The effects of climate change clearly come to light in the forms of an increase of natural phenomenons such as earthquakes, floods and tropical cyclones. No longer can we deny that climate change is one of the most pressing global issues. People often feel like you cannot make a difference as opposed to big corporations and governments. However, every contribution counts.Section 1.10.32 of “de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum”, written by Cicero in 45 BC.
1. Reduce your carbon footprint…
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
You’ve heard it before, but it’s still great advice. Manufacturing products produces an average 4-8 pounds of CO2 for every pound of manufactured product.
Use a laptop instead of a desktop, unplug your phone charger, buy an e-reader instead of printing, you can even try to buy products that have less packaging!
And if you are really up to a challenge, give yourself a 21-day challenge. Challenge yourself to eat vegetarian for 21 days. Or shower less than 4 minutes every day for 21 days. This is just enough time for something to become a habit in your system!
2. Renew light bulbs
In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 9 billion pounds (about 800.000 cars), we would need about 1 lightbulb per household in the U.S. to change to Energy Star-rated light bulbs. Cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions is a crucial element in fighting global warming and climate changes! Let’s do it!
3. Eat less meat
It is estimated that 20% of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions is generated by the meat industry. Additionally around 7500 liters of water are needed to produce 500 g of beef. Moving away from a meat-heavy diet would therefore significantly reduce the negative impact on the environment.
4. Handle water efficiently
Reducing your shower length with about 4 minutes a day would save over 13000 liters of water a year. Not only would you be saving water. You would be saving the energy that is used to heat the water. Furthermore, you could turn of the faucet when brushing your teeth and quit using a toilet as a trash can as you would be spilling 8 liters of clean water to flush it down.
5. Stay informed and Make aware
In order to increase the extent to which you can positively impact the environment you could share your knowledge with friends, colleagues and family. The more people that slightly change their habits, the bigger the impact will be. Do you want to learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals? Make sure to check out the UN page about SDG 13!
What will you do to help combat climate change?
This post was written by AIESEC in the Netherlands. We offer international voluntary projects and professional internships with the aim of developing leadership in youth.
