Influence - Personal Global Warming Action Checklist

Version 14, changed by guest. 06/30/2008. Show version history

1. Measure | 2. Reduce | 3. Offset | 4. Influence

Influencing is perhaps the most important part of any person's Global Warming Action plan. This is because one's personal carbon emissions are only a miniscule part of the problem, so to really make an impact, we need to really influence others. After all, they say that "if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together."

Government

Write to your politicians

This is Democracy 101! Write your political representatives, and be heard! See our post here for some helpful information about who to write to, and what to write. Remember, all politics is local!

Join an environmental group

Joining / giving to a group like the Sierra Club or Natural Resources Defense Counsel is a great way to join with other like minded individuals. After all, the NRA, AARP, and other groups have influence for a reason! A few things to keep in mind:
- Political flexibility: Some non-profits, such as the National Resources Defense Counsel, are registered as 501(c)(3)’s which means that they cannot conduct political campaign activities to influence elections to public office. I believe that we really need to fund non-profits which ARE allowed to influence political campaigns. If so, then you’ll want to donate to 501(c)(4)’s or 527s, both of which are permitted to politic. Donations to either of these types are not tax deductable, but the influence is important. And that is why the aforementioned NDRC has a 501(c)(4) group called the NDRC Action Fund, and one reason why the Sierra Club, with its 56 or so lobbyists in DC, is a 501(c)(4) as well.
- Governance and Accountability: Obviously, you need to make sure that whoever you donate to is not going to squander that money, and that they’re going to use it for what they say they’ll use it for. The Better Business Bureau has (1) created a set of standards you should ensure your chosen charity meets and (2) evaluated a bunch of charities to see how they fare. This is a great resource. For instance, the NDRC uses 80% of its money for program expenses, while the Sierra Club uses only 65%.

Join a movement

Join a demonstration, whether it's in person or online. An example of an online movement is at www.stopglobalwarming.org.

Companies

Investments

Invest in companies that have gone green, or technologies that will help reduce global warming. Here are a few good resources to start:
- http://community.investopedia.com/news/IA/2007/Green_Investing_ETFs_vs._Individual_Stocks.aspx
- http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/200611/green-investing-guide-2.html

Contact companies that you buy from, and tell them you value green products

Companies have the ability to make changes at scale. Write to some companies you buy from, see what they're doing, and if it's not enough, demand more! If they don't change, then buy from someone else!

Join / form a club to work to reduce company emissions

The company you work for surely has lots of areas where it could make improvements. Find like minded people at work and see what you can do - either in terms of things at the office (like not buying bottled water) or in terms of the products it sells.