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

  • ntzm [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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    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.

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    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.

  • BeefPiano@lemmy.world
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    • Advocate for more and denser housing. If you can walk to the store you don’t need to drive. Housing policy is climate policy.
    • Advocate for public and non-automobile transit. EVs will not save us. Busses, trains, and bikes will.
    • Ask tough questions at work about sustainability. Are we carbon neutral? What can we do to find out?
      • NataliePortland@thegarden.landOP
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        If everyone switched to EV cars there would surely be fewer emissions from motors but that would not be the only issue. One is the mining of metals for batteries and the cars themselves. That process, along with shipping parts around produces greenhouse gasses and environmental harm. Then consider that we are not removing carbon nor does EV cars combat the largest sources of greenhouse gases like coal/ natural gas, textile manufacturing, concrete, shipping, and beef. Additionally, the EVs need electricity to charge and if everyone on earth today switched to EVcars many of those would end up being powered by the coal power plants (although it would be a more efficient use of fossil fuel).

        Electric vehicles are great and should be used. They do come with their own set of environmental problems to consider. It also worth noting that production and consumption of vehicles and everything else on the planet needs to slow. We simply have too many people doing too much. So if you have an old gas powered car that still runs, don’t throw it out to buy a new EV.

    • AdminWorker@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      What about the “car-owner-virus” aka coronavirus that convinced everyone to stop taking the bus? I still see that used and new cars are selling at a premium.

  • lntl@lemmy.sdf.org
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    I attend public meetings with my city’s officials with the goal of encouraging the development of bicycle infrastructure. Ped and public transit too.

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    1 year ago

    I plan on killing myself if it gets some dystopian type shit where I have to suck water from cockroaches titty or some shit.

  • Muddy 🌱@lemmy.world
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    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.

      • Muddy 🌱@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I’m in Norway. There are plenty of different ones depending on where you live.

        You pay a membership fee, and for the use of the car (based on hours used and kilometers travelled). You get a card which opens any car you’ve booked, and you are free to use it as you wish until your booked time is up. Then you return it to where you found it.

        I’ve used it for moving (borrowing large vans), intercity travel during covid (to avoid the bus), and longer summer trips in the mountains. My go to car is a Skoda citigo. A small electrical vehicle. Just large enough for two people and their bags.

  • bremen15@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    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.

    • kozel@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      How do they usually react? Or any other details you would like to share? And what is ccl?

      • bremen15@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        It depends on the party. Some talk a lot. Some say how much they do to protect the climate. That is all good and part of what we want because these people must realize they want to protect the climate. Pressure is not conducive to personal change. When talking with them, we apply motivational interviewing, and our goal is to help them overcome their decision ambivalence and ambiguity towards climate action. We also come back and try to build a working relationship with them.

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    1 year ago

    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:

    1. 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)

    2. 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.

    3. 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.

    4. 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.

    5. 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.

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        1 year ago

        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.

      • isthingoneventhis@lemmy.world
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        If you are really savvy with tags and refined searches, Etsy is still an alright place to find awesome “vintage” (thrifty) stuff. It just takes a little bit of work but once you have sorted, it really is quite alright.

    • _thisdot
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      Not all meat is bad right? My understanding is that cattle farming is harmful to the environment because cows fart methane

  • NataliePortland@thegarden.landOP
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    1 year ago

    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.

    • Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world
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      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.

      • lettruthout@lemmy.world
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        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.

      • NataliePortland@thegarden.landOP
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        Oh that’s very good info about the water heater. So you’re saying that if my house lost power I could drink from that for 100-300 L? Good to know.

        I knew about the 6 month cycle for water and I got tired of that chore so instead I just have unopened gallons. Those are fine, right?

        • Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world
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          Yup, obviously no pressure if there’s a municipal water problem, but you should be able to use the drain.

          I’m not sure what the shelf life is on prepackaged water; probably varies by the water contents and the container itself. The advantage of smaller containers is if one goes bad you don’t lose all your water.

  • BorgDrone@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    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.

  • 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.

  • tunetardis@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    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:

    • Cycling. I used to be a hardcore traditional cyclist but have taken to ebiking in recent years. Maybe a higher environmental footprint if you compare apples to apples, but what I’ve found is that I ebike far more than I ever regular-biked (it’s actually quite fun!), and that many trips that used to involve a car no longer do. My current experiment is trying out a fat-tire ebike to see if it’s better suited to winter riding as some claim? They certainly are a comfy commute!
    • My home has gas central heating + baseboard electric in certain rooms. So I am experimenting with having the gas heat set low and spot heating certain rooms with electric to see what that does to my bills? Further down the line, I’m contemplating a heat pump to replace central A/C and get some winter heating that way.
    • I am eating a lot less meat. Seems like a simple enough thing to do that I have read has an outsized benefit where climate is concerned? Doesn’t mean I’m always eating healthy, mind you. But if I’m at a Taco Bell, I’ll order the bean burrito instead of beef.

    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.

    • Bakachu@lemmy.world
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      Hello fellow e-biker! You and I have similar paths with the e-bikes and low meat diets. Glad to see others who are trying new things to reduce their carbon footprint. I think if enough people try at least one thing, it would effect greater change, so trying my best to do my part too.

    • NataliePortland@thegarden.landOP
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      These are great steps and I love that they’re not mega lifestyle changes but easy to do and make work for you. I’ve been eating less beef too. Not none, but less. And I’ve got a little idea been bouncing in my head for a while: Guinea pigs. They are common food in South America. They eat almost anything, take very little space, and I’ve never tried one but I gotta admit they look tasty and they are very sustainable. I’m probably going to catch hate for saying that but damnit they’re trying to convince us to eat bugs!

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        I have an in-law who’s from Peru and you’re right. Guinea pigs are what they call dinner there.

        We once had a pet guinea pig and I remember him as being a little poop factory. I guess for maximum sustainability, you’d want to factor that into making compost to grow your vegetable garden or whatever?

  • Etterra@lemmy.world
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    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.

  • proxy@lemmy.world
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    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.

    • NataliePortland@thegarden.landOP
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      1 year ago

      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

    • _thisdot
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      I personally am much more optimistic about this. There exists something called “Green Premium” which is the extra price we consumers need to pay right now to reduce our emissions. Being from India, I can’t really afford some of those Green Premium and neither can I blame people around me getting Air Conditioning or improving their living standards by getting a car in such hot and humid conditions.

      My realistic hope is that the Green Premium will come down enough or even be on par with the regular price eventually where it won’t even make economic sense to have such a huge carbon footprint. I see efforts towards this end and I’m confident we’ll pull through.

      That said, I also think some of the big cities in places like India will be unfortunately uninhabitable by the time we get there (around 2050)

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    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!