the officials are Democratic or Republican, and regardless of your own party preferences. There are many Republicans who believe in climate action. In fact, lobbying Republicans (especially if you are a registered Republican) is going to have an outsized impact. Republicans can legislate for climate action, but only if their voters demand that they do so.
Vote! You do not have to be a Democrat to support climate action. But you do need to vote for (and support the campaigns of) candidates who believe climate change is real and who believe the government can and should take action to fight it. There are Democratic and a good number of principled Republican candidates who believe this– help them win primaries and general elections, at the local, state and federal levels.
Support organizations dedicated to this mission. Get involved with or donate to organizations that are combating climate change. They may be global non-profits like NRDC, Project Drawdown, or Sierra Club; state-based groups like the Ohio Environmental Council; or a local neighborhood organization putting in a solar microgrid for low-income households or a rural community in your area.
I hope that one or more of these ideas inspires you to take action. We are truly all in this together.
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” Dale Carnegie