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If you spend much time at all reading about climate change, or simply observing the changes in nature, year after year, I think it is impossible to avoid feeling deep concern about the future. Rising temperatures, increasing occurrence and intensity of storms and wildfires, and observable changes in plant and animal phenology and populations create in me a strong sense of foreboding. All together, the environmental problems caused by rapid climate change can feel too heart-wrenching to even think about, and far too huge to ever solve.
To avoid sinking into despair or hopelessly giving up and tuning out, I often think of this admonition: “It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little.”
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little.
Sydney Smith (1771-1845)
And each time I find a little something that I can do to reduce my contribution to climate change, and then actually do it, I find a bit of hope. Sure, I know my actions alone won’t solve anything, but it definitely feels good to be doing anything to help change our current path towards an ecological disaster. And I know that if enough of us change our actions, together we can make a difference.
With that in mind, I put together the following list of things I have done, or am doing, and which I think almost anyone can do to help. Small actions do add up. If enough of us work together, we can help to slow climate change, protect our beautiful planet, and hopefully ensure a better future for all of our own families, and everyone else’s too.
This list is not intended to be a complete list, simply a doable list of actions I believe anyone can take, whether you rent or own property, have a little money or a lot. Perfection is not the goal, participation is! Do what you can. Strive to do a little more each day or week. Aim simply to be part of the solution and less a part of the problem.
And whenever you start to feel like doing something, or anything, just isn’t worth the trouble, try to remember the words of Stanley Smith:
“It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little.”
Together, we can make a difference.
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