January Top Tips // 5 ways you can individually tackle climate change

Hi Everyone!

This is the first of our new monthly posts for 2022! We will be sharing top tips every month, near the beginning, for things you can do during that month for the better. It's almost like a whole year of new year's resolutions (though let's hope they are achieved)!

In these posts, we aren't just going to talk about climate change, of course, there will also be posts about animals, plants, habitats, plastic pollution and so much more! They will not be huge tips though, they won't demand too much of you (usually!). We need rebellions and people in the public eye spreading the word of course but we also need people like you, who can just do their bit. So, welcome to our top tips posts!

We all know that we need to come together to fight the climate crisis, but we don't seem to be doing that right now. So here are our top tips for ways you can individually tackle climate change, even if this means simply spreading the word. These are things you can do now, and things you can carry through your life.

A crisis has many aspects. If you get a storm, this doesn't just cause devastation from the wind and rain, but also lost power, families separated and so much more that isn't from the immediate effects of the storm itself. The climate crisis is just the same: there are many ways it will affect us, and many of these we have no idea about.

Tip #1: Knowledge is power - educate yourself

Before you even think about telling others, you need to understand more about the climate crisis yourself. Whether that's through watching TV programs, reading books, researching online, or listening to speeches, you need to know what the problem is, how it's caused and ways to reduce it. And by that I don't just mean "The problem is greenhouse gases. It's caused by human activity. You can reduce it by not burning fossil fuels." because that's not helping anyone. I could carry on forever speaking metaphorically and telling you about all the things you need to know, but I think I'll just tell you about a few of my learning methods instead!

TV - Earth shot Prize: I don't think this got the recognition it deserves but it really is such an amazing series. It taught me so much and gives off such hope too. I love that it is about the solutions and I think you would all benefit immensely from watching it.

Books - No. More. Plastic by Martin Dorey

- No-one Is Too Small To Make A Difference by Greta Thunberg

Online Sources - Through this blog, we've found so many websites and articles. It would be impossible to link them all but here are a few of the most useful.

- The Guardian has amazing pages on the environment

- WWF has so many resources about animals and the way that climate change is affecting them

Speeches - Greta Thunberg

- David Attenborough

- Just google climate change speeches, it comes up with loads of results!

We also have a post about climate change and how the greenhouse effect works. If you want to learn more - click here.

Tip #2: Stay informed

The news, our blog, and social media (although don't always believe what you see), there are so many ways that you can keep yourself informed on the latest statistics, science and updates. This means that you know the most up-to-date advice and can change your habits accordingly, you never know when something may be unveiled that you need to take action on. It's also a way of keeping it on your mind and not forgetting it as soon as you switch off the documentary! I am guilty of this and staying informed is definitely something I need to do more.

As mentioned above, the Guardian has amazing resources about the environment and we often use their articles to create content for this blog.

Tip #3: Don't be afraid of bringing it up in a conversation

For this tip, I want to encourage you to speak out and if the topic of climate change is brought up in a conversation, not be afraid to show off your knowledge and help others to understand the issue. I think sometimes we are afraid of what people will say and frustrated at the fact that people don't take it seriously enough but we stay annoyed and don't take the steps necessary to change this. We want climate change to become something that is actively talked about and something that people are worried about.

If someone doesn't believe in climate change, you need to educate them and not be afraid of the consequences. I understand that this can be difficult and you don't want to rock the boat in your friendship or relationship but their understanding of your views is vital to them changing their own and making a difference themselves.

Tip #4: Appreciate Nature

This is something that I believe is so often overlooked in how to individually tackle climate change. I know that whenever I take a beautiful countryside walk, I am motivated to do my bit to protect it. Motivation is often something I lack, just the thought of actually changing something in my life that works perfectly fine doesn't seem very appealing. It's only when I think of the consequences of my inaction that I am motivated to make that change.

So although appreciating nature won't reduce the effects we are having on it, it can mean that you feel more responsibility to protect that place for future generations, and future you.

Here are some ways I appreciate nature:

- Take a walk in a beautiful forest and take deep breaths, breathing in the fresh air.

- Use your senses. When out and about, listen to the birds, look for hidden beauty spots and smell the flowers and anything else you find on your adventures.

- Take some time to just watch the world without thinking too much about your busy day-to-day life.

- Whatever the weather, think about how the weather will help and hinder some of your plants and animals.

- Appreciate each season by noting the changes that happen around you. You could even write them down in a notebook.

Tip #5: Take small steps to change

Using the knowledge, up-to-date facts and motivation you have gained from these tips, take those small steps to change your habits. You don't have to go radical, although radical is what we need, we also need the changes to be long-term and actually work so if taking it one step at a time is what you need, then that's fine. However, if you want to make a more radical change that is amazing too.

The main thing is to use the knowledge you have and change your habits accordingly. I'm sure you all know what kinds of things you should do to reduce your carbon footprint, if you don't then the previous tips should help you!

I hope this post has been useful in telling you about the ways that YOU can tackle climate change, perhaps not the things that are obviously mentioned which I feel people have heard too much.

If you have any ideas for themes for future top tips, please leave them in the comments or contact us in another way, which you can find out more about here!

Thank you so much for finding the time to read this and maybe some of you will put these into place!

Green World Blog Team

Sources:

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/10-ways-you-can-help-fight-climate-crisis

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181102-what-can-i-do-about-climate-change

Image: This image owned by a blog editor (Zoë).

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