We Want Climate Action Now: Climate Action: I don’t know jack shit about activism I need guidance

Friday 18 October 2019

Climate Action: I don’t know jack shit about activism I need guidance

Question:

Yo! So it’s been established that most pollution issues are caused by corporations and organisations, rather than individuals.

What now? How does one go about putting pressure on them/getting things to change? Start where?? I don’t know jack shit about activism I need guidance

hope-for-the-planet answered:

This is a great question and I’m sorry I took so long to get to it.

The short answer is: Find other people working on the same problem you want to tackle and join them.

It doesn’t matter if you aren’t sure how to start making a difference if you can find a group/organization that has been working on it for a while and already knows what they are doing.

Two additional pieces of advice: 1) I recommend joining a cause that you’re passionate about/interested in or that fits your skill set.
It will be more rewarding for you and easier to stick with it. 2) If you’re joining/supporting/fundraising for a bigger organization it doesn’t hurt to do a little research on them to make sure they’re reputable and actually making a difference with the resources they are given.

If you’re interested in boots-on-the-ground political activism in particular, checking out the Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion would probably be good places to start (I believe the Sunrise Movement is fairly US-centric).

However, environmental activism can take many forms: You could volunteer with a tree planting or habitat restoration project. You could help campaign for environmentally friendly politicians or laws. You could volunteer at a local nature center, zoo, or aquarium to educate people about conservation and habitat loss. You could fundraise for or donate to an environmental cause.

To quote environmental activist Bill McKibben:

“Part of the problem is that climate change seems so big that it’s hard to conceive that any individual action on our part could work. When people ask me ‘What can I, as an individual, do to save the planet?’ I say, **‘The most important thing you can do is be less of an individual’**”