The "We're Toast" without Action Post

"We're toast if we don't get on a very different path"

Noted climate scientist James Hansen was on the Hill last week, exactly 20 years after he first testified to Congress about climate change. His warning is dire - we have reached about 387 parts-per-million of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere, and we need to return to 350 parts-per-million if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

What is required to change our path? What can we as individuals do to make our actions count toward reversing our carbon emissions. How can we "be the change", as Gandhi once put it.

Here is my five point plan for changing your path:

1. Inform yourself, and then use your knowledge to address denials of climate change where they occur. The untruths and blatant misrepresentations about climate change in postings online are completely counter-productive, and serve only to delay action. Respond to these postings where you can by guiding the dialog to excellent resources such as the New Scientist, where you will find a great discussion of many of the various climate change myths. While this may appear confrontational, facts can be gently persuasive!

2. Reduce your personal impact on the planet. The easiest way is to reduce your energy use. We have a section on our site that suggests different ways to lighten your footprint. Review them, and make some changes! What you can't reduce, balance out through offsets.

3. Become an advocate for emissions reductions at work, and in your community. Join or start a Carbon Reduction Action Group (CRAG). CRAGs allow you to develop your own carbon emissions baseline, set a reduction goal , and track your progress towards that goal. They are also a great way to build a grass-roots carbon reduction effort in your community. Get out, get to know your neighbours and get them involved!

4. Get wired. We live in a society that prizes instant gratification. Realtime feedback is a valuable way of determining your impact. This is a shameless plug for technology such as the Scanguage to check your vehicle's fuel consumption in real-time, and the Centameter, to assess your home energy consumption and carbon emissions.

5. Keep the faith! Carbon Dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas. It's hard to see progress, the way it is when you clean up a neighborhood, or help rebuild homes, or save habitat. Find hope in your community connections, rather than in a charismatic or cuddly carbon project.

So that's it! So simple, everyone should be doing it!