Individual Actions

We began compiling this list in December 2019 and added some suggestions since. Some of these steps are relatively easy to take, others not so much. We need to find out how useful and effective these steps might be in order to make good recommendations. Possible effectiveness depends on the amount of public support that is engaged. Civil disobedience and other similar direct actions are not included.

#	Action	Drawdown Category	Personal Cost/Savings Impact
1	Stop using plastic straws	Materials	$
2	Buy an EV	Transport	$$$$
3	Install solar panels	Energy	$$$
4	Compost waste foods, garden waste	Food	$
5	Engage in recycle programs	Food	$
6	Invest in clean energy ETF ICLN	unlisted	$
7	Buy ‘green’ products	Materials	$
8	Subscribe to digital versions of newspapers	Materials	$
9	Use renewable sources for heating	Energy	$$
10	Don’t burn wood for heating – leave the trees standing	Energy	$
11	Use public transport	Transport	$
12	Walk whenever feasible	Transport	$
13	Bike whenever feasible	Buildings & Cities	$
14	Don’t fly anywhere	Transport	$$
15	Take vacations nearby	Transport	$
16	Decommission non EV/RVs	Transport	$
17	Buy loose grocery goods over packaged goods	Materials	$
18	Grow your own vegetables whenever feasible	Food	$
19	Participate in allotments/community gardens for produce	Food	$
20	Buy local (until trucks are EV)	Food	$
21	Upgrade residential insulation	Buildings & Cities	$$$$
22	Change light bulbs to LEDs	Buildings & Cities	$
23	Buy clothes made with natural fibres (no acrylics, polyesters, nylon, etc.)	Materials	$
24	Wear out clothes before replacing.	Materials	$
25	Buy replacement clothes at thrift stores (while supplies last)	Materials	$
26	Downsize your home	Buildings & Cities	$$$$
27	Eat less meat	Food	$$
28	Don’t use single use plastic containers	Materials	$
29	Use reusable (e.g. glass or metal) containers	Materials	$
30	Use a washing line instead of a drier.	Energy	$
31	Teleconference instead of in person meetings	Transport	$$
32	Paint roofs white	Energy	$$
33	Cutup Credit Cards of banks that fund FFI	none	symbolic
34	Buy replacement fridges with non-HFC refrigerants (e.g. R600a aka iso-butane GWP=3)	Materials	$$

Color Key

• Initial Cost to the individual is shown in red.
• Any net savings enjoyed by the individual is shown in green.
• Items in black are expected to have no net impact on costs or savings.

Some actions may only work if the effects aren’t displaced on to others. For example down sizing a home only really works if the large homes are taken out of the pool or at least left unoccupied. Similarly buying an EV to replace an internal combustion engine (ICE) car only really works if the ICE is taken off the road. The actual CO₂ impact of the above have not been compiled.

Options should be evaluated on the Four E’s:

• Engineering feasibility
• Economic return on investment.
• Environmental return on CO₂ equivalent emissions
• Emotional connection by the individual

If all four are go – it’s a no brainer.