One of the messages carried to COP 21, the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, by Professor Dan Esty of Yale is that EVERYONE is part of the solution to climate disruption. His particular mission at COP was to engage the governors and mayors in attendance — the leaders at levels below “heads of state” — who can more easily implement change.
In this post I urge the rest of us to engage as well. COP is heading toward a close. According to the BBC, a “final draft” has been reached. Whatever commitments are finally made, we must all take action.
We may not be COP 21 delegates, or hold the wealth of Bill Gates and the other 27 investors who created The Breakthrough Energy Coalition, but each of us can play a part in helping to save our planet.
Here a just a few ideas:
Use less energy in our homes
- Switch to better lightbulbs
- Invest in energy-efficient appliances
- Insulate our attics
- Caulk leaky windows
- Turn down our thermostats
Use less energy when we travel
- Walk more
- Use alternative transportation
- Pool our trips when we drive
- Pay a carbon offset when we fly
… and in this season of excess
- Shop carefully
- Honor a loved one with a gift to a charitable organization instead of a tsotchke
- WASTE LESS. This includes making good use of our leftovers as former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis so passionately does. Read the whole story here.
For more ideas, check out a series of posts “Joining Hands for a Better World” I ambitiously wrote 2 years ago as I “counted down to Christmas.” Here is the link to Day 1. The other posts in the series are listed in the green box to the right.
The message is true now more than ever. “Tous ensemble” (all together) we can make a difference!
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