21 Steps to Cool The Climate

1. Imagine a climate with 350ppm of carbon – that’s the safe level of carbon in the air according to climate scientists – it’s a World with biodiversity and ecosystems in balance – imagine that as you take steps towards it!

2. Embrace the Challenge! The process may not be easy but it will be and feel rewarding. Know that impossible is nothing and when you embrace the challenge you will activate your superpowers as you take the steps!

3. Stay curious A love of learning keeps us open to new scientific discoveries – and there are new ways to go carbon negative every day! The solutions to return our climate to the safe level of 350ppm already exist – it’s just on us to act faster and get our political and business leaders to also!

4. Resolve to evolve Want to make better carbon choices everyday? Big and little ones add up – or subtract! Suriname and Bhutan are carbon negative right now and Finland is legally committing itself to the same by 2040! If countries can do it, we can resolve to evolve too – it’s a day to day process!

5. Hangout in nature Experiencing the outdoors – a hike, a swim in the ocean, being with trees – is a great way to recharge and contemplate our actions. When we connect with nature, we connect with life and it’s also an antidote for climate anxiety (as it is with Simon and Billy in cartoons here and here).5

6. Calculate your carbon footprint by clicking on Peep – while an honest appraisal may not be easy, it’s part of looking in the mirror and seeing where we need to adjust our actions.

7. Reduce Nearly everything we buy has a carbon footprint – so by needing and buying less stuff (and with less packaging) we lower it.

If you don’t already, check out local thrift shops, farmers’ markets, and yard sales. You can find great deals, boost your second hand/local economy, while also lowering your overall carbon footprint.

And when you do buy new, buy local high quality which is more likely to last and have a lower carbon footprint than imported products.

8. Reuse From reusable containers to reusable bags for shopping – our little actions make a big difference.

The more times you reuse something, the less trees get chopped down or oil is extracted from the ground to make throw-away products.

9. Recycle It takes lots of extra energy to make things from scratch! Making cans from recycled aluminum for example uses 90% less energy compared to newly mined aluminum.

10. Compost Composting your food scraps helps reduce your overall carbon emissions while enriching the soil with nutrients too! Get a backyard compost bin, start one at school, or check out a local service if you don’t have a yard.

11. Be Energy Smart Think green and conserve energy in addition to buying Energy Star appliances. Simple things like turning off lights you’re not using or putting on a sweater instead of blasting the heat in the winter will lower your bills and carbon footprint.

12. Dry Clothes in The Sun By using a clothes line and hanging your things out to dry, you’ll save money and reduce TONS of your carbon footprint!

13. Travel Smarter If you can bike, travel by public transport or electric car, you’ll be able to cut back a lot on your carbon footprint. Airplane travel, fyi, is a huge carbon emitter!

14. Eat Less Meat or Go Vegan A plant-based diet reduces your carbon footprint. Studies vary, but the range in carbon reduction can be from 3% to 30%. And you’d be reducing animal suffering too – a double win.

15. Buying Local Reduces Your Carbon Footprint Buying locally made instead of imported products reduces your carbon emissions – it’s not always easy to find locally made products but check out labels before a purchase.

16. Use Less Water Low-flow shower heads and toilets, five-minute showers instead of baths, are among the ways to lower water and power usage. Buying Energy Star appliances also reduces water usage, which results in using less energy and lowering your carbon emissions too!

17. Grow A Garden It’s super gratifying to grow a vegetable garden and there are no ‘food miles’ – carbon emissions from food traveling to your plate – except of course the travel for the seeds you might buy!

18. Grow A Tree Plant a tree with your family, friends, school, or local eco group! Planting native trees and a long-term commitment to their growth helps sequester carbon!

19. Raise Money for Carbon Capture After doing everything you can to reduce your carbon footprint, you’ll still have a carbon footprint for which you’ll need to spend money for carbon capture. Henry, on right, had a cool the climate bake sale and raised $230 to go carbon negative and gave the money to one of the groups in step 20!

20. Cool The Climate! If you’ve done all you can to reduce your carbon footprint, well done! There’s one final step now to offset and go carbon negative – spending some money on a reputable non-profit or company that removes carbon from the atmosphere. Click on the Earth to see our recommendations. We collectively must remove more carbon than we emit from the air to cool the climate – let’ do it!

21. Be An Activist! While our individual actions are super important, activism and civic involvement is a vital part of the climate movement. Do you like attending marches? Writing letters to politicians? Making calls or raising money for eco groups? Voicing your opinion and taking community action is vitally important to your country’s energy transition to renewables.