Here is a list I have formed:
-Regulate Polluting Industries
-Switch to Esim
-Buy used
-Install geothermal heat pump systems
-Install smart thermostats
-Build more apartments
-Use shampoo/conditioner bars
-Put carbon labels on products
-Buy stuff at the local store
-Eat plant based
-Prioritize transit over cars
-Switch to Ecosia
-Recycle
-Give homemade gifts
-Compost
-Be organized
-Avoid synthetic cloths
-Switch to green burials
-Buy reputable carbon credits
-Mandate microfibre filters for washing machines
-Install Linux on new/old computers
-Switch to Electric car (second to public transit in funding)
-Shut down all oil operations
-Pickup litter
-Ride your bicycle instead of the car
-Adopt kids and companions instead
-Build more green spaces
-Convert animal agriculture land to wild lands
-Support repairability
-Ban private jets
-Start your own garden
-Use older cars for more than 12 years
-Keep phone for longer than 5.5 years (easy to do with fairphone,iphone, pixel, samsung or android phone with unlockable bootloader)
-Switch to renewable and nuclear techologies
-Halt all new road developments and just maintain them until transit is good enough
-Do everything to prevent and end wars
-Tax the rich and use the money for climate initiatives
-Ban all fossil fuel ads
-More widespread use of contactless payments
-Switch to bidets to save trees
-Switch to super slippery toilets to save water
-Mandate all stoves to be electric
-Build robust high sped rail network and ban flights under 4 hours.
-Require much longer warranties on consumer goods
-Require all software to become open source after the company stops developing the code
-Patents expire after 4 years
-Ban cryptominning
-Reduce concrete in constructions projects and opt for bamboo/wood construction
-Require all office work to be done from home for as much as possible
-Ban discrimination and promote affirmative action so that there isn’t lost potential or innovation from disadvantaged groups
-Improve insulation in older buildings
-Shop at refillable container stores
-Buy Fairphones as they’re the most repairable and have to 8-10 years of software support
-Buy Framework laptops as they’re user repairable upgrade-able
-Use reusable diapers for your infant/toddler
-Buy goods within your continent to avoid cargo ship bunker fuel
-Use refillable for everywhere you go
-Increase energy efficient standards with new houses with solar panels mandatory
-Increase grid interconnections
-Support political parties with green policies
-Boycott fossil fuel banks and switch to green credit unions
-Demand that your investment/retirement program switches to green projects
-Force companies to mine minerals from e-waste instead
-Give up half of the planet to nature
-Establish support networks for people who are using older gadgets/cars/clothing to encourage solutions to make goods last longer
-Create a program to recycle old clothing
-Switch to electronic documents
-Mandate higher build quality of manufactured goods
-Encourage the use of hatchbacks and sedans
-Ban oversized vehicles
-Require that water pipes have pressure management and active leak detection
-Implement waste-to-energy conversions for waste management systems (stopgap solution)
-Design cities as more walkable
-Track your government’s climate policy by visiting https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/
I will add more to list as more ideas are thought of.
Great idea, jotted down a list of things I’ve found to be impactful over the past year, some of them overlap with what’s already been posted.
Installed solar panels (according to my app, last year they produced enough MWh to equal 8.5 tons of CO2)
Trade in our ICE car for an EV (in a year has avoided 5.5 tons of CO2)
Insulated our house (attic and walls) coupled with double-pane windows. Cuts down on AC and furnace usage immensely and makes the house much more pleasant overall
Prefer 100% cotton clothing/avoid synthetic materials
Installed a Lint-Luv-R microplastic filter on our washing machine
Shop at refillable container store and avoid single-use plastic where possible
Eat more plant-based food, e.g. oat milk, rice, tofu, beans, noodles, etc.
Install a rain diverter in our downspouts to collect rain water
Reusable diapers if you have an infant/toddler. Diaper waste piles up fast
Run/walk to the gym and grocery store
Prefer items made in North America versus overseas (cargo ships burn bunker fuel )
For coffee, I bring a travel cup and ask if they can fill that instead of a plastic cup (iced) or cup with a plastic lid (hot)
Donate to reputable environmental organizations
Replace landscaping with native plants, allow pollinators to do their thing
Vote for the world you want to live in and pass on: with your time, dollar, and ballot
Trading your ICE car for an EV? So somebody else now drives your old car? Doesn’t save any CO2.
Not sure what you are suggesting the better alternative would be? Scrap it? Whoever purchased the used vehicle could have bought a new car instead (which would have required more raw materials for processing).
One common issue I noticed among environmentalists is they argue with each other about what the perfect solution should be instead of just starting somewhere. Any progress is better than nothing at the rate the climate is changing and such progress tends to compound over time.
The same as with any gadget: use it until it’s broken beyond repair.
That’s why I like subbing to old phone communities as everyone gives each-other support in breathing in new life to their old gadgets.