What an individual person can do to handle "Climate change."

Bangladesh erosion along river cuts a town in the middle, an increasing threat from global warming.



Global climate change is a burning issue, having significance of infinite time, simultaneously requiring higher attention for life’s existence in future. I read a lot about steps taken by various communities of society of countries like USA, Australia, Denmark and India; then I pondered over what an individual of a developing nation (like me) can do to handle this problem of global climate change. Though as per statistics one might say developing countries possess lesser causes of originating the trouble, I feel with our (India’s) growth rate, population and aspirations it’ll be very helpful if we think about our duties before they arrive with urgency, as they’ve in developed countries like America. I have listed a few common things one individual of a developing nation and to much extent a developed nation can do for helping positively in movement for “Global climate change.”

Making various personal choices can be an effective method of fighting climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency's Personal Emissions Calculator is a tool for measuring the impact that individual choices (often money saving) can have.


(1) Shopping: By making strategic consumer choices, one can reduce the production of greenhouse gases. Purchasing energy-efficient products helps reduce the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. For example, aluminium packaging has a much more energy intensive production process than plastic packaging, and therefore higher greenhouse emission.
(2) Recycling: Buying products that are reusable or recyclable, or contain reduced packaging, can save a significant part of the energy and resources required for manufacturing new goods. By recycling paper, cardboard, glass or metal, an average family could reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by up to one ton annually. Cutting down on products used around the home, especially power-intensive electric products such as desktops, can have a large effect on overall emissions.
(3) Public transport: More frequent use of public transportation helps the environment by reducing the time spent in cars. Boats and ferries are the most efficient method of fossil fuel transport, followed by trains, then buses. Aeroplanes can be more than ten times less energy-efficient than cars. Walking is the least impactful mode of transportation, followed by the bicycle, whose usage produces no carbon emissions. (Even though the manufacturing of bicycles can emit carbon dioxide and other pollutants.)
(4) Trees: Protecting forests and planting new trees contributes to the absorption of carbon dioxide from the air. There are many opportunities to plant trees in the yard, along roads, in parks, and in public gardens. In addition, some charities plant fast-growing trees -- to help people in tropical developing countries restore the productivity of their lands. Conversely, clearing old-growth forests adds to the carbon in the atmosphere, so buying non-old-growth paper is good for the climate as well as the forest.
(5) Labels: The Energy Star label can be seen on many household appliances, home electronics, office equipment, heating and cooling equipment, windows, residential light fixtures, and other products. Energy Star products use less energy.
Green Electricity Watch is an independent ranking of GreenPower electricity products offered by Australian electricity retailers, providing consumers with a simple guide to all the GreenPower products available and which ones make a real difference in reducing global warming. Similar labels are can be found in India as well.
(6) Cars: Buying a car can be a weighty decision. Purchasing an energy-efficient vehicle helps to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.
(7) Renewable energy: The use of alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro energy, is gaining increased support worldwide. The wind energy produced in Denmark, for example, provides about 10 percent of the country's total energy needs. These methods of energy production emit no greenhouse gases once they are up and running. Many energy suppliers in various countries worldwide have options to purchase part or pure "green energy."
(8) Carbon offsets: The principle of carbon offset is thus: one decides that they don't want to be responsible for accelerating climate change, and they've already made efforts to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, so they decide to pay someone else to further reduce their net emissions by planting trees or by taking up low-carbon technologies. Every unit of carbon that is absorbed by trees -- or not emitted due to your funding of renewable energy deployment -- offsets the emissions from their fossil fuel use. In many cases, funding of renewable energy, energy efficiency, or tree planting -- particularly in developing nations -- can be a relatively cheap way of making an individual "carbon neutral".
(9) Using less animal products: The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization reports that rearing livestock contributes more greenhouse gases than all fossil fuel burning combined.
(10) Writing letters, direct lobbying politically, public shaming for careless industries, using improved machinery, posting relevant documentations over blog or forum, community organizing specially with children and youth involved in favouring activities etc. can help vigorously.
(11) Quitting smoking can also be profiting to one as an individual as well as the whole society by reducing emission of greenhouse gases like carbon mono and di oxide. All practices we apply for curbing all sorts of pollutions (chiefly “Air”) must also be run.

Many other means can also be utilized, just a few moments of thinking and you might enlist more, so now for Yours Own Sake DO HELP!
Devashish Mishra
(Nucleusfermi).