How To Be An Environmental Activist

At this point, most of us know that corporations contribute far more to climate change than individuals. It’s just a matter of knowing what we can do about it.

I thought it might be helpful to create a guide on how to be an environmental activist. Let’s use our voice, our actions and our wallets to show governments and businesses around us that we need action, and we need it now.

How To Be An Environmental Activist

1. Educate Others

There are huge misinformation campaigns trying to convince the general public that climate change isn’t real. We’re being told that it is too late to save our planet.

Follow environmental scientists and share scientific-based research on your social media platforms to show others that climate change is real. We have all the tools right now to solve the crisis; we just need to implement them.

2. Join an Activism Group

Consider visiting meetup.com and joining a climate change activism group. They’re common in all areas of the world, and if you’re not able to find a group, it’s an opportunity to organize one yourself.

3. Consistently Contact Congress

When it comes to partisan issues, contacting your local congressman is often ineffective. If they’re a political affiliation that opposes climate action, they’re likely to stick to the party line. According to the New Yorker, contacting congresspeople is usually only effective with minor issues within your district.

Nonetheless, The New Yorker article does note that if you do it consistently, it is possible to make a difference. Try organizing a group of people in your community who will contact your local congressman on an ongoing basis.

4. Peacefully Protest

History and evidence-based studies show that protests can bring change. Protests can include marches, sit-ins, boycotts, speeches, music, chanting and performance art. Find out about a protest in your local community, carry a sign and get your message out there.

5. Download the app Klima

Klima is an app that helps us reduce and offset our personal carbon footprint. They focus on community involvement, equitable pay, and native biodiversity.

First, the app calculates your personal carbon footprint. Second, it tells you how you can offset your personal carbon footprint by contributing to legitimate climate projects.

Projects may include planting trees, building solar power and providing clean cookstoves. You can also learn new ways to reduce your personal carbon footprint.

6. Shop Locally

When you shop locally, you support local farmers and small business owners (neighbors, friends, family, etc.) rather than large corporations. These community members have more incentive to treat their land well, which creates less urban sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution. Their goods tend to be ethically produced and they create fewer travel-related emissions.

7. Pick Up Trash  

When there is litter in our communities, it poses a danger to all of us. It can pollute our air and soil, find its way into our water systems, or be picked up by animals for food or nesting materials.

Take the time out of your day or organize a gathering of people to pick up litter and dispose of it properly. This can also beautify and inspire your community.

8. Reduce Plastic Waste

Until corporations change the way they make and dispose of things, living plastic-free truly isn’t attainable. For the time being, individuals can focus on reducing as much plastic waste as possible. Here is a list of common sustainable swaps:

• Reusable straws
• Reusable water bottles and coffee mugs
• Reusable cloth grocery bags
• Reusable sandwich bags / food storage bags
• Refillable skincare and cleaning products  
• Menstrual cups and period underwear
• Cloth paper towels / kitchen hand towels
• Wooden / bamboo toothbrushes

The end goal is to live plastic-free. Plastics can only be recycled so many times until they must be sent to the landfill and, the higher the resin code, the more difficult it is to be recycled.

9. Recycle Responsibly

Many of us are guilty of tossing items into our recycling bins that we don’t know to be recyclable, but we expect can be. This is called wish-cycling.

To collect, separate and ship a product to a recycler only for it not to be recycled is a huge waste of resources, energy and money. Before you recycle an item, check your local waste district’s rules on recycling.

One common wish-cycling item is plastic grocery bags and other film plastic. Most grocery stores recycle film plastic. Never put film plastic in your recycling bin or put your recycling items in a plastic bag.

Film plastic wreaks havoc on recycling equipment. After your recycling gets picked up from your house, or wherever you drop off your recycling, it gets sent to a materials recovery facility.

Employees must sort out items that should not be there, but they can’t catch everything, so film plastic inevitability gets stuck in the equipment. Employees have to remove the film plastic from the equipment or else it will stop working.

Every time that happens, they have to shut down the plant. This happens at least once a day. If a load of recycling has a lot of film plastic, the plant will send it directly to a landfill.  

10. Compost

When food scraps and yard waste go to landfills, they release a greenhouse gas called methane, which damages our ozone. You can instead gather those materials in an indoor or outdoor bin to create a useable product: compost.

Thereafter, you can add the compost to your garden. It can enrich the soil, reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and provide food for little critters. If you do not have a yard, many communities offer a compost subscription. You can pay a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly fee to have an indoor compost bin picked up and dropped off at your front door.

11. Preserve Fresh Water

We’re extracting freshwater faster than we can replenish it. Less than 1 percent of water across the globe is accessible, freshwater. Here are some ways we can preserve water:

• Regularly check your toilet, faucets, and pipes for leaks
• Take short showers or, instead, take a bath
• Don’t let the faucet run while you’re brushing your teeth or washing vegetables
• Own indoor and outdoor plants that don’t require a lot of water
• Deep soak your lawn instead of a regular, light sprinkling
• Water your lawn during cool parts of the day

12. Acquire an Alternative Lawn

Traditional grass lawns require lots of water, pesticides, and fertilizer. Rainwater carries these toxic chemicals to our sewer system, and thereafter, our rivers, lakes and streams.

This can contaminate our fish and other aquatic animals as well as humans who swim, surf, and eat seafood. Alternative lawns can include large-scale gardens, rock and succulent gardens for dry climates, artificial turf or native grass.

13. Change Your Laundry Routine

Most of our clothes are made of synthetic fibers, which are made of microplastics and chemical-covered non-plastics. When we run our clothes through a washing machine, microfibers shed from our clothes and drain into our waterways.

Fabric softener sheets (“dryer sheets”) also contain harmful chemicals. This is not healthy for fish, aquatic animals and humans to consume.

The Cora Ball is a product that goes in the washing machine with your clothes and catches the microfibers. Dryer balls are a safe alternative to fabric softener sheets and are made of wool. Dryer balls can also separate clothes more efficiently and reduce drying time, which ultimately saves on electricity.

14. Transportation

If you’re interested in obtaining an electric vehicle, consider converting your current combustion engine vehicle with an electric vehicle. About 80 percent of a combustion engine vehicle can be recycled, but trashing the remaining 20 percent isn’t sustainable.

Electric vehicles aren’t perfect for the environment, but they use less greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and black carbon. Prior to the rise and popularity of automobiles, most cities had some form of public transportation.

Get involved with your local Zoning Boards, Transportation Boards and Parks & Recreation Boards. These boards are typically made up of citizens, so you could sit on one of these boards, and help implement change. Otherwise, you can attend these meetings and voice your opinion on city plans.

Using public transportation means one less person using a single occupancy vehicle, less fuel, less air pollution, less overall carbon footprint and better overall health. The more people that speak up, the more likely things will change. Lastly, for the athletic and adventurous types: consider riding a bicycle, an electric scooter or rollerblading whenever you can.  

15. Be Kind

While we implement these new habits into our lives, it is equally as important to be considerate of others for not doing the same. There may be a myriad of reasons why another individual chooses not to reduce their plastic waste, attend a protest, or take public transportation. Please, be kind.