10 things everyday people can do to help stop global climate change

The following article was in my local paper: https://www.peninsulanewsreview.com/news/top-10-climate-change-myths-debunked/.
It was fine as far as it went, but my pet peeve with such things, is that there was not a single link or suggestion about what people could/should do about climate change. My first thought was to send an article to them suggesting some of those things. My second thought was to get some permies to give me your opinions on the subject, and what order you would put them in. So, please help!

"10 things everyday people can do in their homes, back-yards and communities starting now, to help stop global climate change."

1. Heat yourself, not your house. Example: an electric bed-warmer turned on for 1 hour before bedtime gives heat where needed, rather than heating the air in the room.
2. Plant a tree - preferably one that provides a useful crop.
3. Don't use either fertilizer or herbicide on your lawn, and adjust your mower to mow 4 inches high. The first two kill the natural micro-organisms that your lawn needs to be independently healthy. Mowing it high 1) decreases the percentage of grass removed when mowing, 2) conserves water by shading the soil, 3) encourages longer roots and 4) if you also leave the grass clippings, it will sequester carbon rather than adding carbon to the atmosphere.
4. Use a clothes rack or line to dry your clothes. Only wash clothes that are actually dirty.
5. Repair or buy used before buying new. Make things last by doing proper maintenance.

I will keep thinking of more things, but the floor is open!

I haven't read the stuff in the link, but I'll play along.

Live where you work or very close by. Commuting is such a waste of resources and your life.

Jay mentioned planting a tree. That tree might get lonely, so let's plant a forest. I'm currently searching for parcels between 25 and 200 acres of tropical scrubland with a plan to reforest most of it.

When your gas car dies, get an electric one. Then get some solar panels if you're all torn up about how they produce the power.

Recycling is fine, but if we just refuse to buy the majority of things that we do buy, we use a whole lot less resources.

Now I'm going to give a look at that article and I'll be back. That didn't take long. I got a message saying tab crashed three times trying to go into it.

If you must have cut grass, use an electric lawn mower. But sheep and chicken tractors are a better way to keep grass short.

Don't hire people who are incredibly wasteful. By keeping money out of their hands, you reduce their consumption.

Thanks for your input Dale. Yes, I was tempted to encourage more than one tree, but we're aiming at urban beginners here! I recall having issues with that paper's links before. If you shove the title into goole, it might work better. I thought it was just my antiquated software giving me grief. I'd copy and paste it, but would that be illegal even if I identified the author clearly?

I thought of two more myself last night:
6. Drink tap water. Pop, juices, etc require bottles, transportation, usually high fructose corn syrup grown as a mono-crop with huge fossil fuel input and create garbage (and too often litter!)
7. Eat locally produced foods in season. Better yet, grow some of it yourself.

I'm tempted to put "drink water" at the top of the list as I'm *totally* tired of seeing Timmy and McCafe cups discarded on the roadside. In BC there are 5 cent or more deposits on glass or plastic drink bottles and that's at least some encouragement for people to pick them up (although I've campaigned to have those rates that have been in place for over 20 years increased to match cost of living). Maybe it people were charged for disposable cups they'd bring their own more often.

I think the deposit rates should rise for a number of reasons. Here in Victoria many of the down and outers rely on discarded containers as a way to make a meager income. Higher deposits would mean more money and that they would go to places where the pickings aren't as good.

We have some of the cleanest water in the world here but I still see people drinking from plastic bottles. I don't have the time or the legal authority to slap them all, so maybe higher deposit rates would help.

Dale Hodgins wrote:

I think the deposit rates should rise for a number of reasons. Here in Victoria many of the down and outers rely on discarded containers as a way to make a meager income. Higher deposits would mean more money and that they would go to places where the pickings aren't as good.

That is essentially the logic I used when suggesting the increase, but "economics" (read the power of big business) was touted as the reason not to. So many of our homeless have mental health issues that giving them a way to earn money when they're up to it with no strings attached seemed to me a humane way to go. A nickle's better than nothing - Ontario doesn't have a pop-bottle type deposit and the increase in litter was noticeable.

grow a garden

install a rocket mass heater