10 Things You Can Do about the Climate Crisis

We’ve been experimenting with different forms of action for years now — everything from paid advertising to changing our own daily habits to disruptive protests to delivering scientific reports to elected officials. Here’s the thing: we’re pretty confident ANY of those approaches would work if enough people got involved.

We need to transform every sector of our society and economy. And that means we need everyone’s participation. But it also means you can start anywhere — as long as you’re making a sincere effort to drive change not just doing something tiny and then going back to your old, bad habits — someone else can always take on a different challenge.

You don’t have to do everything, but you have to do something.

Our list includes a mix of personal changes and political advocacy — and that’s because we we won’t solve this problem without both.

In terms of personal footprint, we suggest 1) flying less, 2) driving less, 3) installing a heat pump (if you own your own home) and 4) eating less beef and dairy. You can carry a steal water bottle or refuse plastic bags too if you want, but those four actions are going to bring down your carbon footprint more than almost anything else — except perhaps divesting from fossil fuels if you have a lot of assets.

By going on a three-week trip to Europe every three years instead of a one-week trip every single year, you can reduce your emissions from air travel by 66%. Also keep in mind that a huge percentage of people on this planet won’t fly even once in their entire lives.

In terms of systems change, talking about climate change is way more effective than you might think. Other people are also worried about the climate crisis and they want to share those feelings and learn about the issues – so talk to them, who knows what future actions you might inspire! We also desperately need to call out the foot-dragging by our elected representatives — event those who talk a big game about climate change. Canadian emissions simply aren’t falling – even though we have the tools we need to make it happen.

You don’t need to be an expert to ask your elected official for action! Simply tell them what you care about and why you’re worried. Tell them about a conversation you’ve had with a neighbour or another parent at your child’s summer camp. Tell them you follow climate news closely and you know that Canadian emissions can’t fall without confronting the fossil fuel industry. Canada’s emissions have been mostly flat over the past ten years or so. That’s because the reductions we achieved by closing coal plants in Alberta and Ontario were completely swallowed up by out of control emissions growth in Oil and Gas and Transport.

A call can be as simple as stating your name and postal code, telling them that you’re scared about climate change and that you know Canada’s emissions have yet to start coming down despite all the ambitious talk around climate and climate action. Tell them they need to do more and ask them what their plans are — make them explain their work to you. That’s their job.

You can look up your MPs contact info here.

No matter which actions you plan to take, the best way to keep yourself on track is to join a group. That might mean making an informal deal with a friend or family member to hold each other accountable for taking action on climate change or it might mean joining a grassroots group like Grandmothers Act to Save the Planet, For Our Kids or Toronto 350.

There are grassroots group in every city and town in Canada. Plus, if you’ve been worrying about climate change in isolation, connecting with others who share your concerns will be a profoundly reassuring experience.