It’s no surprise that with climate change, the hottest summer on record was June through August of 2024 in the Northern Hemisphere. This fact may be scary and worrisome to most, but I think of it as more of an opportunity to create a better world in the future.
While corporations and their billionaire owners are the ones mainly responsible for the climate crisis we’re currently facing, there are small changes we can practice to rebel against the fossil-fuel giants and massive companies behind this mess.
1. Don’t buy from the big guy
Yes, going to your closest Walmart or other name-brand store can be quite convenient. However, taking the time to find your local small businesses to do your shopping will go a long way in reducing your carbon footprint. These big stores are notorious for factory-like working conditions, and the quality of the items you’re buying just doesn’t stack up. Local stores are also better because they will likely have less imported (therefore greener) products.
2. Eat green
Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to go vegan and cut all animal products out of your diet, although that’s perfectly fine by me. What I mean is opting for locally grown vegetables, fruit, and pasture-raised meat and dairy. When purchasing meat in particular, we should try local as possible to ensure less CO2 emissions from transport. Organic produce is also a great way to reduce your environmental impact as the use of harmful pesticides can affect us and other animals.
3. Use, and then re-use
It’s a single-use economy right now and it’s hard to not want to throw out your plastic sandwich bag when you’re done with it. There are alternatives, though. Instead of using those microplastic-spreading bags, opt for a beeswax wrap to keep sandwiches fresh all day. You can also use reusable silicone sandwich bags. These products can be found at your local zero-waste store or most small grocery businesses. Glass and metal water bottles are also preferable to their plastic cousins. If you can, try purchasing a good quality non-plastic water bottle—you’ll thank me later.
4. Greener transportation
A super easy way to reduce your carbon footprint is to ditch the one-person car ride during your commute. Instead, try to find people to carpool with, take public transit, or even bike when the weather is nice. Victoria has some really great bike infrastructure, especially going to and from school and the downtown core. You just have to find what works best for you. The buses run regularly, and using the Umo app from your phone makes it a breeze to get from point A to point B. There are also designated carpool spots at Camosun if you’re able to get some classmates together and create a carpooling schedule.
5. Do your research
When the scandalous list of the top 100 polluters in the world came out, I decided to do a little digging. What I found was these companies have their coal-smeared fingers in many different pies. It’s worth investigating where the products we buy and use come from. If we can reduce our reliance on these conglomerates, we can reduce their emissions by proxy. Some may call it a boycott, some may just call it looking for the greener grass.
This list is not at all exhaustive, and you most certainly don’t have to do all of them, but I think that these small steps can help us in the long run to make our Earth a happy one.