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.