Tackling the Climate Crisis at the Polls and at Home

By Peter Aronson

The New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund believes strongly that everyone can make a difference in our collective fight against climate change.

These actions can come in small and big ways: For example, in our homes, we can use less energy; in the community, we can walk or ride a bike instead of drive; at our jobs, we can recycle office wide; and at the polls – we can vote. 

Let’s address the latter first. On November 5, we not only will elect a new president, but New Yorkers also will elect a U.S. Senator and all 26 members of the New York delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, the entire New York State Legislature (63 senators and 150 assembly members) and many local officials as well. Voters in Suffolk County will vote on Prop 2 – the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act.

Our elected officials determine our state and federal environmental policies crucial to our fight against climate change.

“2024 is a critically important election year for the climate, both in the U.S. and around the world,” says the Yale Program of Climate Change. “Many important federal climate policies, including the transition to clean energy, investments in underserved and more vulnerable communities, and participation in international climate treaties, will be determined by voters’ choices in the 2024 elections.”

[Early voting for the general election will run from Sat, October 26 – Sun, November 3, and Election Day is on November 5, 2024. Visit NYLCVEF’s voting website for more information.]

Aside from voting, we all can take individual steps to reduce our burden on the environment. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases the most authoritative reports on climate change. Therefore, we are turning to the UN for its suggestions for how individuals can reduce their carbon footprints.

“Think about your electricity use and your travel. Check your dinner table. Reuse whatever you can. The possibilities for action are many – and add up fast,” the UN’s ActNow website states.

The average person in the United States emits 6.5 tons of CO2, double the world average. The UN’s Action for a Healthy Planet lists individual actions that can make a difference. While many of these things are obvious and we all have heard most of them before, they are worth repeating over (and over):

1. Use less energy in your home, by doing, among many things, turning off lights, raising AC, lowering heat, hang drying clothes, improving insulation and exploring more efficient energy systems in the home; Get more energy tips for your home here;

2. Explore changing energy sources to renewable. Explore cost options with solar and wind power. Learn about state and federal financial incentives. You can start by reading about the New York-state sponsored NY-Sun program.

   “Switching your home from oil, gas or coal-powered energy to renewable sources of energy, such as wind or solar, can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 1.5 tons of CO2e per year,” the UN website states. Click here to learn more about why switching to renewable energy is key to tackling the climate crisis;

3. Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation whenever possible. The transportation sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the U.S., accounting for 28 percent of the total, the Environmental Protection Agency reports; 
4. If you need a car, buy an electric car or at least a hybrid-plug in or a hybrid. Many consumers are discouraged from buying an EV because of the lack of charging stations around the state. Encourage your elected officials to support legislation that calls for building more charging stations in cities, towns and major roadways throughout the state. Click here to learn more about becoming more energy-efficient on the roadways;
5. Consider reducing your air travel. Eliminating even one trip a year can reduce your carbon footprint significantly. Click here to learn more about how to green your travel;
6.  Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle. We’ve heard it before, and we will hear it again, ad nauseum. Everything we wear and everything we use in our daily lives causes carbon emissions at each point in its life cycle – from the extraction of raw materials to the manufacturing process, to packaging the goods and then transporting the goods to market.

   “Plastics alone generated 1.8 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 – 3.4 percent of the global total,” the UN says. Buy used clothes, have a computer refurbished if you can, and make sure you are following the rules with your local recycling program. To learn about recycling in New York City, click here;

7. Go veggie. “Eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and less meat and dairy, can significantly lower your environmental impact,” the UN reports. Click here to learn more about the connections between food and climate change; and
8. Compost food scraps. Food waste sent to landfills rots and emits methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas more than 25 times as powerful as CO2. Curbside composting is now available to all Brooklyn and Queens residents and will be available to all residents in the other three boroughs by October 6, 2024. To read more, see NYC curbside composting. To learn more about composting around the state, click here, or contact your local government.

Additional ideas discussed on the UN’s website include planting native species, getting involved in neighborhood clean ups and speaking up. This can involve contacting local, state or federal elected officials and letting them know where you stand on environmental issues, to participating in group environmental activities to joining an environmental nonprofit and getting more involved.

Every little bit helps – from voting to lowering the thermostat in the winter, to riding a bike to work, to buying a used sweatshirt instead of buying a new one.           

Peter Aronson, a volunteer writer at the New York League of Conservation Voters since September 2022, is a former journalist and retired attorney. He is the author of Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene, a novel for middle-grade readers about kids fighting global warming. Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review, wrote: “A scathing work and an essential blueprint for youth battling climate change.” To read more about Peter, visit his website www.peteraronsonbooks.com or to purchase his book, click here.