Climate Action in 2024

The Frog will explore The Climate Action Handbook: A Visual Guide to 100 Climate Solutions by Heidi Roop in the first 100 days of 2024

I grew up in Arlington, VA where my memory of Christmas Eves was warm, wet, and foggy – I don’t remember a single white Christmas. Having moved to the Twin Cities over 30 years ago, I am starting to get used to cold and snowy weather, and despite being a transplant, I am enough of a Minnesotan to feel cheated when we do not have a White Christmas.

In the first 100 days of 2024 we will explore 100 climate solutions that may “empower you to evaluate, engage, and act” to address on-going climate change as an individual on your terms.

December 2023 is tracking to be the warmest on record in Minnesota. This is having a big impact on many here who have a livelihood based on snow needing to be removed and lakes freezing over. Winter festivals are cancelled. Several people have died already on a not so frozen lake. I have read those in social media who feel a longer warm season is a good thing, for agriculture, for golf courses, and other activities enjoyed by warm weather enthusiasts. It is disheartening to hear statements made devoid of a rational thought process about what is obviously a changing climate.

I accepted the facts of global warming tied to human production of greenhouse gases in 2006, and have worked with increasing anxiety and urgency since then to do my part to address it as an individual living in a complex, interconnected world. I have read widely on all aspects of climate change, both mitigation – strategies focused on reducing and eliminating greenhouse gas accumulation – and adaptation strategies focused on adjusting to the impacts of the changes in the climate already underway.

Until a few weeks ago, however, what I read did not satisfy as a guide to a complex subject that could be made personal. As an individual, I was conflicted by the fact that what I did would not have any real effect on the inevitability of a warming planet, especially knowing that fossil fuel companies and other interests have perpetrated a cynical disinformation campaign to deflect responsibility from “them” to “us”. [See The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet by Michael Mann]. “Climate change is your fault, not ours” they say. Recycle. Drive less. Don’t eat beef. Use paper straws. If everyone does more individually, it will add up to enough to solve the problem.

The issue with this is described in systems thinking as the Tragedy of the Commons: a system of individuals that have access to a common resource. In general, individuals pursue actions that are beneficial to themselves, but without controls to regulate the use the resource, it can be (and typically is) overused by individuals which inevitably results in the resource being diminished to the detriment of all – read The Lorax for more a perspective.

For the concerned individual trying to take action in the face of the overuse of a shared critical resource, those actions actually put the individual at a disadvantage compared to those who continue to use the resource. If climate change can only be addressed through concerted, widespread action driven by governments and international entities, you, as a concerned individual, have a decisions to make on actions to take that contribute. It certainly would be helpful to have a resource to guide you on personal actions that will make a difference and be satisfying for you.

A month or so ago, I was pleased to be gifted a beautiful new book called The Climate Action Handbook: A Visual Guide to 100 Climate Solutions For Everyone, written by Dr. Heidi Roop, the Director of the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership (MCAP) and an Assistant Professor of Climate Science and Extension Specialist at the University of Minnesota. Heidi has crafted a wonderful resource covering the motivation for urgent action on climate change and more importantly what actions you can reasonably take now. “This visually stunning guide, does what no other climate change book manages to do: it’s approachable, digestible, and offers the average person ideas, options, and a roadmap for action.”

I am privileged to work with Heidi on the Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership and have listened to her speak in a variety of venues. Reading the book, it condensed within me a framework for action and a motivation to write about a difficult subject that represents an existential threat for all of us. Starting in January, The Frog will present the 100 climate solutions for everyone as presented by Heidi in her book. I encourage you – in keeping with Action 46: Make More Thoughtful Online Purchases – to incorporate a trip to your local bookseller in your next round of errands and pick up a copy.

Next Up: Why We Need the 100 Climate Solutions

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