Climate Change - What can you do to help?
As a result of Climate Change, polar ice caps are melting and the lives of animals that live in the polar regions are now at risk due to the decreasing size of their natural habitat. The ocean levels are rising and coastal communities around the world are threatened with flooding. Weather patterns around the world are shifting. This changes how crops grow and therefore can affect the stability of food production. While these may sound like problems that you can’t solve, there are certainly things that you can do to help. Factories emit carbon dioxide when making new products, so reduce and reuse as much as possible.
When you are staying at hotels, reuse your towels as often as you can. This way, you will save both water and energy.
Walk or use a bicycle to get around your neighbourhood
instead of being driven in your parents’ car or taking a tuk tuk. Walking or biking one mile a day for a year could save 330 pounds of carbon dioxide. This is equal to planting four trees and letting them grow for ten years. Try to eat fruits and veggies that are in season and locally grown. This cuts down on energy used to grow and transport food, which reduces the release of heat, trapping gasses.
Not everyone understands climate change or its effects. So read up on the subject and educate your friends and family members, so that you can all work towards helping out in a small way.
Write to the Mayor of your city. Request that they host community events to bring attention to climate change. Organise programmes in school with many fun activities so that other students will also learn about the effects of climate change in a fun, creative way. Certain appliances use energy even when they are turned off. So whenever you are not using them, make sure to switch them off and unplug them. Examples include TVS and lamps.
Use an online carbon footprint calculator to see how much carbon dioxide your actions release. If you know how you’re impacting the planet, you can take steps for change.