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Your Personal Action Guide for the Environment

Solving our biggest environmental problems will require huge changes in policy and business practice. But it turns out that our personal actions can help too, if we focus on the right things. Here are some places to start.

Dr. Jonathan Foley
GlobalEcoGuy.org
Published in
14 min readApr 22, 2020

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As a environmental scientist, I get asked a lot of questions. Often, people want to know how they can help reduce their impact on the environment.

We can do a lot, of course. But it’s important to recognize that we can’t do everything as individuals. The systems we’re working to change are enormous, and our personal actions simply can’t do it all. We really need new policies, new technologies, new markets and business approaches, and new political and social movements.

In these areas, voting might be one of the most important things we can do. And, as Dr. Katharine Hayhoe often says, learning and talking about environmental issues may be another. (By the way, Project Drawdown, where I work, is a great resource for information about climate solutions.)

But our individual actions can help too, and together, they can be part of the solutions we need.

Beyond reducing our own impact on the environment, individual actions can be a catalyst for change — helping us ultimately get better policy. Think of it as voting with your wallet and actions, every day, sending political and market signals to the world.

In short, personal actions won’t be enough to stop our impact on the planet, but they can be helpful. And we need all the help we can get. Let’s just make sure they don’t distract us from pursuing more meaningful actions in policy, business, and beyond.

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To help us focus on the most impactful personal environmental actions, I encourage people to think about our use of food, water, and energy.

Why? Well, the vast majority of Earth’s species extinctions, resource depletion, freshwater decline, and climate change are caused by how we use and produce food, water, and energy.

Other stuff matters too, but food, water, and energy are the big ones. If we don’t get these right, solving the other issues won’t matter all that much.

Below, I present a series of personal actions we can take in our daily lives — divided into food, water, and energy themes. The actions listed here were selected because they are relatively doable today, reasonably cheap (if timed well, or if you can get financial assistance), and have considerable impact. Most of them will save you money, quickly, and will improve your quality of life.

Of course, some of these actions are challenging for renters, students, and those on a tight budget. Don’t feel bad about that. However, there are some things you can still try. I’d recommend talking to your landlord, utility, and local governments to see where you might get some help. And some of these are wise investments for everyone, even for renters on a tight budget — like replacing shower heads and light bulbs. They will pay for themselves in a year or two, and keep saving you money for years.

Taken together, these actions can be a big part of the solutions we need. If everyone does a few of them, we will help reduce our collective footprint, lowering our impact on Earth’s ecosystems, natural resources, and climate. And they may inspire more concrete action in policy and business as well.

Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash

1. Food Solutions

Why Does Food Matter?

What we eat and how we grow food has a bigger impact on the planet’s environment — especially to landscapes, water resources, and climate — than almost anything else we do.

Agriculture already uses up about 35–40 percent of our planet’s land area, drives 70 percent of our freshwater withdrawals, and produces about one-quarter of our greenhouse gas emissions — mainly through deforestation, methane emissions from cattle and rice fields, and nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizers. It can also drive habitat loss, species extinctions, and causes damage to land and water.

Animal agriculture, in particular, is a big part of the story. An astonishing 75 percent of all agricultural land is used to raise animals or produce animal feed. It also has outsized impacts on water resources and climate change.

So what are some ways to reduce the impact of our food choices?

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a. Reduce Food Waste

We can start by reducing food waste. Up to half of the food we produce globally is never eaten, and is lost in the supply chain between farmers and consumers. In rich countries, we lose most of our food in our homes, markets, and restaurants. In developing countries, food is lost between the farmer and the market due to spoilage or infrastructure failures.

To help address food waste at home, we can:

  • Be mindful not to waste meat and dairy. When we waste meat and dairy products, we are also wasting all the resources the animals consumed during their lifetime.
  • Make and serve smaller portions. Save and eat leftovers.
  • Be mindful of date labels. Inspect food carefully for safety, but don’t always throw away food because of the sell-by date.They are often used to tell grocers how long to keep items on shelves.

At the store, we can reduce food waste too. And save money: American households spend about $2,000 a year for food they throw away.

  • Plan your upcoming menus before shopping.
  • Shop at farmers markets. Farmers markets allow growers to sell high-quality products that might not meet shelf life standards of bigger retailers.

Take home leftovers from restaurants, work functions, and parties. Plus:

  • Skip the cafeteria tray. Diners who use cafeteria trays waste an average of 32 percent more food than those who use an individual plate.
  • Share entrees & side dishes. Sharing helps keep portions under control.
  • Encourage restaurants and caterers to donate leftovers. Ask if they can donate leftovers to food banks.

Working in your community can also help reduce food waste.

  • Ask local leaders for curbside collection. Roughly 200 U.S. communities have curbside pickup for food scraps. Sending food scraps to compost facilities (rather than landfills) builds soil and reduces methane emissions.
  • Encourage lawmakers to standardize date labels. Sell-by, use-by, and best-by dates are manufacturer suggestions for peak freshness and have little to do with safety. Call your local officials about standardizing labels.
Photo by Stijn te Strake on Unsplash

b. Shift Diets

Animal products require much more land, water, and other resources to grow than their plant-based counterparts.

Eat Less Meat and Dairy. The amount of meat and dairy we eat greatly impacts the footprint of our diet. By eating less, the average American could cut their food-related environmental impacts — to land, water, and greenhouse gas emissions — in half. Shifting your diet can have an added health bonus: consuming less red and processed meats has been found to decrease the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.

Shift from Red to White Meat. You don’t have to give up meat altogether to have an impact. Shifting from red to white meat can be extremely helpful. Beef has a carbon footprint five times greater than chicken, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Choose Grass-Fed Meat. If you still choose beef, consider buying grass-fed. Well-managed pastures are often better for wildlife, watersheds, and offsetting carbon emissions. Plus, grass-fed beef tends to use arid land that can’t easily be used to grow other food.

Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash

c. Support Sustainable Farms and Fisheries

We can also help encourage more sustainable forms of agriculture.

Support Farms that Protect Natural Resources. We can help support more sustainable farming systems, including grass-fed beef and organic farms. These often provide environmental benefits — especially in terms of biodiversity, soil health, and water quality.

Make Ocean-Friendly Choices. More than 70 percent of the world’s fish stocks are overfished, depleted, or collapsed. Making better seafood choices can help to ensure ocean health and sustainable harvests. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program helps us make better choices.

2. Water Solutions

Why Does Water Matter?

We have dramatically changed Earth’s water cycle, altering the amount, timing, and quality of freshwater flowing towards the sea. Until recently, waters flowed naturally, uninterrupted and without pollution, through river networks and groundwater systems. Now, humans operate tens of thousands of large dams, as well as countless wells. This allow us to divert and extract massive amounts of water, often leaving behind dried-up aquifers, rivers, and lakes in their wake.

The vast majority of our water withdrawals (about 70 percent) are used for growing food and animal feed, so reducing food waste and changing our diets are good steps in the right direction. Another way we indirectly consume water is through the stuff we purchase — like phones, clothes, bottles, and more. While it’s difficult to control the water used to grow our food and make our stuff, we can take important steps to directly reduce the water we use in our homes and yards.

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

a. Shift to Water-Smart Landscaping

Lawns and landscaping are among the biggest users of water in our homes. Here are some ways to reduce it.

Choose Drought-Friendly Plants. Planting drought-friendly trees, shrubs, and other plants can lower water bills, reduce water use, and keep runoff out of local waterways.

Build Healthy Soils. Good soil is essential to healthy gardens and yards, and can greatly reduce water needs. Adding mulch can be a quick, cost-effective way to save water. And adding organic matter and compost improves soil’s water holding capacity and reduces the need to irrigate.

Install Efficient Irrigation. An efficient irrigation system applies the right amount of water to the right place — at the right time. You can dramatically reduce water use by using proper irrigation scheduling.

Photo by Phil Goodwin on Unsplash

b. Repair Leaks

We may not realize how much water we lose from dripping faucets, slowly leaking toilets, or old, trickling garden hoses.

Identify and Fix Leaks. It’s always worth our time to fix leaks — especially in toilets, shower heads, and faucets. These common headaches can result in thousands of gallons of wasted water, bigger bills, and potential property damage if not addressed promptly.

Examine Your Hoses & Irrigation System. Once a season, check your irrigatino sprinklers and drip emitters for clogs, leaks, and faulty heads that may need repairs or replacement. Also, check your garden hose for leaks.

Photo by Kid Circus on Unsplash

c. Update Water Appliances

When updating kitchens and bathrooms, choose water-wise appliances that can save enormous amounts of water and money.

Washing machine. Washers built before 2011 use about 40 gallons per load; today’s resource-efficient washers use as little as 15 gallons. When you replace a washing machine, look for Energy Star®–certified models that use about 20 percent less energy and 35 percent less water.

Dishwasher. Use a dishwasher rather than hand washing. A dishwasher uses half the energy and one-sixth the water than washing by hand.

Toilets. Toilets drive nearly 30 percent of an average home’s indoor water use. Replace older toilets with models that use 1.28 gallons or less per flush.

Showerheads. Install water-efficient showerheads that use less than 2.5 gallons-per-minute. Older models can use more than three times as much.

Faucet aerators. Install water-efficient aerators that use a maximum of 1.5 gallons-per-minute.

3. Energy Solutions

Why Does Energy Matter?

Our use of energy — particularly in the form of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas — has a profound impact on the environment, especially by releasing greenhouse gases. Our use of energy in homes, workplaces, and transportation systems present enormous opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Photo by Alex Iby on Unsplash

a. Get Smart About Electricity

Electricity accounts for roughly 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But the exact percentage varies from place to place, depending on heating and cooling demands, the size and efficiency of living spaces, and the ways electricity is produced.

Here are some ways we can reduce electricity use.

Lighting. The incandescent bulb is an energy-wasting relic of the past. Energy-efficient light bulbs — such as LEDs — use roughly 75 percent less energy and last far longer.

Appliances. If it’s time for a new appliance, look for Energy Star®–certified units that save you money on operating costs. Many utilities offer mail-in rebates for energy-saving appliances.

  • Look for an energy-efficient refrigerator. A new Energy Star®-certified refrigerator uses about 20 percent less energy than a standard one — a wise investment that pays off over time.
  • Machine-wash dishes. Hand-washing dishes uses more hot water and energy than machine-washing. Be sure to run only full loads.
  • Use your dryer’s moisture sensor. If you can’t line-dry your clothes, many dryers have a moisture sensor that shuts off once clothes are dry.

Switch to Renewable Energy. Once you have become more efficient, it makes sense to start using renewable electricity. You can often buy solar-or wind-powered electricity from your local utility for a small extra fee.

Photo by Tomas Anton Escobar on Unsplash

b. Use Smarter Transportation

We can also reduce our environmental footprint by making better transportation choices. Here are some ideas:

Drive Less. No matter what kind of car you drive, one of the best ways to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions is to drive less.

  • Use public transit or carpool. By using these alternatives you can reduce emissions, and save money on fuel, maintenance, parking, and tolls.
  • Bike or walk. Using your body to get around reduces emissions, burns calories, and saves money on fuel and parking.
  • Telecommute. If you have the option, working from home reduces emissions, and allows you to spend less time in traffic.

Maintain your vehicle. Keep your tires properly inflated to save fuel. Regular oil changes, air filter changes, and spark plug replacements will also extend the life of your vehicle, improve fuel economy, and minimize emissions.

Buy a Fuel-Efficient Car. When purchasing or leasing a car, choose the most fuel-efficient option. This can save you hundreds of dollars on gas, and thousands of pounds of extra greenhouse gas emissions, every year.

Consider a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle. Because most of today’s transportation is powered by petroleum, electric vehicles have enormous environmental benefits. Explore incentives to make them more affordable.

Fly Less. Flying uses a lot of fuel. A single round-trip flight from Los Angeles to New York emits around a ton of carbon dioxide per passenger.

  • Consider videoconferencing. If you’re flying a lot for work, ask whether the trips are necessary.
  • Fly non-stop. Direct flights burn less fuel.
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c. Improve the Heating & Cooling of Your Living Space

Heating and cooling living spaces — and heating domestic water — takes a lot of energy. Luckily, some small changes in the ways we heat and cool our homes can greatly reduce our emissions.

Use an Automatic Thermostat. Programmable thermostats can cut heating and cooling costs by 20 percent.

Opt for Efficient Air Conditioners or Fans. Also, avoid over-air conditioning and try open windows, shade trees, and attic fans to beat the heat.

Maintain Your Furnace. Replace furnace filters regularly and book annual maintenance checks with a furnace technician.

Weatherize & Insulate. Air leaks and poor insulation waste a lot of energy.

  • Conduct a home energy audit. Lower your bills by learning to read your utility statements. Utility audits can dig deeper, and are often free — book one to find out where retrofitting might help.
  • Seal and wrap your ducts. Hire a contractor to test your ducts and issue repairs. $20 or less in weather stripping and caulk can help.
  • Plug leaks. Is air leaking between your door and window frames? Your home might need a better seal or fresh caulking.
  • Insulate. An energy audit can tell you if your home has adequate insulation — few homes have enough. Before you insulate, seal heat-escaping gaps around pipes, wires, and other openings.

Improve Hot Water Efficiency. Using less hot water means you’re using less water and energy.

  • Buy an energy-efficient model. Consider an on-demand water heater — or better yet, a heat pump.
  • Turn the thermostat to 120°F. Insulate the water heater tank & pipes.
  • Install low-flow showerheads and faucets. We pay for water three times — once to buy it from a utility, once to heat it using natural gas or electricity, and once to dispose of it as wastewater.
  • Wash & clean with cold water. Clean with cold water to save energy, money, and emissions.
Photo by Heidi Fin on Unsplash

4. What Else Can We Do?

We can embrace other ways of shifting our lifestyle. In particular, we can make a big difference by addressing our consumer “throw-away” culture.

Think Before You Buy. Nearly everything we buy affects the environment, including the materials and energy it takes to make and operate each purchase. Ditch “single-use” and look for more sustainably sourced products and energy-efficient devices.

Think Before You Throw Away. Reuse, repair, or donate gently used items whenever possible. If you need to throw something away, check with your town to learn the best way to recycle or dispose of unwanted items.

Photo by Hatham on Unsplash

If everyone did some of these things, we could significantly reduce our collective footprint.

More is possible, of course, but these actions are a good starting point for most people. You can keep going, finding more ways to lower your impact. Be creative. Try new things. Learn more.

Just as important as taking these concrete actions in your home is sharing what you are doing with others. It will inspire people. You can be a powerful spokesperson, educator, and role model in the community. You can multiply your impact by inspiring others.

Our personal actions can’t replace meaningful changes in policy, but they do add up — directly by lowering our footprint, and indirectly by sending signals to the rest of the world. Those signals help move money, change minds, inspire others, and drive more good policy discussions.

Living a little more sustainably can be good for you, your pocketbook, and the world around you. So why not start today?

Parts of this essay were adapted from a piece I published here, and the Planet Vision project, which I co-developed with Emily Cassidy and Elizabeth Bagley.

Dr. Jonathan Foley (@GlobalEcoGuy) is a climate & environmental scientist, writer, and speaker. He is also the Executive Director of Project Drawdown, the world’s leading resource for climate solutions.

These views are his own.

Copyright © 2015–2020, Jonathan Foley. All rights reserved.

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Executive Director, Project Drawdown. Climate & environmental scientist, working on solutions. Personal views.