By Carolyn Hart
It can be overwhelming fighting against climate change. The year 2020 was the second-warmest year on record and the earth’s temperature is still rising, so it might feel as if nothing can be done. But that anxiety is the number one reason climate change solutions aren’t being worked on anymore.
Anxiety About Climate Change
59% of Americans perceive climate change as a major threat, along with a majority from dozens of other countries. With this awareness, it’s perfectly normal for you to feel anxious about how the threat will affect your daily life. The first step to fighting climate change is acknowledging your own feelings. Remember to talk about your feelings by either talking with a professional or joining others who have the same feelings. There are over 190+ organizations with goals to fight climate change, and many of them are run by fellow women to help work together.
Fighting Climate Change Through Transportation
You don’t have to be a major corporation or put in all your time to make a difference in the fight against climate change. It takes baby steps. Like tackling one of the major contributions to the rising temperatures: the excessive pollution from vehicles and other forms of transportation. Highway transportation vehicles alone produce 1.6 tons of greenhouse gases each year (about a quarter of all the greenhouse gases released).
Simple changes that can be made to improve the environment include changing how you travel from work or to errands. Use public transportation and take the bus or try out riding a bike to work. If you plan on having a girl’s night out or going out with friends, then carpool and pick everyone up in one car or walk together if it’s a short distance.
Adapt Your Diet to Help the Environment
Another major contributor to greenhouse gases is livestock grazing, which takes up about 60% of global agricultural lands. A way to fight this is to shorten the demand for this need by reducing meat consumption and eating more plant-based meals. This doesn’t have to be a major change — tweaking just a few meals a week will have a huge impact. Similarly, if you shop locally, you can help reduce transportation greenhouse gases that are produced from transporting goods to your town.
Making Your Business Eco-friendly
Women-owned businesses make up nearly 20% of all US companies, and it’s becoming easier to start one. If you plan to set up one and want your business to have an impact on climate change, there are some simple ways to do that. Make a business plan that includes the impact your business will have on climate change, and mark how you’ll sell your goods, how your company will be structured, and what funding you’ll need for projects. Knowing all this ahead of time will help you and your business fight against climate change and improve your chances of success, so check out ZenBusiness, starting a new business made easier.
You Can Do Your Part To Fight Climate Change
It can be hard to understand how best to fight against climate change, but you don’t have to over-stress over it. There are a number of simple ways you and other like-minded women can help reduce the negative effects. Get more information at DC EcoWomen to fight.
Carolyn Hart has been a financial planner for nearly four decades. She has dedicated her career to helping her clients achieve financial health by assisting them in setting budgets, saving for the future, and pursuing investment opportunities. Her site, CarolynKnowsMoney, is her passion project to reach readers near and far to find financial stability. When she’s not working, you’ll probably find her in the kitchen baking up a storm.