In a new report published in September 2018, the world’s leading climate scientists made their starkest warning so far: our current actions are not enough for us to meet our target of 1.5C of warming. This is important because we need “unprecedented changes in all aspects of society to deal with climate change, says the IPCC report. Here are some tips that you can use in any classroom. For each degree raised, you can save 3-5 percent on air conditioning costs, for example, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy. Read about our approach to external linking. Find alternatives to plastic whenever possible, and properly dispose of the plastic you do use to keep it out of our oceans and other waterways. Wear your support for science-informed climate action. The road towards that transition includes daily decisions within your reach – like driving and flying less, switching to a ‘green’ energy provider and changing what you eat and buy. In industrialised countries such as European nations, getting rid of your car can reduce 2.5 tonnes of CO2 – about one-fourth of the average yearly emissions (9.2 tonnes) contributed by each person in developed countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It has caused much damage to people and the environment, by temperatures rising and natural disasters. There are plenty of other ways to tackle climate change: Buy and grow local food, use renewable energy and energy-efficient appliances, insulate your home, nurture soils and grasslands, run for office, explore high- and low-tech ways to capture greenhouse gases, support research and organizations that can mobilize more people and resources to find solutions … But that’s enough for starters. She’s the editor of the Science & Climate website and its “What Can I Do About Climate Change?” blog. But this is not always the case, as some countries grow out-of-season crops in energy-intensive greenhouses – so the best approach is to eat food that is both locally grown and seasonal. One ranking found that going car-free is the most effective action one person can take (Credit: Getty). PLT’s award-winning Carbon & Climate e-unit explores how climate affects living systems, the role carbon plays in climate, and what we can learn from past changes in the global climate. We need to do more. When people see their neighbours taking environmental action, like conserving energy, they infer that people like them also value sustainability and feel more compelled to act. Interests The good news is that we have made global progress on this, and two years ago 170 countries agreed to start phasing out HFCs in 2019. You’re part of the solution. 3. It’s a teensy thing, but bringing your own reusable cup or coffee mug is easy and feels good. Although some early efforts to use solar panels to fly around the world have had success, we are still decades away from commercial flights running on solar energy. What if I just can’t avoid that flight, or cut down on driving? Other changes are needed that can only be made on a bigger, system-wide basis – like revamping our subsidy system for the energy and food industries, which continue to reward fossil fuels, or setting new rules and incentives for sectors like farming, deforestation and waste management. Learn what climate change is, and how it affects the planet Climate Change poses an increasing threat to the stability of Earth’s systems. If cattle were their own nation, they’d be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases (Credit: Getty). | Privacy & Accessibility | Principles of Community | University of California | SitemapCopyright © The Regents of the University of California, Davis campus. It’s settled science that climate change is real, and we’re starting to see some of the ways that it affects us. By getting rid of financial instruments related to the fossil fuel industry, organisations can both take climate action and reap economic benefits. Sign up for our monthly newsletter highlighting our latest climate change research stories, blog posts, and features. Set your thermostat a couple of degrees up (A/C) or down (heater) depending on the season to make a difference in your energy use and energy bill. 1. Limiting the use of fossil fuels such as oil, carbon and natural gas and replacing them with renewable and cleaner sources of energy, all while increasing energy efficiency. A larger-scale approach could be something like banning meat across an organisation, as office-sharing company WeWork did in 2018. Actually, renewables like wind and solar are becoming increasingly cheap across the world (although final costs are subject to local circumstances). This means voting for legislation and politicians that aid against the … Source: BBC News. the number-one most effective policy to reduce emissions. And finally, they also require lots of water, fertilisers that can release greenhouse gases, and plenty of land – some of which come from cleared forests, another source of carbon emissions. Climate action isn’t just about energy efficiency and carbon sequestration. Research led by NOAA and including UC Davis scientists found that the volatile chemical products in things like shampoo, cleaning products and paint contribute as much to urban air pollution as tailpipe emissions from cars. Most of the energy used in doing a load of laundry comes from warming the water itself. For everyone else, there are several options on the market. Sometimes you even get drink discounts for using these things. All the better if what you plant is native and attracts pollinators like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Turn off lights in empty rooms (of course) but also ask yourself, “Do I really even need this light on?” I recently had a meeting in a climate science professor’s office that was only lit by daylighting from the window and it was, well, enlightening. People who want to learn about and take action on the world’s biggest challenges. One good example of the importance of this regards refrigerants. One way to potentially slow the effects of climate change is by implementing a … Could I make a difference by changing my diet? Diego Arguedas Ortiz is a science and climate change reporter for BBC Future. David Attenborough addresses climate change in the most eloquent way possible California wildfires linked to climate change by experts Greta Thunburg turns down environmental prize and $51,000 award Most likely. Social scientists believe this occurs because we constantly evaluate what our peers are doing and we adjust our beliefs and actions accordingly. Here’s your handy guide to the most effective strategies. The cost of utility-scale solar panels has fallen 73% since 2010, for example, making solar energy the cheapest source of electricity for many households in Latin America, Asia and Africa. “We need to cut CO2 emissions almost in half (45%) by the end of the next decade,” says Kimberly Nicholas, associate professor of sustainability science at the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS), in Sweden. 2. Patrons at a US cafe who were told that 30% of Americans had started eating less meat. Here’s how you can actually help stop climate change. Those are hard, philosophical questions – and we’re not going to try to answer them here. Another way, increasingly undertaken by universities, faith groups and recently even at a countrywide level, is to ‘divest’ funds out of polluting activities – such as avoiding stocks in fossil fuels, or banks that invest in high-emission industries. That’s because they are up to 9,000 more warming for the atmosphere than CO2. It’s not only nice, it also helps build community resilience. Secondly, we feed them with other potential sources of food, like maize and soy, which makes for a very inefficient process. Some are already more cost-effective. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. “Everyone is going to have to be involved," says Debra Robert, co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the group tasked with the report. Nicholas’s study concluded that having fewer children is the best way to reduce your contribution to climate change, with almost 60 tonnes of CO2 avoided per year. What can you do that will have the biggest impact? It takes more than turning off the lights, but it’s all doable. Going car-free was the number-one most effective action an individual could take (except not having kids – but more on that on that later). Climate Science There are groups of scientists and members of the public who have decided to give up flying or who fly less. Should I think about how many children I have (or don’t have)? Groceries shipped from Chile and Australia to Europe, or the other way around, have more ‘food miles’ and usually a higher footprint than local produce. University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 | 530-752-1011Help | Questions or comments? 18 Simple Things You Can Do About Climate Change, UC Davis Center for Water and Energy Efficiency found, As Sea Ice Disappears, A Greener and Browner Arctic Emerges. The meat industry contributes to global warming in three major ways. 9. And we could ask if having children is necessarily a bad thing for solving climate change: our challenges may mean we will need more problem-solvers in future generations, not fewer. Although the average human releases around 5 tonnes of CO2 per year, each country has very different circumstances: developed nations like the US and South Korea have higher national averages (16.5 tonnes and 11.5 tonnes per person, respectively) than developing countries like Pakistan and Philippines (around 1 tonne each). Learn About Climate Change At the ClimateStore, we're convinced by the scientific evidence that climate change is real. What is the single most important thing humanity has to do in the coming years – and what does that mean for me? Exploring ideas and feelings about the changing world through song, visual arts, writing and more can be a powerful way to share your unique perspective and help people understand climate change through a different lens. We’re already seeing the effects of human-caused climate change — but nature can help. So we don’t need to ask whether climate change is happening – or whether humans are causing it. One is whether you are responsible for children’s climate emissions, and the other is where are these babies born. This explainer of sustainable diets by the World Resources Institute (WIR) and its longer associated report provides more answers to questions about food and carbon emissions. UC Davis professor Eric Post and colleagues note tips for how to do that in a 2017 BioScience study. Other than that, what’s the best daily action I can take? Extreme poverty ends with you. Katharine Hayhoe tells us that one of the most important things we can do about climate change is to talk about it. This will help you ensure that your understanding of climate change and other hot-button scientific issues is grounded in peer-reviewed science. And write or call your government representatives about environmental and other issues important to you. Here’s our guide. Firstly, cows’ burping from processing food releases lots of methane, a greenhouse gas. Unplug your computer, toaster, and other appliances when not using them to avoid sucking up needless energy. It increases the likelihood of flooding in Miami and elsewhere, threatens the millions of people living along the Brahmaputra River in north-eastern India and disrupts the sex life of plants and animals. 10. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was formed in 1988 to collect and assess evidence on climate change. Climate is an ideal interdisciplinary theme for lifelong learning about the scientific process and the ways in which humans affect and are affected by the Earth’s systems. The number one goal? This is super simple and super important. Cars are more polluting compared to other means of transportation like walking, biking or using public transport. What We Know About Climate Change by Kerry Emanuel nonfiction. This rich topic can be approached at many levels, from comparing the daily weather with long-term records to exploring abstract representations of climate … The UN Climate Convention keeps a portfolio of dozens of projects around the world you can contribute to. He is @arguedasortiz on Twitter. Food By reducing your consumption of animal protein by half, you can cut your diet's carbon footprint by more than 40%. To find out how many emissions you need to ‘buy’ back, you can use its handy carbon footprint calculator. In an NPR/Ipsos poll, 65% of teachers said they don't talk about climate change because it's not related to the subjects they teach. Individuals need to exercise their rights both as citizens and as consumers, Robert and other experts say, putting pressure on their governments and on companies to make the system-wide changes that are needed. exercise their rights both as citizens and as consumers, ranked 148 individual actions on climate change, the average yearly emissions (9.2 tonnes) contributed by each person in developed countries, mitigation chapter in the IPCC’s latest report, becoming increasingly cheap across the world, will be on par with or cheaper than fossil fuels by 2020, the cheapest source of electricity for many households in Latin America, Asia and Africa, by 2025 will be the cheapest source of electricity generation, recent evidence suggests these costs are ‘modest’, the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, cut down gradually and become a ‘flexitarian’, cut your diet's carbon footprint by more than 40%, office-sharing company WeWork did in 2018, This explainer of sustainable diets by the World Resources Institute, commercial flights running on solar energy, the average yearly emissions of one person in India, decided to give up flying or who fly less, this calculator by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, clothing sector represents around 3% of the world’s global production emissions of CO2, eat food that is both locally grown and seasonal, is the best way to reduce your contribution to climate change, we will need more problem-solvers in future generations, average human releases around 5 tonnes of CO2, were twice as likely to order a meatless lunch, portfolio of dozens of projects around the world. 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