top of page
Writer's pictureKrista Kurth, Ph.D.

Focusing Your Climate Action to Fit Your Life

Updated: Nov 22, 2019

One of the key drivers of what we do in our daily lives is how many resources we have to contribute to any cause. We all have many competing priorities that pull at our time and pocketbooks.


Image of camera lens focused on a lake and mountains

In my last blog post I helped you identify the level of contribution you can make. In this post I explore how you can pair your resource and contribution levels to determine the focus of your climate action.


How much time, energy, and money do you have to dedicate to addressing the climate crisis?

When we marry the level of resources we have with the amount of contribution we want to make, we can identify which climate actions are the best fit for us. The following Climate Action Grid outlines the six categories that result from pairing these two scales.


Note: The contribution scale is cumulative: chickens will also focus on climate action at home, and pigs will also focus on climate action in the community and home.



Section One: Nest Tender

Image of ostrich sitting on nest

The Nest Tender prefers to focus his contributions on

the home front. Since he has less time, energy and/or money to use, he concentrates on making what he already does more climate friendly.


For instance, he can add more meatless meals into the weekly menu, buy wind or solar energy through an alternative energy producer linked to his local utility, recycle and buy items made from recycled materials, and put in LED bulbs.


Image of ostrich picking up sticks to build a nest

Section Two: Nest Builder

The Nest Builder also prefers to focus on the home

front, but since she has more resources to spend, she

can create a nest with more climate friendly features.

She can insulate her house, install energy saving

appliances, lease solar panels, drive a hybrid or

electric vehicle, buy wind energy credits to offset her carbon footprint, and canvas for environmentally savvy political candidates.


Section Three: Free-Range Chicken

Image of free range chickens in a field

Free-Range Chickens are interested in community action and taking action at home. They make the same changes in their daily lives as the Nest Tenders but

add in some low resource community action.


They sign petitions to ask local governments and companies to implement green solutions, make small donations to climate action groups, and buy food from local farmers.


Image of hens

Section Four: Ruler of the Roost

Rulers of the Roost have more resources (time and

money), so besides doing much of what the

previous sectors do, they are more active in their

communities.


They play an organizing role in the climate groups in

their communities, lobby local and state governments to pass climate solution legislation, and make larger donations to climate action groups.


Section Five: Piglet

Image of a piglet in water

A Piglet is so committed to climate action, he does whatever he can within his means to support systemic climate solutions. He takes action at home, in his community, and at the national and global level.


He is likely to take a position with a climate focused organization so he can spend most of his day working on solutions, or lobbying Congress to pass legislation like then New Green Deal.


Image of a hog in water

Section Six: Whole Hog

As the label suggests, this climate animal goes all out

in devoting her life to working on the climate issue.

She does everything she can as an individual,

community member, and global citizen to address the

climate crisis.


She speaks out, often stands on the front lines at rallies and protests where she will risk being arrested, and she gives as much money as she can to solving the situation.

In which sector do you see yourself right now? Can you imagine yourself taking broader action on climate and moving into another sector?

In future posts, I’ll provide a more comprehensive list of actions for each of these six categories. However, I want to first outline a way for you to sort through all the climate actions you could take. Keep an eye out for the next few blogs to find out which major category of solutions most appeals to you.

 

I’d love to know what’s grabbing your attention or what questions are running through your mind. Let me know in the comments section.


If you’d like to be notified when I’ve posted a new article on my blog, please sign up here. (Scroll to bottom of Home page for contact form). I promise I won’t send more than one email a week.


If you missed my earlier posts taking climate action you can find them here.

54 views1 comment

Recent Posts

See All

1 Comment


scotkurth
Nov 22, 2019

Well, I guess that puts you in the whole hog sector, and we, as aspiring little piglets. Love it! fits all, and we can all make small steps in the right direction, all of us.

Like
bottom of page