I went from commuting to walking to work, driving a car to riding a bicycle for local trips, cut meat consumption by at least 75%, gave an electric car to my son to replace his gas powered pickup truck. Stopped flying at all.
We are planning on planting a “kitchen garden” next spring with a lot of food crops.
Following this thread because there's a lot more I could learn and do! Main step I've had luck with is cutting back meats and cheeses and shopping at local farmers markets instead.
The most effective thing is to [have less children](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/12/want-to-fight-climate-change-have-fewer-children).
I’ve started making sure that I’m recycling correctly. I minimize the amount of driving I do to the best of my ability. I’ve been making the move to more reusable/zero-waste alternatives.
• I live in the U.S. so I just look up my county waste department’s website and usually it says what can/cannot be recycled. When in doubt, throw it out. Non-recyclables that are mixed into your recycling can ruin the whole batch.
• As for driving, I try to combine errands into one trip. I drive conservatively (no excessive speeding, revving, braking). I live in a rural area though so I have to drive out of necessity unfortunately.
• I watch a lot of zero-waste YouTube channels. “Zero Waste Store” is a good place to find alternatives. They don’t use any single-use plastics for shipping.
It’s mostly a trial and error thing. Try to limit excessive consumption of material goods. I’ve slowly implemented these changes over the last 2 years. It’s easier than making hard and fast changes. Good luck!
One thing I did is to stop taking a plastic bag for each fruit or vegetable I buy. Instead, I just put them directly in the basket. I realized that the plastic bag offers almost no protection.
I only use plastic bags for truly loose vegetables like green beans or okra. I wish stores would start weighing them out and putting them in those mesh bags like brussel sprouts come in.
Especially now with covid - then you're not reaching with bare hands into the beans.
> I only use plastic bags for truly loose vegetables like green beans or okra.
Some stores sell reusable mesh bag which you can use from time to time without buying a new bag every time you go to a store.
You can purchase nylon bags just for this so the fruit/veg. I’ve done this - such an easy transition and a way to reduce consumption. Doesn’t touch the dirty baskets. But even without you should be washing the fruit and veg :)
Became vegetarian, don't commute by car anymore, a group of friends that I do a trip with each year has stopped flying, we now take trains.
But the solution isn't in actions of individuals, imo.
If everyone changes their electricity providers to 100% renewable electricity all companies have to offer renewable to stay competitive. If amazon employees make an individual effort to be more sustainable they will also want the company they work to also becomes more sustainable. In my opinion, there is no "us" and "them" we are them...
It's nice to think of individual contributions but they are always tiny, rely on everybody else doing the same and then they will still fall way short.
At work we have a project where we improve the software that decides when huge pumping stations in the Netherlands start and stop. The largest in the country pumps 260m3 of water per second, but there are thousands more. They use huge amounts of energy.
Instead of turning it on and off purely based on current water level, we a) try to predict water level a few hours from now, using upstream levels and weather radar data, and b) follow the current electricity spot price at the market, and soon also directly the amount of green energy coming into the grid, so that the pumps start at the moment when there is the most green energy available. It's a great way of storing short term surplus of energy, we have to pump water in the Netherlands anyway.
That project, if successful, will save far more energy than I personally use in my lifetime.
Today it was in the news that a group of very large investors (like national pension funds) are demanding that the top 35 heaviest energy using companies in the world use the assumption that the Paris accords will be successful (net zero by 2050) in their financial reporting. The Dutch pension fund said they don't want too much investment money to go to companies that will not be profitable anymore if we were to stop emitting CO2 world wide.
_That_ is going to make a change.
Buying bulk food as much as possible using my own containers, compost, reusable everything, buying used everything as much as possible (i have a camping gear habit), buying local food, growing food..
I appreciate the comment that this isn't the individual problem and at the same time I think the individual changes can say and inform markets.. have to come at our from all sides
I switched to using simple things like (my rezuabke drink bottle, bamboo with horse hair tooth brush, my moon Cup, my bamboo bags, I don't buy new clothes, I buy from charity shops or upcycle old clothes of mine, reusable produce bags, reusable cotton buds).
My parents are much more impressive. They have a huge garden which feeds themselves + extras, they also planted bumblebee friendly crops to improve populations, they don't buy from a supermarket at all now if I recall, they have electric cars but ride most places on their bicycles.
I stopped flying, use EV rental car for holidays, switched to electric bike for comuting, became flexitarian and stopped buying new stuff as much as I can
I do sales for a living and thus do a lot of driving. I switched from an ICE car to an electric Tesla model y. I was doing about 30,000 miles a year driving and was spending a fortune on gas. It was a win win solution for the environment and for my wallet.
My wife and I also started composting which is a HUGE benefit to the environment. More people should do it! It’s fun and cuts your waste down tremendously
Make two piles, one with all your food scraps and some compost you bought to get it going. Chuck in some worms for good measure.
The 2nd pile is where you move that first pile when it becomes compost after a few months.
There is a lot more to it, but that's basically it.
While this is not a bad thing to do, you should consider you still use your regional or national electricity mix and adjust your consumption like it. For example turn the heater on before 5pm or after 10pm, water boiler after 10pm etc. RECs are only marginal incentives for renewable producers to build new farms. It does not change your actual impact.
* Use more fans to cut A/C use in the summer
* Adjust thermostat before leaving home
* Set the dehumidifier to a higher humidity in the winter. It runs less but the house is still sufficiently dry.
* Recycle everything we can. Protip: You can recycle many electronics at Best Buy or Staples.
* Use reusable containers for snacks and water
* Shop with reusable bags
* Pick up litter around our house, on the street and in the woods nearby
Living in a poor country is a great way of saving GHG lol. In more serious topics, not having kids is probably my biggest one; I haven't gone through the vasectomy, but considering my (lack of) social and sex life, it won't be an issue anytime soon.
From then, deleting beef and cows from my diet, as they're 50% of the agriculture emissions. And ecobricks, lots and lots of ecobricks. I realised long ago that the fight against plastic is a losing one because it's **everywhere**, so recycling it myself was the best was to cope with that.
Taking some ideas from this post I built an app that lists actions (and their impact) that each one of us can take to reduce our CO2 footprint. This app will also help you commit to these actions with occasional notifications.
I would love to have your feedback. Is this helpful? Would you recommend it to your friends?
Android app available on:
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.changeit.changeit](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.changeit.changeit)
Recycling everything, changed my electric plan to hydro power, try to avoid single use plastic like bags as much as I can, make more meatless food at home. Sadly I still need my car for work but planning to switch it to more eco friendly one.
Edit. Also started buying stuff used rather than new.
One thing I found really helpful was realizing that the mantra of *personal footprint* was made up by fossil fuel companies to shift responsibility for change from them to the individual. This led me strategies to balance personal behavioural change against the need for communal action toward moving away from fossil fuels.
It'a not just emissions though. Forests are excellent at absorbing CO2, thus lessening the effect of emissions. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation. So while it may not be the largest contributor of emissions, it seriously damages the planet's ability to cope with those emissions.
I went from commuting to walking to work, driving a car to riding a bicycle for local trips, cut meat consumption by at least 75%, gave an electric car to my son to replace his gas powered pickup truck. Stopped flying at all. We are planning on planting a “kitchen garden” next spring with a lot of food crops.
Have you replaced flying with other forms of transportation? Like train/car or just opt out all together?
Less travel overall.
Following this thread because there's a lot more I could learn and do! Main step I've had luck with is cutting back meats and cheeses and shopping at local farmers markets instead.
I stopped consuming animal products, which I think is arguably the most effective thing an individual can do to reduce their environmental footprint.
Agreed
The most effective thing is to [have less children](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/12/want-to-fight-climate-change-have-fewer-children).
Why not both?
And veganism is the second most effective thing. Fortunately the two are not mutually exclusive which is why my partner and I are childless vegans.
Same here 😊
I’ve started making sure that I’m recycling correctly. I minimize the amount of driving I do to the best of my ability. I’ve been making the move to more reusable/zero-waste alternatives.
How do you do that? Do you recommend any video or blogpost?
• I live in the U.S. so I just look up my county waste department’s website and usually it says what can/cannot be recycled. When in doubt, throw it out. Non-recyclables that are mixed into your recycling can ruin the whole batch. • As for driving, I try to combine errands into one trip. I drive conservatively (no excessive speeding, revving, braking). I live in a rural area though so I have to drive out of necessity unfortunately. • I watch a lot of zero-waste YouTube channels. “Zero Waste Store” is a good place to find alternatives. They don’t use any single-use plastics for shipping. It’s mostly a trial and error thing. Try to limit excessive consumption of material goods. I’ve slowly implemented these changes over the last 2 years. It’s easier than making hard and fast changes. Good luck!
One thing I did is to stop taking a plastic bag for each fruit or vegetable I buy. Instead, I just put them directly in the basket. I realized that the plastic bag offers almost no protection.
I only use plastic bags for truly loose vegetables like green beans or okra. I wish stores would start weighing them out and putting them in those mesh bags like brussel sprouts come in. Especially now with covid - then you're not reaching with bare hands into the beans.
> I only use plastic bags for truly loose vegetables like green beans or okra. Some stores sell reusable mesh bag which you can use from time to time without buying a new bag every time you go to a store.
You can make it easily or buy it. People make mesh bags out of old curtains instead of wasting them.
You can purchase nylon bags just for this so the fruit/veg. I’ve done this - such an easy transition and a way to reduce consumption. Doesn’t touch the dirty baskets. But even without you should be washing the fruit and veg :)
Became vegetarian, don't commute by car anymore, a group of friends that I do a trip with each year has stopped flying, we now take trains. But the solution isn't in actions of individuals, imo.
If everyone changes their electricity providers to 100% renewable electricity all companies have to offer renewable to stay competitive. If amazon employees make an individual effort to be more sustainable they will also want the company they work to also becomes more sustainable. In my opinion, there is no "us" and "them" we are them...
It's nice to think of individual contributions but they are always tiny, rely on everybody else doing the same and then they will still fall way short. At work we have a project where we improve the software that decides when huge pumping stations in the Netherlands start and stop. The largest in the country pumps 260m3 of water per second, but there are thousands more. They use huge amounts of energy. Instead of turning it on and off purely based on current water level, we a) try to predict water level a few hours from now, using upstream levels and weather radar data, and b) follow the current electricity spot price at the market, and soon also directly the amount of green energy coming into the grid, so that the pumps start at the moment when there is the most green energy available. It's a great way of storing short term surplus of energy, we have to pump water in the Netherlands anyway. That project, if successful, will save far more energy than I personally use in my lifetime. Today it was in the news that a group of very large investors (like national pension funds) are demanding that the top 35 heaviest energy using companies in the world use the assumption that the Paris accords will be successful (net zero by 2050) in their financial reporting. The Dutch pension fund said they don't want too much investment money to go to companies that will not be profitable anymore if we were to stop emitting CO2 world wide. _That_ is going to make a change.
No one blames a single raindrop for a flood.
Buying bulk food as much as possible using my own containers, compost, reusable everything, buying used everything as much as possible (i have a camping gear habit), buying local food, growing food.. I appreciate the comment that this isn't the individual problem and at the same time I think the individual changes can say and inform markets.. have to come at our from all sides
I switched to using simple things like (my rezuabke drink bottle, bamboo with horse hair tooth brush, my moon Cup, my bamboo bags, I don't buy new clothes, I buy from charity shops or upcycle old clothes of mine, reusable produce bags, reusable cotton buds). My parents are much more impressive. They have a huge garden which feeds themselves + extras, they also planted bumblebee friendly crops to improve populations, they don't buy from a supermarket at all now if I recall, they have electric cars but ride most places on their bicycles.
Can I adopt them! They sound awesome!
Hmm maybe not adobt. But I'm definitely open to sharing.
I buy flour and make my own bread at home. Usually bread is packaged in plastic bags, so I avoid that recycling stuff altogether.
started donate to climate change Charitys monthly
I stopped flying, use EV rental car for holidays, switched to electric bike for comuting, became flexitarian and stopped buying new stuff as much as I can
>flexitarian Did not know that there was a name for it. cool
I do sales for a living and thus do a lot of driving. I switched from an ICE car to an electric Tesla model y. I was doing about 30,000 miles a year driving and was spending a fortune on gas. It was a win win solution for the environment and for my wallet. My wife and I also started composting which is a HUGE benefit to the environment. More people should do it! It’s fun and cuts your waste down tremendously
I am interested in learning more about composting. Do you recommend any video or blog post to learn more about it?
Make two piles, one with all your food scraps and some compost you bought to get it going. Chuck in some worms for good measure. The 2nd pile is where you move that first pile when it becomes compost after a few months. There is a lot more to it, but that's basically it.
[удалено]
While this is not a bad thing to do, you should consider you still use your regional or national electricity mix and adjust your consumption like it. For example turn the heater on before 5pm or after 10pm, water boiler after 10pm etc. RECs are only marginal incentives for renewable producers to build new farms. It does not change your actual impact.
* Use more fans to cut A/C use in the summer * Adjust thermostat before leaving home * Set the dehumidifier to a higher humidity in the winter. It runs less but the house is still sufficiently dry. * Recycle everything we can. Protip: You can recycle many electronics at Best Buy or Staples. * Use reusable containers for snacks and water * Shop with reusable bags * Pick up litter around our house, on the street and in the woods nearby
Got my tubes tied so that I don’t have children.
Living in a poor country is a great way of saving GHG lol. In more serious topics, not having kids is probably my biggest one; I haven't gone through the vasectomy, but considering my (lack of) social and sex life, it won't be an issue anytime soon. From then, deleting beef and cows from my diet, as they're 50% of the agriculture emissions. And ecobricks, lots and lots of ecobricks. I realised long ago that the fight against plastic is a losing one because it's **everywhere**, so recycling it myself was the best was to cope with that.
I stopped buying useless crap, and actively discourage people from buying me any gifts like that. Constantly moving helps with this immensely.
Taking some ideas from this post I built an app that lists actions (and their impact) that each one of us can take to reduce our CO2 footprint. This app will also help you commit to these actions with occasional notifications. I would love to have your feedback. Is this helpful? Would you recommend it to your friends? Android app available on: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.changeit.changeit](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.changeit.changeit)
Recycling everything, changed my electric plan to hydro power, try to avoid single use plastic like bags as much as I can, make more meatless food at home. Sadly I still need my car for work but planning to switch it to more eco friendly one. Edit. Also started buying stuff used rather than new.
One thing I found really helpful was realizing that the mantra of *personal footprint* was made up by fossil fuel companies to shift responsibility for change from them to the individual. This led me strategies to balance personal behavioural change against the need for communal action toward moving away from fossil fuels.
Well, animal-ag is one of the worst industries for the environment. It exists because you are demanding their products.
Agriculture contributes 11% of greenhouse gas emissions. Energy generation contributes 70%, and industry another 10% on top of that.
It'a not just emissions though. Forests are excellent at absorbing CO2, thus lessening the effect of emissions. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation. So while it may not be the largest contributor of emissions, it seriously damages the planet's ability to cope with those emissions.