It's the little things.

It's the little things.

Simple, inexpensive things you can do to help the planet

 
 
 

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Write a letter

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Thanks for the suggestion! That’s really helpful!

 

Why?

Eating less meat, riding your bike to work, bringing your own shopping bags to the grocery, using a clothesline. These are all excellent steps we can each take to reduce our impact on the planet. The truth is, though, that the impact any one of us can have on the environment is relatively tiny compared to changes we can make collectively.

Some argue that sites like this one are actually harmful because they let people off the hook, making them feel good about making a difference while turning a blind eye to the larger, systemic problems that are the real source of the climate crisis. While a valid point, we believe that small actions by many people can add up to significant change.

Tree huggerFor better or worse, most of us are not cut out to be full-time eco-warriors. That doesn’t mean we can’t influence the systems that have the capacity to make the big changes.

In this hyper-connected age, it’s easier than ever to be an armchair activist. All it takes is a few minutes to record your thoughts and a click of the “send” button to make your views known to politicians, newspaper editors, and corporations.

Note: Though the title of this post is “Write a letter”, we advocate contacting decision makers via the internet. The carbon cost of a physical letter is higher than submitting an online form!

Activist Organizations

The following organizations are either focused exclusively on fighting climate change or run global warming campaigns as part of their mission.

Newspapers

Publishing a letter to the editor is still a good way to make your voice heard.

Governments

It’s government officials who will make the big decisions, so why not contact them directly?

Do you know of other good sites where you can make your voice heard? Tell us about them in the comments!

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Comments

  1. Andrew on August 11, 2009

    I thought this would be a slam dunk, that the voting for this little thing would be overwhelmingly positive. I mean, how hard is it to fill out an online petition form?

    I’m really curious why (as of right now) fully 1 out of 3 people have indicated they won’t be doing this and another 1 out of 4 are lukewarm to the idea.

    Are you just too busy? Is it because it doesn’t feel like it will make a difference?

  2. Nathaniel Flick on August 24, 2009

    I wrote a letter to ARTA and Maxx telling them to not change my bus route and the response I got was, “thanks, but we’re going to ignore you and go ahead with our plans.”

    I expect this from most government agencies. Their main concern is filling the coffers, not reducing CO2 emissions. Seems like something catastrophic has got to happen before this greedy mindset changes.

    However, I’ll keep spreading my opinion that we need more balance in our lives because it’s better for the planet to whomever will listen.

 

What do you think?

Ratings

  • 32% Yeh
  • 29% Meh
  • 39% Neh

Total votes: 639

Eating less meat, riding your bike to work, bringing your own shopping bags to the grocery, using a clothesline. These are all excellent steps we can each take to reduce our impact on the planet. The truth is, though, that the impact any one of us can have on the environment is relatively tiny compared to changes we can make collectively.

Some argue that sites like this one are actually harmful because they let people off the hook, making them feel good about making a difference while turning a blind eye to the larger, systemic problems that are the real source of the climate crisis. While a valid point, we believe that small actions by many people can add up to significant change.

Tree huggerFor better or worse, most of us are not cut out to be full-time eco-warriors. That doesn’t mean we can’t influence the systems that have the capacity to make the big changes.

In this hyper-connected age, it’s easier than ever to be an armchair activist. All it takes is a few minutes to record your thoughts and a click of the “send” button to make your views known to politicians, newspaper editors, and corporations.

Note: Though the title of this post is “Write a letter”, we advocate contacting decision makers via the internet. The carbon cost of a physical letter is higher than submitting an online form!

Activist Organizations

The following organizations are either focused exclusively on fighting climate change or run global warming campaigns as part of their mission.

Newspapers

Publishing a letter to the editor is still a good way to make your voice heard.

Governments

It’s government officials who will make the big decisions, so why not contact them directly?

Do you know of other good sites where you can make your voice heard? Tell us about them in the comments!