Last week, the UN came out and said we are going to pass the 1.5°C… We know this will cause species loss, life loss, and even more extreme weather. The scientists have been warning us of this for years, and a lot of the world leaders and large corporations have been ignoring it. Now we cannot.
The UN also provided a report on how to limit the overshoot. “The central message is clear: mitigation and adaptation must advance together. Overshoot is not an argument for resignation, but rather for urgency to action.”
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth (author of What If We Get It Right) provided some great insights on the report. While she targets the bigger picture, which we need to know, I'd like to chat about what you and I can do in our daily lives. After all, it will affect every single one of us, and we need to start with actions we can control since our leaders and corporations are not.
- Choose renewable energy when possible. Solar, wind, geothermal. If you can put in solar, please do! Not all of us can, yet. There's a bill awaiting Newsom's signature, SB868 Plug-In Solar in California, that would allow balcony solar. We live in a condo, and even though we technically are allowed to put solar on our roof, our HOA has some very strict guidelines. The balcony solar would be perfect for us.
- Take public transit or drive more efficiently. Whether you are fortunate enough to have an electric vehicle or have to rely on a hybrid or gas, we can all choose efficient routes and plan our trips. Public transit is the top choice here!
- Consume less, buy better. Packaging is resource intensive and packaging waste is estimated at over 50% of what California landfills. Buying less means less packaging. Buying better means we spend a little more up front to keep that item longer.
- Borrow from neighbors or friends for items you don't need often, swap clothing, costumes, decor, etc so you have something fresh and new to you without creating more waste. Let's get back to a sharing economy!
- Reuse and repurpose what you already have. Get creative and take a look at that item before tossing it. Can it be reused or repurposed? Possibly! There are so many awesome ways to reuse. Check out Reuse Hub workshops for some great ideas! I often tell people how they can repurpose something rather than buy it from us…is it a bad business choice? I don't think so. We truly do believe in reuse first.
- Refill. Yes, I had to toss this one in. Recently, we had an Instagram post get shared widely. It was simple. If every household in the US refilled 1 container 1 time per year, we could save 133M containers from the waste stream. Super simple, and everyone can do this one time.
- VOTE!!!! VOTE. VOTE. VOTE. We need to vote people in that will actually help the environment. There's a project happening to get the estimated 11.2M environmentalists who did not vote in the 2024 election. Wow, could we have used them! See how you can get involved here.
- Have you changed your bank yet? Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America are the top banks that continue to fund fossil fuel expansion. Local credit unions are usually the best bet, and they give back to their local communities.
- Less meat, more veggies. I read somewhere that you can go vegan without giving up butter. =) It is meant to show that you can do something imperfectly. If giving up butter is preventing you from going vegan, do everything else vegan and keep the butter. Don't let that one food keep you from doing any of it. We are also very fortunate to live in an area where regenerative farming is more accessible to us, so we can choose better over giving it up completely. We also have a lot of amazing options to get the best veggies in season!
- Spread the word! I know firsthand that it can be a bit of a touchy subject with friends and family to talk about the climate crisis, making changes in lifestyle, or anything climate-related, but we need to continue to enlighten our friends and family. Leading by example and casually bringing up fun ways to make changes can be so helpful. The more they hear it, see it, and know about it, the more likely they will make changes. Sometimes it might even be unknowingly. ;-)
- Donate. If you can donate some money or time to organizations working to help the climate, to create a just future for everyone, to feed people, to create solutions, please do. Every single nonprofit needs all of us.
- Delete and unsubscribe. Clean up those emails, especially the ones with large attachments and ones that no longer serve you. It all adds up, this one is a small one, but if we all can do it, it definitely helps! And even with us, if this no longer serves you, please unsubscribe! It also feels good to have fewer emails coming through.
- Be prepared to go without. Some things might be more difficult to get as the climate crisis causes extreme weather. Stock up on important items, but please don't hoard.
- Make sure you have your community built. Being able to lean on each other when we need it is so incredibly important! We love what Cool Petaluma has done to help build community with neighbors and be prepared for emergencies. We can all do this with our neighbors, friends, and family wherever we are!
We don't have to treat this latest report as a final answer. I am ever the optimist and know we can do more to try to lower the overshoot. We may not see the impacts as drastically where we are. People living in regions that have made the least impact on the rise are the ones who will be most affected, including all of the animals we need to protect.
This, this climate crisis is a big piece of why we do what we do, and we couldn't do it without all of you. Thank you.
