·       Appliances: Use electric, rather than gas appliances in our homes (cooking, hot water, drying clothes, etc.)

·       Cars: Replace our fossil fuel-powered automobiles with electric vehicles

·       Heating:  Purchase a heat pump for your home

·       Turn your thermostat down 1 or 2 degrees – it makes a real difference!

·       Walk, or bike, don’t drive.

·       When flying, book economy, nonstop flights (and try to fly less often)

·       Wind subscriptions through Excel:  https://mn.my.xcelenergy.com/s/renewable/windsource

·       Put the SUN back in Earth Sunday: join a solar garden: https://mn.my.xcelenergy.com/s/renewable/solar-rewards-community

·       Install Residential Solar Panels https://mn.my.xcelenergy.com/s/renewable/solar-rewards

Support groups like Citizen’s Climate Lobby and their proposal to place a fee on Carbon, then equitably return the money to the people, so poor people end up paying less, richer people end up paying more.

·       Don’t buy products coming from deforested areas:  see www.ucsusa.org/resources/whats-driving-deforestation

·       Plant trees. And remember that most trees don’t sequester significant CO₂ until 20-40 years from now. So combine this action with other actions that have greater short term impact.

Organizations which you can support that plant trees:

        Nature Conservancy  www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/plant-a-billion/

        https://onetreeplanted.org

·       Calculate your Meat footprint: https://www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/meat-footprint

·       Avoid beef (cattle produce methane which is a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO₂)

·       Go meatless 2-3 days a week

On our current course, emissions from plastics will reach 17% of the global carbon budget by 2050.  Calculate your own plastic footprint:  https://www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/plastic-footprint

·       Recycle those plastics which your recycler accepts, and only those plastics. See the Hennepin county green disposal webpage for further info.  https://www.hennepin.us/green-disposal-guide/items

·       Learn about and avoid WISHCYCLING (the harmful practice of throwing non-recyclable objects into recycling containers, hoping something good will happen). These create hazards to the people who actually do our recycling, and make recycling operations unprofitable, ultimately shutting some of them down.

·       Shop intelligently – avoid products packaged in plastics, particularly in non-recyclable plastics. If you can’t figure out if packaging is recyclable, talk to the manager of the store where you shop, and tell them why you want to know. Buy nonpackaged items, in bulk, using reusable cloth bags to hold your purchases.

·       Find an appropriate drop off recycling location for your plastic bags – don’t put them in the recycling – they really foul up recycling operations. Most grocery stores have plastic bag drop off bins.

·       Concrete – 8% of global CO2 emissions come from cement. – Try to avoid building with concrete
Learn More: check out Project Drawdown https://www.drawdown.org/  and Speed and Scale https://speedandscale.com/home/  to better understand what actions can make the most difference.

·       Talk WITH your friends and family, neighbors, classmates. Make sure to listen as well; people don’t like simply being told what to think or do. “You can tell people amazing things IF you have FIRST listened to them”. (MN born Pulitzer prize winning journalist Tom Friedman). Talk about what you are doing.

·       Write letters to the editor of your hometown newspaper

·       Offer to make a presentation at school, church, social group

·       Play the Greenhouse game with family, friends, schoolmates: https://www.greenhousegame.com/

·       Write (email or snail mail) or call your members of congress

·       Support the political campaigns of persons who advocate necessary steps to reduce climate change,

·       If you can vote, Vote for climate-friendly candidates and referendums!

·       Participate in caucuses and public meetings

·       Lobby your city/county to join others in declaring a climate emergency or setting net zero goals.

·       Carbon 180: https://carbon180.org/  a new NGO that champions carbon removal solutions through science and innovation, working to build a prosperous, carbon-conscious economy that removes more carbon from the atmosphere than we emit

·       Citizen’s Climate Lobby. CitizensClimateLobby.org Advocates a carbon fee and dividend strategy (one favored by most economists, and adopted by a number of countries worldwide) as a powerful, market based tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Very savvy at lobbying government. Strong bipartisan focus.

·       Climate Generation https://www.climategen.org/ Founded by polar explorer, Will Steger, based on his powerful eyewitness to climate change from over 50 years exploring the polar regions and his determination to engage people in the issue and solutions. Has a strong focus on younger people.

·       Climate Reality Project  https://www.climaterealityproject.org/  Involved in education and advocacy related to climate change. Originally founded by Al Gore. Among its activities, The Climate Reality Project hosts an annual event called 24 Hours of Reality.

·       Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light MNIPL.org  Partners with faith communities to address the climate crisis. Empowers individuals and communities across the state to take action that is authentic, effective, and energizing in their context. Strong focus on environmental Justice.

·       MN350 MN350.org  A Minnesota movement to end the pollution damaging our climate, speed the transition to clean energy, and create a just and healthy future for all.

·       MN Renewable Energy Society MNrenewables.org  MRES is a chapter of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), and acts as a catalyst, equitably advancing a sustainable low-carbon society and a renewable energy economy through education, leadership and example.

·       Nature Conservancy https://www.nature.org/en-us/   Working globally to create a world where people and nature can thrive. With a million members, a diverse staff and over 400 scientists, It is one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations, working in 76 countries around the world.

·       Sunrise Movement https://www.sunrisemovement.org/  A youth oriented, inclusive, activist movement to stop climate change and create good-paying jobs in the process.  Key focus on Environmental justice.