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5 Simple Ways to Act on Climate Change

Anja Semanco|

There has never been a more important time to act on climate. Science-based targets from the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report give the global community just over 10 years to mitigate the worst impacts of the climate crisis. 

It just takes a few minutes to email your representatives and make a difference with the REI Cooperative Action Network.

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The outdoor community has an opportunity to turn their passions into purpose and become climate champions. Here are five ways anyone can act on climate change.

1. Educate Yourself

You don’t have to be a climate scientist to be a climate advocate, but it doesn’t hurt to make sure you’re knowledgeable about the subject.

When it comes to climate change, the science is in: The Earth has already warmed 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880 (when climate record-keeping began), 18 of the 19 warmest years on record all have occurred since 2001, and 2016 came in as the hottest year ever on record. More than 97 percent of climate scientists agree—over the past century, the earth has been warming at an alarming rate, which is extremely likely due to the increased prevalence of greenhouse gases caused by human activities.

Here are a few of our favorite resources for learning more about climate change:

  • Project Drawdown: A global research organization that identifies, reviews and analyzes the most viable solutions to climate change
  • NASA: Vital signs of the planet
  • Grist: Working toward a planet that doesn’t burn
  • Union of Concerned Scientists: Science for a healthy planet and safer world
  • Drilled: A podcast on climate denial propaganda
  • Merchants of Doubt: How a handful of scientists obscured the truth 

2. Recognize Your Impact

Your carbon footprint is your direct impact on the climate and can show where changes in your personal life can be made. First, it’s important to take stock of your footprint—here’s an EPA resource to do that. There are many individual actions we can champion, like limiting plastic consumption, driving less frequently, taking public transportation more often, and reducing our food waste. We need change not only at the individual level, but at the systems level, as well.

3. See the Big Picture

Recognizing your direct impact on the climate not only helps you see where you can make changes in your day-to-day life, but more importantly, shows where the system needs to change to have the biggest effect.

We live in a carbon-based society. If we want to make meaningful reductions in carbon emissions, it’s not just about not using plastic straws (although, c’mon, no more plastic straws), it’s about advocating for policies that allow us to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. 

For example, if you travel a lot for work, you may find your carbon footprint is larger than others, and that reducing the number of flights and long drives you take each year could greatly reduce your individual impact. But perhaps a more important question is why transit emits so much carbon in the first place.

One hundred 100 fossil fuel companies accounted for 71 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions from 1988 to 2015, according to the Carbon Majors Database. 

Acting on climate means understanding we need to take that burden off of individuals and instead champion systemic policy solutions.

4. Identify Your Superpowers

Whether you love writing, organizing friends to action, or inspiring your buds to get outside, you can easily transform your passions into climate action with just a little focus. No matter what skill you’re fine-tuning, you can join Protect Our Winters (POW) or other climate organizations to grow those interests and hone them in on climate solutions. We’ll help you discover how your superpowers best fit within the climate movement. 

In early 2018, POW added professional climber Tommy Caldwell to our Alliance. He uses his passion for climbing and the outdoors to lead others toward action. Since joining POW, Caldwell has advocated for the protection of public lands from fossil fuels extraction and joined POW in Washington, D.C. to testify before a Congressional committee on behalf of climate action. Regardless of your passion, POW will help you turn it into purpose. 

5. Become a Climate Advocate

It might sound obvious, but the best way to act on climate is to simply become a climate advocate. All the previous actions position you to be part of the climate movement—becoming an advocate is the final step. 

Get involved by contacting your elected officials at the local, state and federal levels. Although it seems like a small step, it can have massive impacts. Those messages (phone and email) do get delivered to your lawmakers—and it can be pretty hard to ignore a deluge of concerned comments from thousands of constituents. If there’s an issue or a bill you think your lawmaker ought to act on (even if they haven’t historically in the past), reach out and let them know. It’s actually pretty easy. 

If you haven’t yet (and you’re over 18), another important climate action is registering to vote and voting. Again, it seems like a simple step, but it’s much harder to take action on climate policy if you can’t vote. So get yourself registered, and then make sure you turn out! 

If you’re looking for more, it’s time to start organizing. Sign up to volunteer with a climate organization. In addition to POW, the Natural Resources Defense Council, The Wilderness Society and 350.org are other great options to consider. Get your friends on board, talk to your buddies about climate change on the chairlift or trail, and turn the community out for climate action.

Editor’s note: Protect Our Winters (POW) is a nonprofit partner of REI. Since 2015, REI has awarded POW with $75,000 in grants. 
Anja Semanco

Anja Semanco is the communications coordinator at Protect Our Winters. When she's not busy trying to save the planet, you can find her in the backcountry skiing, mountain biking or cooking over a camp stove. She grew up outside of Pittsburgh and worked briefly as a taxidermist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Her writing has appeared in Terrain.org and Zoomorphic magazine.

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9 Comments

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  1. Kelley S

    I am all “in” on becoming a climate advocate. I already spend my weekends speaking to the public about the need to protect our waters, shoreline, and the native plants and animals that share this environment with us. I made the trek to Olympia, WA for legislative day and plan to make it a reoccurring event to talk with law makers about environmental issues.

    Reply
  3. Nat Kobitz

    Is a Geophsical Orbital Observatory operator (OGO, POGO, EOGO) for over 10 years, I can confidently say, though well intentioned, your entire article is completely FALSE.Man’s effect on climate is neglidgeable.

    Reply
    • Lora

      As a Geophsical (sic) Orbital Observatory operator, I would expect Nat to know, besides how to spell Geophysical) that Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO) was a series of NASA spacecraft designed to study various geophysical and solar phenomena in Earth’s magnetosphere and in interplanetary space. Neither the Magnetosphere nor interplanetary space have anything of significance to do with climatology, at least specific to the changes observed by scientists in that field over the last few decades. Beware the trap that leads one to assume a rocket scientist knows anything about the photosynthesis of plants, for example, nor the nature of the ocean as a carbon sink. To claim an entire article is “FALSE” is a cheap shot. Are there specific claims the article makes that the esteemed operator can point with specific facts to refute those claims? If not, I will go with the judgement of actual climate scientists, the overwhelming majority of whom have documented significant changes in the climate and the impact human activity is having on those changes.

      Reply
  4. Jingles

    During the 70s they said that we would run out of gas. During the 80s they said that the world was going to freeze over. In the early 2000s they said that the world was going to end. None of these things ever happened. In another ten years I wager you that they will say that the world will freeze over again.

    Reply
    • Lora

      Jingles, We are running out of gas and what is left of the raw materials it is made of is getting more environmentally damaging and expensive to extract, Who is the ‘they” who said the world was going to freeze during the ’80’s? and what credible scientist in the 2000’s actually said the “world was going to end”? Are you referring to Y2K claims? You may make all the wagers you like made on these flimsy claims, the facts are available to show the earth’s climate is warming and at rates far quicker than models have predicted. Again, please check the scientific reports from reputable climatologists, not the rantings of whatever media sources you are referring to as “they”.

      Reply
  5. Paul Friederich

    As far as Number 5, please consider joining the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. This non-partisan group of citizen volunteers has been working for years to build the political will to act on climate change across the political spectrum – because climate change should never have been a political wedge issue. Individual efforts must be complemented with bold national action, such as the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. Check it out: citizensclimatelobby.org

    Reply
  6. John

    I interested in knowing the facts about global warm, protecting the environment, and being responsible for my impact on the world. I work in the oil and gas industry off the coast of Louisiana. It’s difficult the wade through pro and con opinions to know the real truth. I believe each side has exaggerated their positions which as an individual causing me to pause. I do know that today’s world needs energy to function, the sun nor the wind will not melt steel used in manufacturing all the many aspects we use in our daily lives and I know that most of my co workers and myself are actively protecting the environment.

    Reply
    • Lora

      John, First, kudos to you and your co-workers for caring enough to protect the environment. I am guessing if you are working off the coast of Louisianna, you are not one of the top managers of an oil extraction company making the big decisions and buying influence in Washington D.C. There are lots of “opinions” as you say. However, if you examine the scientific evidence, not based on opinion, but on reproducibly reliable evidence, that evidence is overwhelmingly clear that global climate catastrophe is happening (not going to happen someday, but happening now) and it is a result of the burning of fossil fuels at rates that are unsustainable. If there are uses for fossil fuel energy (and energy is energy, no matter what the source) in particular that no other form of energy can replace, then ought we not be conserving what limited fossil fuel resources we have left and not squandering them on uses for which we have other means of supply?

      Reply