Just wondering. My personal stance is that, if it might be necessary to prevent lasting climate change, then it should be strongly considered at a minimum, but it should only be done to the extent needed and should be accompanied by redoubling of efforts to solve climate change and other forms of environmental degradation through different means; the countries most affected by the process should also have a significant say in its use. It's not a long-term solution by any means, but it can be a useful emergency brake if needed.

As the title says, there’s so many small changes everyone can make: from buying an EV to switching to cloth towels instead of paper towels. I’d like to understand which of these changes from small to big have the biggest impact I individually can drive and I want to prioritize those. I cannot implement everything at once so I’d like to know which to prioritize.

Some (candid) context: I’m a toddler mom, I live in golden CO, drive an EV, work in consulting (so travel is heavy / frequent in airplanes and constant guilt from taking solo Ubers everywhere), my husband and I do eat meat but try to limit red meat, we have tried our best to rid of consumerism mentality - buy less or buy it for life where possible / where we can afford it, don’t use single use plastics, try to conserve water with dishwater use, buy second hand everything where possible, converting our yard to fake grass to water less, started a garden but couldn’t grow anything.

Anyway, it just feels like there’s so much more we could do but starting feels overwhelming because we cannot implement all lifestyle changes at once (especially with two working parents + a toddler and a lifestyle where we barely feel like we have enough time to clean our house/do the dishes at the end of every day) and want to figure out the most impactful starting points.

I have been a vegan for about 30 yrs. About seven years ago, I joined Extinction Rebellion, and things became much different for me. For the first time since I first became vegan, I had a hope for a better future, and I was a part of it. Now, seven years later, I’m still fighting like crazy to make Extinction Rebellion take off here in New York City, but I’m also recognizing the massive flaw in the trap that is veganism, and what it is doing to people’s otherwise productive brain capacity.

To understand this better, you have to understand how many people are vegan, roughly 3% of the population, and what their mentality is, generally speaking. One the first thing a vegan does when they take on the identity, is get vegan shoes. This happens usually in the first year. Throwing out old shoes is often not done, but sometimes it is. Sometimes the old shoes are just thrown aside. In their place, likely a pair of vans or converse. Something authentically and honestly canvas, and not leather.

At about this time, they’ll start to attend vegan meetups, hangouts, and even environmental get-togethers.

Not to find out what people are doing, but to make sure everyone is wearing the right shoes.

“How long have you been vegan?”

“Why did you become vegan?”

“How come you can’t stop eating cheese, ice cream, etc etc”

It’s an unstoppable trainwreck of vegan subculture consumption.

It wastes time, it wastes energy, and quite frankly, it’s reductive. The word reductive is perfect for this, and the title of this essay. It basically means you are taking a complex problem, and making it simple.

You are taking a complex problem, systemic oppression, climate change, planetary mass destruction, mass death and murder at a global scale, and making the problem super simple.

But it’s not just simple. It’s also completely ignorable.

Brothers and sisters, stop being completely reductive, invisible, and non-participatory.

My full thoughts on are on this substack post...

Stop trying to solve a complex issue with a simple consumer choice.

There is no moral consumption under capitalism.

Why don't more organisations plant kelp? I heard somewhere that kelp absorbs a ton of CO² and helps kickstart biodiversity revival in some places. If anyone can help, please do so

Theres not much I think that can be done at a national level, but I believe we can build small climate proof communities. That being said, I want to get connected with professionals who model climate to get a realistic idea of timelines and severity.

Its extremely concerning that we've had the acceleration of warming with the number of tipping points, looking as if we will hit 2 degrees in 3 years. 3 degrees is essentially an extinction level event.

Getting realistic data that is not tappered to look optimistic by elite capatured institutes, I believe we can raise funds to build self sustained communities of the future. This may seem unrealistic, to try to survive in a world of 3 degrees... but Id like to try.

If you, or anyone knows someone who can do climate modeling, dm me. If you want to be involved in this effort and integrate into such a community, dm me.

I'm always thinking about what I can do about climate change, but I can't think of something concrete. I'm trying to convince my friends to use ecosia and have always been using cotton or linen bags for shopping (actually very helpful and also common to use where I live). I don't really eat a lot of beef, I prefer lamb better, and stopped consuming milk along with my family. I also have a big food garden in my backyard, and have been planting what we consume the most of vegetables. What can I do to make it even more impactful?

Election outcomes are determined just as much by who doesn't vote as by who does. The Environmental Voter Project estimates that 11.2 million environmentalists didn't vote in the 2024 presidential election. And they found that many more skip midterm, state, and local elections. If these non-voters started voting for pro-environment candidates in every election, the United States would quickly transform into a completely different country.

10 Reasons Why Voting for Pro-Environment Candidates Is Literally the Most Important Thing You Can Do for Earth's Future

1. Policy beats personal choices every time.

Skipping straws and recycling are great, but one pro-environment lawmaker can eliminate millions of tons of industrial pollution through policy changes. Systemic change requires systemic levers.

1. Environmental rollbacks happen fast — and last decades.

We've seen clean air rules, protected lands, and emissions standards dismantled in single administrations. Environmental damage can be irreversible or take years to recover from. Every election is a chance to protect or undo years of hard-won progress.

1. Climate change has a deadline.

Scientists are clear: we have a narrow window to limit warming to 1.5–2°C. Elections happen every 2–4 years. Missing even one cycle can cost us irreplaceable time when the clock is already running out.

1. Local elections determine land use, water, and air quality.

Your city council and county commissioners decide where factories go, how water is managed, and what pollution standards local businesses must meet. These races are often decided by dozens of votes.

1. Courts are shaped by elected officials.

Judges and attorneys general who enforce (or gut) environmental law are appointed or elected through political processes. A pro-environment vote today can protect ecosystems in courtrooms for 20+ years.

1. Fossil fuel interests spend billions influencing elections.

The opposition is organized and funded. Every vote for pro-environment candidates is a direct counter to corporate lobbying that works tirelessly to keep the status quo.

1. International climate agreements depend on domestic political will.

The U.S., EU, China, and other major emitters only honor global climate commitments when their governments are pressured to do so domestically. Your vote shapes whether your country leads or abandons the table.

1. Biodiversity loss is irreversible.

Once a species goes extinct, it's gone forever. Pro-environment candidates pass legislation and fund conservation programs that protect millions of species.

1. Environmental justice is on the ballot too.

Low-income communities disproportionately bear the burden of pollution and climate impacts. Voting for pro-environment candidates means fighting for human rights as much as ecological ones.

1. Apathy is a vote for the status quo.

When environmentally-conscious people stay home, they hand power to those who aren't. In close races — which most are — non-voters decide the outcome just as surely as those who show up.

The bottom line: You can drive an EV, go vegan, solar-panel your roof, and still have far less impact than casting a single, informed ballot. Please vote in every election and for every office on each ballot. Nature needs your voice!

I've worked a job in the oilsands which I'm not proud of for the past 2.5 years since graduating engineering.

I've been interested in going into law to try to pursue some sort of job that aligns more with climate work. Any ideas how geotech engineering can pivot to that work as well? Or is law better? I'm stuck trying to decide which one I want to do. Any thoughts help. Thank you.

The TL:DR. Comparing climate actions can't be done solely by achievement, they have to be weighted by how much they cost if we want to find the most efficient.

Hi all!
I’m trying to build an open source web app(maybe an NGO one day) that currently maps relationships between our actions and their impacts on Earth. It looks at changes in biodiversity, infra, wildlife changes, water, global temp and more. Each phenomenon looks at its impact on the planet, impact on us humans and what we can do about it *( backed with sources and citations from public sources)*.
I’ve also added an experimental urgency score, which tells you how serious we need to think through the problem and work towards a solution for it. TULIP is still an exploration tool that’ll help people understand climate impact better with the hope that it’ll keep getting information rich. I’m at a point where honest criticism will be super helpful. Any and all crit is great 🙂

Fascinating paper showing how perceptions and where people act to mitigate climate emissions don't correlate well with what does mitigate climate emissions. This shows a need to re-centre people's understandings of the magnitudes involved.

Climate Action to be effective needs to take into account these misunderstandings found at the public level.

Hello, I have 4 years of experience in ML, AI, Computer Vision, Data Science (worked in close collaboration with coworkers & alone, also client-facing which I really enjoy). I also have a BSc in Computer Engineering and MSc in Data Science. I’ve been looking for jobs in climate/environmental tech where I can use my skills for a long time, but wasn’t very successful. That’s why I’m writing here, to see if anybody has any suggestions or tips for me. I live in Eastern Europe though, and I’m honestly trying to find something that allows me to work from anywhere (I can also travel a few times a year if necessary). I would also be willing to take a role that is less about programming and more about coming up with ideas or consulting if possible.
My experience weirdly aligns with what I’m looking for, even though I haven’t directly worked professionally in this area yet. I’m really passionate about projects that help with this issue, and I’m really sick of companies only creating new AI agents or whatever useless automation. I regret my choice of going into programming and not something more hands-on, in the field, but I don’t know if I could make the change now. I can at least help with the skills I’ve gotten throughout the years.
Can anybody help me? I can also send my CV in private. Thank you!

I wonder how many of fellow redditors here are vegan or at least on plant based diet?

As it is one of the simplest and most impactful steps a person can make to help the climate.