More than you might think...(and this is not an exhaustive list)
1) Eat lower on the food chain. We’ve all heard about the impact of animal farming on land use and the climate. Turns out raising animals for food not only takes up precious land, but also uses increasingly precious water, and the land/grain used for feeding livestock can be used more productively to feed people. In addition, cattle produce methane which is a more potent greenhouse gas than its more well known cousin, carbon dioxide.
2) Reduce food waste. Studies show that up to one third of food produced ends up being wasted, either by rotting before it is eaten (check that fridge!) or getting thrown out when we don’t eat everything on our plates. This is a worldwide problem also involving uneven transportation, poor storage, lack of refrigeration, and even our obsession with “perfect” looking produce. What we can do: take only what we can eat, not just everything on offer, and eat it! If you do find you have “extra food” you can: take it home for later or...
3) Participate in WV’s food scrap program. Okay, you’ve done your best to eat lower on the food chain and to take or buy only what you will eat, but (oops) you have unwanted or uneaten food in your apartment which is going bad. Check out the food composting guide posted under recycling on our Green Team website for how you can repurpose your food scraps.
4) Get rid of your car. Uh oh, now things are getting painful. If this is a step, or a mile, too far, try: fewer trips with fewer miles. How? Combine errands or carpool. Or use the WV shuttle for those closer in shopping trips. Or...
5) Consider getting an electric vehicle. The catch of course is that driving an electric car still uses energy in the form of electricity and well, electricity has to come from somewhere. But electric cars also have zero carbon emissions while being driven, unlike gas-powered cars that take gas to run, and then emit greenhouse gas while moving you from place to place.
6) Use less energy for your heating and cooling needs. Try turning your thermostat down one or more degrees in winter, up one or more degrees in summer. If every one of us in WV did this, not only would we be using a whole lot less energy as a community, but we’d be saving money for WV which in the end means we save money for ourselves. Plus, we get to brag about our efforts.
7) Turn off lights and computer monitors when they’re not in use. The goal is to use less energy, and even these smaller (to us) actions can make a larger impact if we are thoughtful often enough, and if enough of us are thoughtful, then that makes an even bigger impact!
8) Avoid flying. Another tricky one, since we at WV are a well-educated, curious, well-traveled bunch. And the grandkids don’t always live next door, either. Perhaps fewer trips, shorter distances if possible? Maybe forego that Big Trip to Wherever? Hard to agree to, so...
9) Investigate carbon offsets. Also known as a self-imposed carbon guilt tax, the idea is to offset our carbon use with a well-directed contribution towards a charity (The Blue Heron Green Fund comes to mind) or other organization involved with climate change mitigation activities. Check out our handy dandy carbon offset calculator and write (and send) that check! Be aware that carbon offsets alone won’t fix climate change; while you are investigating carbon offsets, continue to think about other ways you can reduce your energy use.
10) Use less water. What does water use have to do with climate change, you ask. Good question. Water is not infinite and the water coming out of our pipes has to be transported and treated, which takes, you guessed it, energy. So does heating the water. So...take shorter showers and turn off water when you are, say, lathering up. If you are washing dishes or brushing your teeth, don’t allow the water to run excessively while doing so. Use cold water when washing clothes; you might even be able to get away with washing your clothes less frequently. Water conservation can be a direct and indirect way of reducing energy consumption!
11) Encourage native plants and trees. Yes, we are used to having grass around, but as far as insects and birds are concerned, huge areas of grass are the equivalent of a great big trash heap to us. Can we encourage the expansion of native plant habitat and reduce the amount of grass at Willamette View? Plus, less grass means less need to water and fewer pesticides and herbicides. And less noise from all that grass cutting.
12) Talk about climate change. Why bother? If you’re reading this, you already are concerned about climate change (thank you). The idea is to get more of us talking about this with more people, and to generate more awareness and interest in actually doing something about climate change. Especially when it comes to governmental and corporate policy making. Which brings to mind...
13) Write letters and emails urging climate change action. Climate change impacts so many facets of life on earth (Animals! Trees! Insects! Food! Drought and floods! Sport fishing! Skiing and snowshoeing! Etc etc! ) that any number of conservation organizations are increasingly addressing climate change as part of their outreach and publicity. Often these same organizations have suggestions about writing to our political leaders. You can email or write a letter, or make a phone call. While it’s good to have a specific bit of legislation in mind, you can also just ask “So what is Representative/Senator XYZ doing about climate change?”
14) Support a climate change/conservation organization (or two, or three). We’ve already mentioned the Green Fund here at Willamette View which is very local. But check with others such as The Nature Conservancy, the National Resource Defense Council, The Audubon Society, The Oregon League of Conservation Voters, and so forth. These address climate change now, since climate change affects so much of the planet’s wellbeing.
15) Reduce, reuse, recycle. True, by themselves none of these will make climate change go away. But following the principles of reduce/reuse/recycle (note that recycling is the last resort) might assist us with more mindful living and usage of the planet’s resources. So get that reusable coffee cup (and use it); shop at the Carousel and the Mart; ask for your to-go food to be placed in those Greenies; bring your own leftover container to meals here and “out there”; use both sides of the paper; and try to make your stuff last longer (this may mean paying less attention to “fashion”).
14) Just Do something! It’s easy to throw up one’s hands and give in to despair. But please don’t – even smaller actions can have larger consequences if enough of us do them. So...Act. Talk. Advocate. Do not let the perfect action be the enemy of the merely good, since none of us can be perfect. And, take the....
Advice from a Raindrop, by Kim Stafford
You think you’re too small
to make a difference? Tell me
about it. You think you’re
helpless, at the mercy of forces
beyond your control? Been there.
Think you’re doomed to disappear,
just one small voice among millions?
That’s no weakness, trust me. That’s
your wild card, your trick, your
implement. They won’t see you coming
until you’re there, in their faces, shining,
festive, expendable, eternal. Sure you’re
small, just one small part of a storm that
changes everything. That’s how you win,
my friend, again and again and again.
as of 2-9-2023