Climate change is a simple pollution problem, wrapped in a complicated bullshit problem, trapped in an avalanche, heading off a cliff. Scientifically speaking, what we need to do is simple and possible (replace polluting forms of energy and agriculture with non-polluting forms of energy and agriculture.) Practically speaking, thanks to decades of Big Oil lies and corruption, there are a few other obstacles in the way: Hostile government leaders, an uninformed citizenry, unprepared communities already in the grips of increasingly severe impacts, and a clock ticking very fast toward the situation becoming totally unmanageable.
So what can you do? Just start somewhere. Fight bullshit. Spread awareness. Demand action. Prepare for danger. And do everything in your capitalism-given, consumer power to get money (and therefore influence) out of Big Oil’s pockets. Here are a few ideas and resources:
Join or start a climate group in your area.
Then Protest! Disrupt! Be loud!
Local action is visible and powerful. There are hundreds of US chapters of many flavors of national organizations, along with so many incredible local groups. (Try searching “[CITY] + climate group” to find them). If there’s not a group near you, this is your sign to start one.
Read more: Forget Cop – local climate action can bring more tangible results
Read more: Disruptive protest helps rather than hinders activists’ cause, experts say
Urge leaders and government to act.
Support candidates who will fight for climate action.
Read more: Climate change opinions swing voting and elections in the U.S.
Cut your consumption of meat and Big Oil products like gas, methane, and plastic — or boycott them if you can.
And encourage others to do so, too. We won’t phase fossil fuels oil with individual action alone — and these changes remain more difficult in a system that favors pollution as the default choice — but taken collectively, our individual behaviors can meaningfully cut pollution, reduce Big Oil profits, and shift social norms.
Move your money from banks that are using it to fund fossil fuels and destroy the future.
This is one of the highest impact individual actions – and it doesn’t cost anything. A quarter of the money at the world’s largest banks goes directly to funding fossil fuel projects. If you move yours, that’s a little less that’s available. And when lots of people do it, it adds up fast.
Read more: Banks have given almost $7tn to fossil fuel firms since Paris deal
Talk about climate day-to-day.
Spread the facts.
If you don’t tell people you care, they will assume you don’t. But if you talk about it, people will start to care and act like they do, too. So just, like, talk about it.
Read more: Here’s Why Talking About Climate Change Might Be The Most Important Thing You Can Do
Boycott news media that takes oil advertising money. Support oil-money-free climate journalism.
Outlets rejecting fossil fuel ads include The Guardian, Vox Media (Vox, New York Magazine), Inside Climate, and Heat Map. Outlets that take big money from big oil include Bloomberg, The Economist, the Financial Times, New York Times, Politico, Reuters, and the Washington Post. Here are a few of our go-to sources of climate news:
ERRead more: LEADING NEWS OUTLETS ARE DOING THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY’S GREENWASHING
If your job is connected to big oil, quit, leak info to reputable journalists, or become a whistleblower.
Read more: Climate whistleblowers.
