03-10-2023 | Tara Kaufmann

Climate Change: Do My Choices Actually Matter?

Throughout the years, I’ve tried, in various ways, to live the most “sustainable” lifestyle I can. I’ve dabbled in “zero-waste” and “plastic free” commitments, engaged in political activism, composted my food waste, and stayed consistent with a vegan diet. However, in spite of (what I consider to be) all my hard work, it’s hard to escape the overarching feeling of: “does any of this really matter?” In a world poisoned with massive CO2 emissions on a global scale, an ocean full of plastic, and pesticides sprayed into the ground daily, does my little bamboo toothbrush and shampoo bar make any difference?

Within the realm of sustainability and environmentalism, one ongoing debate prevails – where should we put more of our time and resources: towards making shifts in our daily lives and routines, or towards pushing for greater systemic change?

While there is a valid rationale for the greater importance of either side, I argue that these two ideas are not opposed, but rather two deeply interconnected building blocks that help make up the beautiful toolkit we are developing to help save Mother Earth!

Individual Action Side

Before looking at the intersections between these ideologies, I want to briefly outline each side, starting with “individual action.” Broadly, each human on this planet leaves a “carbon footprint” during their daily lives, doing everything from driving, eating, turning on the lights, and washing clothes. The amount of carbon emitted from each individual varies, but it should be noted that the average individual in high-income countries produces far, far more CO2 on average than that of an individual in a lower-income country (for example, the average American produces 15 tons of CO2, while the average Brazilian produces around 2 tons).

According to Dr. Katharine Wilkonsin in her beautiful anthology “All We Can Save” (which I highly recommend reading), there are five main factors that make up an individual’s carbon footprint:

Reproduction (making more humans)
Driving personal vehicles
Flying
Energy Consumption
Diet

Looking at these statistics, the next question you may ask is, “what can I do?” The solutions correspond as so:

While lowering the population would have a positive impact on the environment, this is not a call to have fewer children, as I believe in every woman’s right to have their own autonomy. Rather, we should push towards educating women about reproductive health and rights, and family planning, so we can foster a population of people who are able to choose a family size that works best for them.
Take public transportation, bike, or walk. While this is much easier done in European countries than the U.S., the solution remains the same. Cutting back on driving as much as possible is one of the simplest climate solutions! Not to mention the other physical and mental health benefits of alternatives such as walking or biking.
Fly less! I am a big culprit of this. I fly halfway across the world to visit my family twice a year, leaving a massive carbon footprint (and sense of guilt) in my path. But I’m nowhere near athletic enough to swim across the Atlantic, so I understand the necessity of flying on occasion. However, there are incredible train systems all around the world that offer scenic views and direct routes, offering a unique, and much less impactful mode of transportation. Click here to learn more about ways you can travel sustainably! In addition, switching to video calls and online conferences is becoming the new norm, so traveling for work or business is something we are (hopefully) seeing less and less of in the future.
Energy consumption – this involves everything from washing your clothes, using your lights, heating your house, charging your computer, the list goes on. Switching to renewable energy sources is the best way to combat this, but there are many smaller shifts you can make in your daily life to conserve energy. To learn more about simple sustainable shifts, click here.
It is relatively well-known by now that a plant-based diet has many environmental benefits. This is not a call to become a strict vegan or vegetarian, though I support that choice! It is just a call to cultivate more awareness about what we eat and how it is impacting our planet. And slightly shifting your diet is a great way to take control as an individual in this climate battle – whether that means eating less meat, or meat that is produced in a more sustainable and humane way (such as pasture-raised meat, to understand more about how to sustainably consume meat, click here). Lastly, here is a nice little visual showing the carbon footprint per kilogram of the food source produced.

Systemic Change Side

According to Dr. Katharine Wilkonsin in her beautiful anthology “All We Can Save” (which I highly recommend reading), there are five main factors that make up an individual’s carbon footprint:

Reproduction (making more humans)
Driving personal vehicles
Flying
Energy Consumption
Diet

Looking at these statistics, the next question you may ask is, “what can I do?” The solutions correspond as so:

While lowering the population would have a positive impact on the environment, this is not a call to have fewer children, as I believe in every woman’s right to have their own autonomy. Rather, we should push towards educating women about reproductive health and rights, and family planning, so we can foster a population of people who are able to choose a family size that works best for them.
Take public transportation, bike, or walk. While this is much easier done in European countries than the U.S., the solution remains the same. Cutting back on driving as much as possible is one of the simplest climate solutions! Not to mention the other physical and mental health benefits of alternatives such as walking or biking.
Fly less! I am a big culprit of this. I fly halfway across the world to visit my family twice a year, leaving a massive carbon footprint (and sense of guilt) in my path. But I’m nowhere near athletic enough to swim across the Atlantic, so I understand the necessity of flying on occasion. However, there are incredible train systems all around the world that offer scenic views and direct routes, offering a unique, and much less impactful mode of transportation. Click here to learn more about ways you can travel sustainably! In addition, switching to video calls and online conferences is becoming the new norm, so traveling for work or business is something we are (hopefully) seeing less and less of in the future.
Energy consumption – this involves everything from washing your clothes, using your lights, heating your house, charging your computer, the list goes on. Switching to renewable energy sources is the best way to combat this, but there are many smaller shifts you can make in your daily life to conserve energy. To learn more about simple sustainable shifts, click here.
It is relatively well-known by now that a plant-based diet has many environmental benefits. This is not a call to become a strict vegan or vegetarian, though I support that choice! It is just a call to cultivate more awareness about what we eat and how it is impacting our planet. And slightly shifting your diet is a great way to take control as an individual in this climate battle – whether that means eating less meat, or meat that is produced in a more sustainable and humane way (such as pasture-raised meat, to understand more about how to sustainably consume meat, click here). Lastly, here is a nice little visual showing the carbon footprint per kilogram of the food source produced.