How You Can Help Fight Against Climate Change

When considering the huge impact climate change can and will have on our world, it can be an incredibly scary thing. Scientists have warned against the drastic effects climate change will have for years, and ours is the first generation to experience it first-hand. While climate change could have quite the negative impact on the earth, the good news is that there are many ways we can work together to slow the process and even put an end to the threat. Check out these 6 ways you can participate at home to help fight against climate change.

  1. Drive Less, Bike More

Carbon dioxide is a huge contributor of climate change in our world, and more than half comes from vehicles. Do what you can to drive less. Take public transport if you have that capability in your town or city. If trains and buses aren’t availability to you, consider carpooling or vanpooling with coworkers or friends. Better yet, why not get a little exercise while also helping save the planet? Consider biking to school or work – your body and the world will thank you for it!

  1. Bring Your Own Bags & Use Your Own Containers

Reusable bags are generally much stronger than plastic or paper; so don’t forget these when you’re headed out to the store. Whether you’re grabbing a long grocery list or just a couple of things, keep reusable bags with you at all times just in case! If you’re buying things in bulk – like dried beans or rice – or even a cup of coffee, bring your own containers.

  1. Compost & Recycle

Most of us know that recycling is so easy. With climate change and a more mindful attitude toward the globe, it’s becoming even more convenient to recycle. If you have a yard, composting is an awesome option to eliminate waste altogether. You can provide your garden with nutrients by putting that food right back into the earth.

  1. Weatherproof Your Home

This will save you money by also conserving energy. It’s a win-win. You can actually reduce the cost of heating and cooling by 20% with a properly insulated home. Install weather stripping around doors and caulk around windows. Keep your curtains closed at night to hold in the heat or air.

  1. Shorten Your Showers

Really focus on keeping your showers nice and quick. Can you do it in 5 minutes? It might sound crazy at first, but think about how much time you’ll save and get to spend on other things by bring your shower time down a notch.

  1. Plant Trees & Vegetation

Trees use the carbon dioxide they absorb to give off oxygen. They also provide really great mediators from the wind, so if they’re placed properly around your home, they could save you costs on heating.

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Denialism

Science denialism is a barrier to a better world. Every country in the world faces huge social, ethical, and political challenges, and in each country the enemies of free, careful thought are preventing meaningful progress regarding those challenges.

Science denialists all share common methods and arguments. “There’s not enough data,” they say, and “scientists think they know everything,” and “researchers are playing god!” In the past, denialists have propped up the tobacco industry, sold faulty medical knowledge and equipment, and hastened the spread of HIV and AIDS by spreading misinformation and preventing good research. Here a few of the most dangerous groups of science denialists operating around the world today.

Climate Denialism

These people are probably some of the most dangerous human beings on the planet today. Scientists the world over agree that the earth’s temperature is rising, and that this rising temperature will almost certainly bring about some devastating effects. Scientists and nature enthusiasts on every corner of the planet have been reporting strange things regarding temperature and wildlife for decades now.

Climate denialists make a lot of money from industries that pollute. When people cite scientists who supposedly don’t believe in global warming,they’re almost certainly talking about scientists who earn their paychecks from coal and other polluting companies. Scientists and scientific communicators need to step up their promotional game and shut down the denialism they face.

Luckily, many of the the traditionals villains in this fight—multinational corporations, agri-businessmen, etc—are changing their tune. Big money is making its way into the fight for the earth, and the tide may be turning even as it rises.

Anti-Vaccine Activists

Vaccines are miracles of medical technology. They prevent millions of deaths worldwide every year, many of those are children. Vaccines are rigorously tested for safety and effectiveness, and probably save more lives a year than any other technology in the world.

Yet vaccines face many obstacles, and one of the most significant of those obstacles is people who spread misinformation about what vaccines do. Anti-vaxxers, as many health expert refer to them, ignore clinical research and choose to believe whatever it is they want to believe that they read on the internet. Anti-vaxxers are vocal. They spread their dangerous message to anyone who will listen to them. This message is especially insidious because it endangers not only its adherents, but also vaccinated people who are exposed to unvaccinated people.

Again, though, anti-vaccine activists are losing credibility with the general public. Recent outbreaks of the measles and other preventable diseases are helping alert the world’s people that vaccines are necessary to the health of the world’s public.

New Age Healers

People who believe that fighting medical knowledge and replacing it with crystals, herbs, and other untested remedies are putting themselves in harm’s way. Real medical science works by testing; if something works, doctors use it. New age, holistic, and various other alternative medicines do not go through testing.

New age and alternative medicine proponents are not nearly the menaces to the public that climate denialists and anti-vaccine activists are. Still, though, they represent a stubborn clinging to ignorance that is no good for the world.

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Climate Change – What We Can Do

A recent study brought clarity to the issue of climate change, as reported by the Washington Post. Global warming does not necessarily cause any single weather event, such as Hurricane Katrina, heat waves or extreme winter weather as experienced in the eastern region of the country. What changes in climate does do is make the numbers of these events much more frequent. This Swiss study found data that showed that 18% of the earth’s extremes in rainfall, now, and 75% of extreme heat are made much more possible due to global climate change.

A single person can feel helpless and unable to effect a positive change. There are important actions you can take, and urge your family, friends and neighbors to make, that can make a difference. According to the EPA, (Environmental Protection Agency) some of the most important actions individual citizens can take include:

Use lightbulbs that draw less power

The best bulbs now available now are LED. Although more expensive, they last longer, emit less heat, and don’t have the dangers of mercury contamination as are found in compact fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs must be recycled, and are dangerous if broken as they will emit toxic mercury that could endanger you. Not only will your electricity bill be lower, you reduce your home’s power draw, and the emissions created in the electricity production.

Get your home insulated

The cost of heating a poorly insulated home are far higher than a well-insulated home. The EPA advises you get rid of air leaks by adding caulking or weather stripping. Your home will remain much warmer or cooler, and can reduce the costs of heating and cooling by up to 20%.

Recycle

You may not like the inconvenience of carrying your own bags when shopping, but reducing paper and plastic in the environment can make a big difference. Landfills produce greenhouse gases, and you can make a difference by reducing your own consumption. Be part of the solution rather than collecting and throwing away huge piles of paper and plastic bags.

Restrict water usage

The highest water usage is actually a toilet, not the shower or dishwasher. Replace your home’s toilet with a water-efficient model and save significantly on your water bill and overconsumption. Get leaks repaired immediately. Only water your yard after sunset, rather than during the day.

Kick the bottled water habit

Rather than buying bottled water, get a water bottle that is BPA-free and refill it. Don’t like the taste of tap water? Get a filter system on your faucet, or get a delivery service for your water that provides bottles of water that are used again and again.

The future of the planet is uncertain, but current research clearly indicates that climate change is very real and more extreme weather is on the horizon. Your individual actions make a difference. Share your knowledge. Pass on the positive changes you have made to your friends, family and neighbors.