When it comes to helping the environment, there are so many potential roads to go down that it can feel overwhelming. As it is better to choose one or two things and actually dodo them than it is to worry about all the things you could be doing, I have created this list of “resolutions” that are reasonable and achievable goals to incorporate sustainability and environmentalism into your new year.
Contact your representatives monthly
Most of the work regarding climate change and other threats to our planet is not going to be solved by individual actions and instead requires more widespread change. One way to push for larger change is by setting the goal to write to a representative about an environmental issue once a month.
You can choose a new issue every month or focus on one especially important to you and contact multiple representatives to push harder for more specific changes.
Join a local environmental organization
Another way to get involved in more widespread change is to not go at it alone. The new year is a great time to look for organizations you can join, and or volunteer with. Signing up to work with an environmental organization and committing yourself to it for at least a year will give you many lots of opportunities to get involved.
Set water and electricity goals
Take a look at your utility bills from the past year and see what your lowest month for water or electricity usage was and aim to use that amount or lower each month. Choosing this number will give you an achievable goal to hit.
Reduce your meat consumption
Instead of resolving to going on a diet, modify your diet to reduce the environmental impact of the food you eat. Livestock uses significantly more resources than crops.
It is estimated that a vegan diet has a 75 per cent lower carbon footprint than a diet that includes meat. However, many people are not ready to commit to cutting out meat altogether. A more manageable goal may be to set aside one day a week where no meat is consumed. Alternatively, as beef has the highest carbon footprint, you might consider cutting it out of your diet and including more sustainable meat options.
Set up an automatic monthly donation to an environmental charity
Arranging an automatic donation at the beginning of the year lets you keep up an ecologically friendly resolution without doing anything except the initial set-up and remembering to pay your credit card bill.
Commit to a sustainable renovation
It can be hard to take the leap and make big decisions about your home, but it may be time to set the goal that you will make a sustainable change to your house or apartment by the end of the year.
You can initiate or begin to save for big changes like installing solar panels or a heat pump or converting part of your yard into a pollinator garden that will help reduce the impact of floods. Alternatively, you can make smaller changes like replacing your shower head with one that is low-flow or take a day to use caulk to fill in holes that may be letting heat escape.
I hope I have given you some manageable goals that you can strive to work on in the new year. Remember that acting is the best way to manage climate anxiety and work towards a better future.
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Tags: 2025, carbon footprint, climate change, electricity goals, Environment, Environmentally Friendly, Goals, heat pump, local environmental organizations, meat consumption, new years resolution, pollinator garden, Rachael MacIntosh, represetatives, shower head, solar panels, sustainable renovation, vegan, water
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