Climate change: What folks are doing

An easy way to get involved is to sign up for the 7 steps. This gets you seven chances to take real tangible action on climate change - one email per week for seven weeks with all the tips and tools you need. But the 7 steps isn't the only way to help.    

Here are some stories and tips from people here in the office and on the Greenpeace forum about what they're doing...


I added a little sign on my bike: "Climate is changing - how about you?"

It gets people thinking - gosh, this girl is riding her bike, I could do that too.
Granted, in a bike city, it's easier done, but the point is still made pretty well: to counter climate change we have to change our everyday habits too.

-- juliettelucie



Yesterday, Greenpeace Netherlands delivered 20 tons of coal to Amsterdam headquarters of the energy company Nuon. It was a "return to sender" message, saying "hey, coal is a dirty business, because burning it will contribute to climate change, and you guys want to build five new coal-fired power plants here in the Netherlands!"  

We displayed a banner saying "Help Ons Klimaat - Niet Naar De Kolen!" ("Help Our Climate - Don't 'Coal' It Up!").  Twenty tons of coal is a REALLY big pile of coal, so we were arrested for partly blocking the entrance to Nuon.

-- Page



Here are the things I'm doing:

* When oil prices are on the run, driving is no more fun
* When I drive for pleasure, I always think about Mother Nature
* I take the bus to avoid all the fuss
* I dry my clothes outdoors and indoors and I shove the dryer out the door
* I don't turn the lights on if I'm moving on
* Thinking green should be my business because being green is good business
* When I drive one less mile, I end the day with a big smile

That's all folks! Sorry for using only one-liners in my descriptions.

-- Chungtfung



listenin's garden....



[ Editor's note: Eating food grown closer to home reduces your climate footprint, and it doesn't get any closer to home than a home garden. ]



I'm house sitting for two months.  First thing I did when I moved in was unplug everything - the microwave, TV, DVD player, stereo, etc. All that stuff was on "standby", sucking up electricity without doing anything. Next, I checked all the lights for energy wasting (incandescent) lightbulbs.  :)  

-- Andrew



My last hot water heater was 16 years old, and was really not working well (I never really looked forward to a supposed 'hot' shower in the morning that in reality ran hot and cold all the time!). It was also incredibly inefficient, wasting lots of energy. When I went to replace it I asked my local gasfitter which model was the most efficient, and he recommended a high-efficiency condensing boiler system. Then I checked with a friend who's knowledgeable on energy efficiency, and he said that it was a sound investment.

The model I wanted cost extra up front, but it'll pay for itself in savings on my gas bill and now when I take a shower it's constant hot water.  And I cut my greenhouse gas emissions too.

Someday, I'll have a passive solar heater on the roof, which will work with the new heater to cut down on my gas use even more. I already buy green electricity (from wind power), and now that I'll be using less natural gas to heat my house and hot water, that will be a further reduction of my carbon footprint.

-- Gavin



I don't have a car. I don't even have a license. Even my dog is a big fan of public transportation. He loves trams and trains.  

That and I'm an energy efficient vegan with a dawning CFL fetish.

-- Tanja



Actually I have a funny story for you. I went and had a talk to my local lightbulb seller. She runs a little hardware story near my home.  

I asked her if she new about coloured compact florescent lightbulbs, and she told me they do not exist!  Of course they do exist and I told her this - she was interested because coloured lightbulbs are very popular in our area. (I happen to live in the "red light" district in Hamburg, so this makes a lot of sense.)

In the end, she was not completely convinced about how important it is - even though I told her that CFLs are up to five times more efficient than regular lightbulbs.  But we had a good conversation and she promised to look more into it.

--  Nina



Along with a couple of other guys, I'm in charge of organizing the first sustainable concert in Spain : P  Well, I don't think we will actually manage to make it sustainable but we will provide about 50 percent of the necessary energy with solar batteries.

-- ursula



Currently I'm bullying my dad into installing double glazing.

-- sturmovic