To stop the warming, we have to stop fossil fuel pollution. To stop the pollution, we have to end the fossil fuel industry. The companies who sell oil, gas, and coal have caused most of the pollution driving the rapid collapse of our livable planet. And their disinformation and corruption remain the biggest barrier to action. Replacing fossil fuel with clean energy is not not only possible, it will save lives and buckets of money: The sun gives us 10,000 times more energy than humans use every day (for free), clean energy costs less to generate than fossil fuel energy, AND it doesn’t make us sick or dead. But as long as companies can sell oil, gas, and coal for a profit, they will use their vast wealth to continue doing so, regardless of the consequences for us.
So what can you do? Connect with others and just start somewhere: Fight bullshit. Spread awareness. Call out captured elected leaders. Demand an end to fossil fuels. Drive local progress. 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 to get you started:
Join a climate group in your area (or start one).
Then demand progress however you can.
Local action is visible and powerful. There are so many opportunities at the state and local level to advance progress. And there are hundreds of local captures of national organizations, and independent 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.
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
Cut your consumption of meat and Big Oil products like gas, methane, and plastic as much as 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.
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:
Read 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.
