Fossil Fuel Divestment
Description: Students, retirees, faith-based organizations, and others are acting to stop or withdraw investment in the fossil fuel industry. Activists around the country are calling for similar actions by pension …
Community Education & Action
Sufficient progress on mitigating climate change will not be achieved without engaging all segments of the community to understand the trade-offs and difficult decisions that will be required. Individuals can engage in a variety of ways:
Non-governmental organizations:
- Joining/supporting groups which have developed positions and expertise on mitigating actions
Local governments:
- Public events: sharing information at fairs, farmers markets, special events (e.g., Electric Vehicle Day)
- Forums: providing feedback at workshops (e.g., on a low carbon transportation plan)
- Online: visiting websites to participate in surveys, study climate action plans, review ordinances
- Governance: attending regular meetings of a city council, board of supervisors, advisory board, specialized committees (e.g., electrification, transportation)
Individual action, when coordinated with other community members, can strengthen a sense of shared responsibility and mobilize the action of others to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at individual, household, and community levels.
Year-Round Community Garden
Description: The Skidmore College Student Garden is an extension of the College’s Food System Initiative where food grown in the student garden is provided to the college’s dining hall thereby …
Adopt Climate Emergency Resolution
Description: Cities, counties, and states in the U.S., and communities around the world, are formally adopting resolutions acknowledging that human activities have warmed the Earth to a point that threatens …
Create clean energy fund
Description: The Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF), also known as the Portland Clean Energy Initiative, was a measure that appeared on the Portland (Oregon) municipal ballot on November 6, 2018. …
Ensure climate literacy
Description: A Climate Literacy Committee was formed within the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club in 2016 to ensure that high school students graduate climate literate. This Committee …
Cool Block program
Description: The Cool Block program (previously piloted in the California cities of Los Angeles, Palo Alto, and San Francisco) engages teams of neighbors living on a block (or in an …
Hire sustainability coordinator
Description: Novato (Marin County, CA) is an example of a small municipality, which can find it difficult to implement its climate action plan without dedicated internal resources and knowledgeable staff. …
Transition Streets
Description: As described on their website, “Transition US is a nonprofit organization that provides inspiration, encouragement, support, networking, and training for Transition Initiatives across the United States. It’s a vibrant, …
Increase number of EVs
Description: Cool the Earth is a grassroots, non-profit organization that believes personal action is essential to reducing carbon emissions. One way Cool the Earth is working to reduce carbon emissions …
Community campaign to reduce GHG emissions
Description: Drawdown Marin (Marin County, CA) is a comprehensive, science-based, community-wide campaign to reduce GHG emissions by personal and community actions. The County, with support and input from the entire …