Magnify Your Voice

Call your representative or join an advocacy group to amplify your voice.

We will solve climate change only if we invest heavily in clean new technologies, and it is governments that must either make those investments or encourage them. Our government will support these actions only if we rise up and demand them.


We at Ride for Climate are promoting the 350 campaign. It is an international campaign to call for the nations of the world to adopt a goal of 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This goal is an enormous challenge - currently, the concentration of CO2 is past this limit, at 390 parts per million and climbing. Yet many scientists believe that 350 parts per million is the "safe" level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Visit 350.org, and participate in the October 24th day of action.

            
If you are in high school, check out the Alliance for Climate Education. If you are in college join Powershift and the Energy Action Coalition. People of all ages can sign on to the We Campaign. Or you can join the Brita Climate Ride and bicycle to Washington DC and speak directly to your legislators.

Travel

Travel? I know what you are saying. Isn't travel part of the problem?

Yes, travel. Global warming is a global problem that requires us to work together as a world to solve. And there is no better way to improve your global citizenship than by seeing the world yourself. No website, presentation, or book can substitute for your own experiences. We need a generation of people to take a global perspective, and who care about our global community.


If you are still in school, study abroad. If you are a high school student, you can take a year off before college and participate in Global Citizen Year.

Live Better

There are many ways to reduce your impact on the globe and improve your quality of life. For instance, most Americans eat twice as much meat as is recommended by the FDA, and consequently we are less healthy. The production of meat - largely because it requires large quantitites of grain to feed livestock, and growing lots of grain means that forests are cut down--is responsible for perhaps as much as one fifth of all greenhouse gas pollution. Just modestly reducing our meat consumption will keep us healthier, and also reduce pollution.

Also, you can sometimes ride a bike instead of driving. If it isn't safe to bicycle in your community, then tell your local elected officials that you want better bikeways. While bicycles may not be best for longer trips, for trips under two miles they are just about as quick as a car, far better for you, and also a lot of fun.

Furthermore, upgrade your home to an energy efficient house. Get a home energy audit, or replace inefficient appliances and light bulbs. In almost all cases, investing in energy efficiency will save you money in the long run, making you richer. Visit The Home Energy Saver and preform an on-line energy audit of your house to see how much you could save.

What you do Matters

If you are reading this, you are likely in the wealthiest twenty percent of the world's population. Though the entire world will be affected by climate change, those of us with wealth - for better or worse - have a larger say over the future. You likely have the resources to invest in new cleaner technology and you also pollute far more than the average world citizen, and thus you can reduce your pollution far more than the average person. Feel empowered to make a difference.

If you want to see how you compare to the average person in the world, visit Global Rich List and compare your income to the rest of the citizens of the world.