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October 27, 2020

The continuous negative news surrounding climate change can be overwhelming. It can seem that every headline details a more disastrous outcome than the previous one. This messaging inevitably leaves the average person wondering what they can do as an individual to address climate change. People around the world share this overwhelming pressure. And it is understandable. In this piece, I intend to provide you with an opportunity to change the feeling from overwhelmed to empowered. After two decades of getting the question of what an individual can do to take action, I am providing an answer that addresses the two most important steps that any individual can take—educate and act locally.

First—educate. Unfortunately, communications around climate change often have one thing in common: they present the worst-case scenario. This bias towards sensationalism is a severe detriment to understanding climate change and having a productive dialogue. When media stories focus singularly on the worst-case scenario, it drowns out the opportunity to build an educated foundation in the general public. And of course, climate advocacy groups amplify these statements through social media campaigns, which further drown out the complete picture. These groups are not intentionally trying to mislead you; they are merely trying to grab the attention of those who would otherwise say, “climate change isn’t really that bad, so I don’t need to do anything about it.”  While these headlines may be useful for obtaining readers and viewers, this sensationalism is designed to influence you, not to help educate you. 

While you do not have to become a climate scientist, clearly understanding a few climate fundamentals is critical to being an educated consumer of climate change media. As a first step, it is essential to understand that scientists project multiple climate scenarios for the future. I am not going to go deep into the science behind climate scenarios, as there are many good introductions to the topic, including . The basic idea is that these climate scenarios revolve around the projected temperature increase that may occur based on the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

• Mitigation Scenario—In this optimistic scenario, the world takes an aggressive stand to mitigate climate change and puts limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Global temperature rise remains below 2 degrees C.

• Stabilization Scenarios—There are two stabilization scenarios, which are the middle-of-the-road scenarios. They project some mitigation, but there is increasing GHG emissions in many parts of the globe throughout the century. Global temperature rise is between 2-4 degrees C.

• High Pathway Scenario—Mitigation is minimal in this scenario, and the world economies drive greenhouse gas emissions higher throughout the century. Global temperature increases beyond 4 degrees C. This is the worst-case scenario.

What this small overview illustrates is that multiple outcomes could occur due to climate change. This DOES NOT mean that climate change is not happening. Rather, it means that there is uncertainty in the future, and there is still time to change the eventual outcome—a climate-based apocalypse is not inevitable. Therefore, first action: build your climate change education and start being skeptical of stories that present only one scenario. 

The second step—act—is moving to action. The education you have just built is the foundation. Now we have to build on it to create positive results. And these results start with the community where you live. What journalists often miss in the climate change story is the importance of local governments. These governments—city councils, mayors, local agencies, and others, are the ones that make the day-to-day decisions that will create the positive change necessary to fight climate change. Do federal government decisions such as abiding by the Paris accords or developing a New Green Deal have an impact? Absolutely. But those decisions are difficult to influence from the individual and local level. In contrast, whether your city or county is going to invest in renewable energy, or implement a plastic bag tax, or create a climate resiliency committee, are things you can directly influence.

The key to this influence is to use your education to inform local officials that change is required and why this change is required. You can achieve this action at multiple levels and through multiple modes. The most straightforward action is to start writing letters. Write to your city council member, county commissioners, local department of the environment, state representatives and senators, and the mayors. Write about the facts and request that the city put more focus on these items. Be constructive, provide ideas, demonstrate the educated basis from which you are approaching the issue.

For those that are ready to go beyond writing letters, focus on local government meetings and advocacy groups. At the local government level, city council or county commission meetings are vital to introducing climate change actions. Find out when these meetings are being held and when climate might be on the agenda. Attend meetings and if you feel confident enough, ask to speak on climate issues being discussed. Find local advocacy groups and volunteer to write letters or work on social media campaigns. Find out if any issues are coming up for a vote and volunteer to write materials. 

Finally, start a blog and write about climate issues from an informed perspective, and share that with all of your contacts. 

Each of these actions is a significant contribution toward addressing climate change. They will directly contribute to a more in-depth discussion focused on what is achievable and actionable. While retweeting, reposting, and liking sensational headlines broadens the reach of climate change articles, this rarely pushes climate change actions forward. The fight against climate change needs people to take local measures to focus on achievable steps. 

So to answer the oft-repeated question of what you can do to fight climate change, the answer is two-fold. First, you can take the small actions that collectively make a difference, such as using reusable shopping bags or buying from local producers. Second, and the focus of this piece, challenge yourself to move toward the two actions outlined here; educate and act locally. These are the foundations on which we will build an effective fight against climate change.