Ok, by now you've heard the news. Donald Trump, in his infinite wisdom, has pulled out of the Paris Agreement regarding climate change. That leave the United States as one of only three countries not participating in the agreement, the others being Syria and Nicaragua. If you've haven't moaned or wailed in despair on Facebook personally, then you've seen many other people do it.
Now that you've had this moment of grief to yourself, ask yourself this: What the fuck are you gonna do about it? Marching hasn't helped. Protests haven't helped. I signed more petitions than I can count, and those don't seem to hold much weight. Maybe it's time to actually start doing something that will affect your personal contribution to climate change. It may be small, but at this point, it's better than wailing on social media and basking in empty gestures.
So let's start with search engines. As I've told you before, a couple of things you can do right now are very simple. Example 1: Using Ecosia. It's like Google and any other search engine, except that a chunk of its revenue goes towards planting trees in countries like Burkina Faso so that their ecosystems can be replenished. Planting trees isn't a silver bullet that will save the planet at this point, but given our deforestation rates, anything to combat this is worth it.
Another thing to do, to go along with planting trees, is to cut your emissions right now. This one's a no-brainer: Sign up with Arcadia Power. They allow you to stay with your utility, but the electricity you use is generated through wind farms so that you're using clean energy, through their use of renewable energy certificates (RECs). Either way, you're using clean energy, and you can split it half-and-half for free or go all-in with clean energy with a small processing fee added on. Either way, you're reducing your emissions footprint.
Is that not big enough? Go biking or walking. Take public transportation. Pretty much anything that isn't driving in your car. Watch your eating habits if you can, though I love meat and am guilty of eating it a lot. Be conscious about your consumption, though I'm also guilty of eating from, and using, packages that have a lot of plastic in them and what not. There are things I know I need to work on, but that doesn't excuse your inactivity on this matter.
I know it feels inescapable. I know you're feeling angry and hopeless over Trump's absolute lack of caring for the environment. But once you step back, do some research, and think about what you can do right now, it becomes a lot easier to take action. The challenge is to find the perfect balance between taking on too much and doing nothing. Better to walk that tightrope than fall into the pit of despair.
