Skip to main content

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

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back ...

15.11.2020 Animal Of The Week: Red Squirrels

Hello Everyone, This week's animal of the week is the red squirrel. There are lots of different types of squirrel (about 200 as this includes marmots and prairie dogs). I have some grey squirrels in my garden and you might too. We often see them so hopefully you can learn about red squirrels today. Habitat As you might know, squirrels live mainly in woodland areas. The red squirrel can live in all types of woodland, even if it is quite small. See the maps below for more information on where they live. Diet They feed on mainly nuts, fruit, fungi and other plants. They need to chew as their teeth grow continuously and so can grow so long that they can't eat if they don't chew often. When food is scarce they can eat some insects and small vertebrates. What is thought of them Squirrels are sometimes seen as pests, but not usually as much as many other rodents. They can raid bird feeders (they manage to get in to mine even if ...

Animals 36-40 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi, As you probably noticed, we took a break from this series, mostly due to having just too much to do. But we're back now with the last three posts. 36. The Pinocchio frog The Pinocchio frog can be found in the Foja Mountains in Indonesia. They mainly eat insects, although little is known about them. They are named because the males have a spike on their noses. They were only discovered in 2008, and this was completely by accident! It remained unnamed scientifically until over ten years later when it was given the name " Litoria pinocchio " . There is very little information about them but Wikipedia states that "the male Pinocchio frog inflates its nose when calling, and the nose decreases in size when the frog is calm and quiet," which I think is hilarious and so interesting! 37. Snub-nosed monkey Especially noticeable due to their curious looks, the snub-nosed monkeys can be found in the forests of central China and northern...

02.08.2020 Animal of the week: Owl

Hi everyone, This week's blog post is all about owls. Habitat There are many different types of owl: barn owls, long-eared owls, snowy owls and lots more. Different species live in different places. Here are a few examples. Snowy owls live in the Arctic . Great grey owls live in pine forests. Elf owls live in deserts. There are about 130 different species of owl. Owls can be found everywhere in the world apart from Antarctica . Owls live in trees, holes in the ground, barns and caves. Most owls do not migrate in winter. Diet Owls eat insects, spiders, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and small mammals. What they eat the most depends on the type of owl and where it lives. Screech owls feed mostly on insects. Barn owls mainly eat mice, shrews and voles. Eagle owls eat hares and young foxes. Some owls can even fish like the Asian Fish Owl. Even though some species prefer a certain type of food, most owls will eat whatever they can find...

Ecosia

We all need to do something to save our planet: it is no use just leaving it to Greta Thunberg! She is very inspirational, yes, but she can only do so much. She isn't superhuman! The climate crisis is up to us; up to you. We all have to get stuck in. Research, learn, discover and most importantly: never give up! The world's animals need us. The world's trees need us and a simple way to do this is to switch to Ecosia. Ecosia is a search engine but it plants trees while you search the web. Okay, it doesn't have as many websites as google so you may want to have google as a backup but it plants trees: this is your opportunity to make a simple change. Just google Ecosia and search to plant trees. Make a difference. Image: This image  is owned by  Binyamin Mellish on  pexels.com .

How much do you know about extinction? | quiz

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to the blog! This week is our last monthly quiz! We'd love to hear which one was your favourite in the comments! We also have a quick online survey for what our monthly post should be next year. We really appreciate any feedback and this is the best way for you to tell us what you want to see us post about and share! From a monthly challenge to an environmental book of the month - we just want to know what you think! šŸ‚ click here to vote! So, how much do you know about extinction? You may know some from our " animals you don't know are on the edge of extinction " series, or from the news as extinction is such a buzzword. All of these facts are from reliable sources such as National Geographic, as well as the statistics being cross checked with other websites. 1. How many years ago was the most recent mass extinction? a) 44 million b) 55 million c) 66 million 2. How many species could be threatened ...

The life of ... an alcon blue butterfly

Hi everyone, Today we are going to be looking into the life of an alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon). After mating, the females lay their eggs on marsh gentian, a blue-coloured wildflower. The eggs can only be laid on these flowers, as this is what the newly hatched caterpillars will eat. Although in some alp regions, they can also be found on willow gentians, a close relative of the marsh gentian. Once the caterpillars have hatched from the eggs, their main predator and danger are the ants that swarm below. But high on their plant homes, the caterpillars are safe. However, this isn't where the alcon blue caterpillars are going to stay forever. Eventually, they drop down to the ground using silk strings. With no protection, they are soon dragged off by the ants. The most amazing part is, the alcon blue caterpillars give off the same scent and chemicals as the ant larvae. So the ants take the caterpillars back to their brood chamber, wher...

Sustainable food choices challenge

Hi everyone, Welcome back to our second challenge! Today we're talking about sustainable food choices.  1. No meat on Mondays challenge The production of meat, especially beef, is resource-intensive and contributes significantly to deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and water pollution. By dedicating one day a week to plant-based meals, you can decrease your carbon footprint and help to reduce the strain on natural resources. This challenge encourages a more sustainable and ethical approach to food consumption, gaining a better understanding of the environmental impact of meat production. Reducing meat intake is also associated with health benefits, including lower risks of heart disease and certain cancers, making it a win-win for both your personal well-being and the planet. 2. Local / seasonal eating challenge Choosing local and seasonal foods is important in helping to reduce the environmental impact of food production and transporta...

Climate change: what is it and what's the problem

Hello, I've noticed that we are always mentioning climate change. Not only us blog editors but also politicians, activists and so on. The words climate change are bounced around in the media and probably in your households, but do you actually know what it is or how it works? I know that for a long time, I didn't know what it really meant. I hope that this post changes that. What is climate change and how does it work? The words climate change describe a slow shift in the earth's temperature and changes in the weather patterns. Having a single warm winter does not instantly mean climate change. Climate change happens over a long period of time. If you look at a temperature graph over the years, it doesn't go up in one day and then stay the same for another hundred years. It curves up slowly but steadily. This is a average temperature graph from 1880 to just after 2000. You can see how the temperature gradually gets warmer....

16.08.2020 Animal of the week: Elephant

Hello. On the 12th of August it was International Elephant Day, so we decided that this week's post should be about elephants. Elephants are the largest living land mammals. There are three types of elephant; the African bush elephant; the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant. African elephants have larger ears, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears. Elephants use their trunks to breath, bring food and drink to their mouths and to grasp objects. Elephants' legs are like pillars. They carry the Elephant's massive weight. African bush elephants weigh 6000kg, Asian elephants weigh 4000kg and African forest elephants weigh 2700kg. Basically, they are very heavy.Elephants eat grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots. Elephants can live up to 70 years old in the wild. They communicate by sight, touch and smell. Sadly, these wonderful mammals are in danger. African elephants are listed as vulne...