'Denier' in White House? You can still take climate-change action.
In January a vocal opponent of climate action will become President of the United States, with the support of a Republican-controlled Congress where many lawmakers show little interest in curbing greenhouse-gas emissions.
But even as this week鈥檚 election casts new doubts over US policies and over international efforts to address climate change, one important thing won鈥檛 change when Donald Trump becomes president: You can do something to mitigate climate change.
Individuals can act on their own, as families, and as participants in businesses, churches, local governments, and other institutions.
鈥淚n a perfect world, all forms of decisionmaking would be aligned to solve this gigantic problem鈥� of climate change, says Jonathan Foley, executive director of the California Academy of Sciences.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 live in that world,鈥� he adds. 鈥淪o if just one lever of decisionmaking, though perhaps the biggest, starts to be undermined for climate change, the others will have to work a little harder, I guess.鈥�
The implications of Mr. Trump鈥檚 presidency on the environment and climate change may remain unclear for months. But some of his statements during the election campaign stand in sharp contrast to a strong consensus among climate scientists that Earth鈥檚 temperatures are rising, that this poses major risks to ecosystems and human societies, and that human emissions of heat-trapping gases are the root problem to address.
Besides suggesting that climate change is a , during his campaign he also to repeal the Clean Power Plan and other regulations curbing greenhouse gas emissions, called for boosting fossil fuel development, and pull the US out of the 195-nation Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions.
Rising individual concern
The American public, however, is more concerned about global warming that any time since the Great Recession, , though the issue has become deeply politicized.
鈥淭he public is way ahead of where the politicians are,鈥� said Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters, in a press call on Wednesday. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing more and more examples of individual efforts people can take, and that鈥檚 only going to grow and grow.鈥�
For the 64 percent of Americans (per Gallup) who are concerned about climate change, many may now be wondering what they can do, personally, to tackle climate change.
鈥淣o one can do a real shift on this issue alone, but everybody can do something,鈥� says Per Espen Stoknes, co-chair of the Center for Climate Strategy at the Norwegian Business School. 鈥淓specially in the coming four years, these types of actions are even more needed than before.鈥�
He cites four types of action: what a person can do as a consumer, as an employee, as an owner, and as a citizen.
As consumers, people can look for the most efficient, environment-friendly option when it comes to purchasing anything from a car to a lightbulb. As employees, people can encourage their workplaces to become more efficient and, if possible, make their businesses more climate-focused. People can divest from fossil fuel companies or invest in green bonds and clean energy companies; and they can become more vocal in raising public awareness around environment and climate issues.
Dr. Foley outlined similar things individuals can do in a . Meaningful actions can range from reducing food waste and eating less meat to driving and flying less. Those all reduce energy use. Another step, planting trees, can soak up carbon dioxide from the air and maybe even provide natural cooling for a home.
50-percent reduction
By simply addressing the low-hanging fruit, 鈥� like buying more efficient lights, toilets and faucets, programmable thermostats, and weatherizing doors and windows 鈥� the average US household can cut its carbon emissions by 50 percent and save money over the course of a few years.
鈥淵ou can go further, but 50 percent is not hard,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is not a sacrifice, it鈥檚 just being smarter by using less energy.鈥�
For Dr. Stoknes 鈥� author of 鈥淲hat We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming鈥� 鈥� individual actions could also amount to broader benefits.
鈥淭hey will never by themselves solve global sustainability problems, but through individual action what will happen is it influences our social norms,鈥� the psychologist and economist says.
An example of this happening is with indoor smoking, he adds, where a steady growth in public opposition 鈥� with the backing of scientific research 鈥� ultimately led to formal bans of the practice.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I strongly encourage individual actions,鈥� he says, 鈥渘ot because they will solve the climate problem, but they will gradually create this cultural shift.鈥�
Some experts are skeptical, given what they say is an urgent need for action.
鈥淓verything individuals can do helps, but it helps at the margin,鈥� says William Rees, an ecological economist at the University of British Columbia. 鈥淲e need help from society at large so those individual efforts will make a difference. Otherwise they won鈥檛.鈥�
鈥淭he heavy lifting, the major policy initiatives around energy conservation鈥hose kinds of things can only be put in place by senior levels of government and not by individuals,鈥� he says. 鈥淐limate change is a collective problem that demands collective actions by government agencies on behalf of the public interest.鈥�
'We have trouble caring'
The scale of the climate challenge doesn鈥檛 make things any easier. 鈥淏ecause we have such trouble connecting the vastness of climate change to the limited horizons of our lived experience, we have trouble caring,鈥� David Roberts for Vox in February.
Perhaps, experts hope, Trump鈥檚 election may motivate people to care more. Trump and Republicans in Congress may even become more open to changes as various larger trends 鈥� including wind power, solar power and electric cars , and coal becoming increasingly 聽鈥� continue to play out.
As an example of what can happen, Stoknes notes that Republican Richard Nixon 鈥渂ecame the president who enacted the Clean Air Act,鈥� in part because a 鈥渓arger countercultural and environmental and spiritual movement flourished in a way that had never before been seen.鈥�
And while individual action won鈥檛 solve the climate crisis by itself, experts say each bit helps.
鈥淎ll these things are heavy lifts, whether that鈥檚 policy change, or personal change, or market change, or technology change,鈥� says Foley. 鈥淣one are instantaneous or easy, but they鈥檙e doable.鈥�
鈥淚 think we have 鈥楤eltway-head,鈥� [thinking] things that can change the world happen in Washington, and that has never been the case,鈥� he adds. 鈥淢aybe the landscape has shifted, but there are many ways to solve this problem.鈥�
