Turning concern into action

Many Americans are worried about climate change and the harm to future generations, plants and animals from global warming. Eighty-two percent want to see policy support for renewable energy sources and 74 percent want to see carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, regulated as a pollutant. Until that support and regulation come from the government, we can turn our concern into positive steps that reduce our personal carbon footprint, save money, shift cultural norms and perhaps inspire others. Humanity urgently needs to stop burning fossil fuels. Small steps done consistently add up to big changes.

There is much satisfaction in aligning your actions to your values. Beyond the typical recycling and changing light bulbs, here are some of my favorites:

Stop your junk mail and catalogs. More than 100 billion pieces of unsolicited mail are stuffed into our mailboxes each year. By reducing your waste, your city’s waste management and the U.S. Postal Service save labor and fuel costs from delivery and disposal. Make a pile of your junk mail. Every few weeks, contact the senders by phone, web or mail marked with “return to sender” and “remove this address from mailings.” Bonus: Save trees.

Check if your electricity supplier has a “green power” choice. In my hometown, this option adds up to less than a dollar a month. Businesses can sign up as well.

Reduce your meat consumption. The United Nations calls the livestock sector a “major player” in affecting climate change through methane emissions. Listed in order of most-to-least emissions — lamb, beef, cheese, pork and chicken, eggs, nuts, yogurt and beans. If eating meatless is new to you, start one day a week, with meatless Mondays. Bonus: Less meat equals better health.

Replace your disposables with reusable alternatives. The average American generates more than four pounds of waste a day. Replace paper towels with rags or washcloths, plastic water bottles with reusable bottles and paper coffee filters with permanent ones. Use cloth shopping bags, handkerchiefs, diapers and menstrual pads. Wash and reuse zip-lock bags. Bonus: saves money.

Buy less clothing. Americans buy five times as much clothing as they did in 1980. We throw out an average of 65 pounds of clothing per year per person. Make do with less. Shop at thrift shops, have a clothing exchange party, clean out your closets to find out what you really do have. Bonus: saves money.

Schedule a home or business energy audit. Buildings account for about 38 percent of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Some municipalities and electric companies offer help with weatherization assistance. A little caulk here and a door weather guard there can help hold in heat and lower your utility bills. Search “energy tips” for more savings.

Hang your laundry on the line outside or on clothes racks inside to dry. Bonus: the smell of freshly dried sheets and more dollars in your wallet.

Consider taking advantage of renewable tax credits and rebates. For solar panels, your federal tax credit is 30 percent of cost. Federal tax credits for electric and hybrid vehicles total up to $7,500; some states have additional credits.

Drive less; walk and bicycle more. Bonus: saves money, better health.

Reduce air travel. Air travel might be your biggest carbon footprint sin. One round-trip flight from New York to Europe creates two to three tons of carbon dioxide per person. The average American generates 19 tons of total carbon emissions per year; the average European, 10 tons per year.

Get your hands dirty. Grow a food garden; join a community garden. Start a backyard compost. In 1900, 41 percent of people in the U.S. were growing food; by 2000, the number was less than 2 percent.

Use energy-efficient appliances. Check labels on your heater, refrigerator, washer, dryer and water heater. Invest in high efficiency when possible.

Susan Atkinson is with the Citizens Climate Lobby in Durango, Colo.