Taylor Swift, Kylie Jenner, and other celebrities’ actions have recently been called into question around their individual actions on climate change, specifically around private jet usage. This lead us to question many things, such as:
What impact to individuals have on climate change?
Does one individual switching to solar really make a difference?
What changes can an individual make that have the biggest impact on climate change?
These are all very large questions, that people can (and have) written entire dissertations on. This is not meant to be fully comprehensive, but rather a quick peek into the world of individual impact. This runs counter to what many people are focusing on these days, the responsibility of large corporations. The importance of this line of thinking shouldn’t be understated. However, two-thirds of global greenhouse emissions are linked to private households. Continue reading and you’ll see the impact that individual actions can have as well.
Individual Actions on Climate Change
Our everyday actions are what determines our individual impact on climate change. Do you buy products with green or recyclable packaging? Purchase from companies that show their environmental impact of producing their products? Consume less energy, or better yet, produce your own by installing solar panels?
We are told every election season that every vote counts. The same can be said for our individual actions and consumption habits. For example, the first people to switch to vegan-ism likely felt very lonely. However, as more people joined the movement, more products catering specifically to them emerged. Now vegan restaurants are a sustainable choice where many choose to eat, even those who don’t consider themselves fully vegan.
This same mindset can be extrapolated out for other facets of everyday life as well. We’ll touch more on this in a bit when we look at how these individual actions to combine together.
Going Solar and Household Optimizations
The UN has outlined 10 steps individuals can take to reduce their carbon footprint. This list includes items like changing your transportation to greener options. It also includes choosing eco-friendly options when purchasing products. This could be done by buying local, or choosing companies that are committed to responsible production practices.
Another step they list is changing your home’s source of energy. For most homeowners, this means switching to solar energy. For those without your own roof or plot of land to install solar on, there are still options available. In Kansas City, the Evergy Solar Program is a way for even those that are renting to ensure their energy is green.
The added benefit to solar panels is the chance to make an outsized impact on your investment. Even though you may purchase solar panels to lower your carbon emissions, you are making your local grid more green as well. Any electricity your panels produce over what you are actively using gets sent out to others on the same grid.
Depending on how much energy your solar panels produce, you could end up getting paid to help the grid transition to greener sources of production. Solar panels installed in Kansas City have helped people offset their energy bills.
Collective Actions on Climate Change
All of these individual actions add up to significantly larger changes. Take the vegan example from before. There are now fully vegan restaurants. Large corporations have taken note and have started adding vegan options to their menus. Look no further than Burger King’s impossible burger or McDonald’s beyond meat burger. These are far from the only examples of large corporations trying to cash in on the ever-growing eco-conscious consumer.
Actively choosing companies that are produce sustainably also helps drive change. Supporting those companies means you can maintain your same quality of life, but do so in a way that is better for the environment.
Each individual makes hundreds, if not thousands, of choices every single day. It is not necessarily about being perfect in every aspect. But making one choice each day to be more green, multiplied by all the others doing the same, is a lot of distance covered.
Those individuals coming together in collective actions create and drive trends. Corporations will follow those trends (see Burger King and McDonalds above). Enough people coming together behind a common cause can lead to even larger change. More than corporations joining in, it can lead to policy changes.
To make this “one green step” a day even easier, think about things you can set on autopilot. This could be changing where you purchase certain items from, or riding your bike to work instead of driving. It could also mean installing solar panels on your home so even when you’re not buying anything or commuting to work, you are still making a green step. This could be even greener if you are able to work from home.
Start Your Switch To Solar Today
If you are looking for the best solar company in Kansas City, look no further than KC Solar. They are your local Kansas City solar panel installation experts. Once you schedule a no-pressure site visit, our experts will help you understand what solar system specifications would be best for your home or business.
KC Solar is the only local solar company in Kansas City with KC natives who own and operate the daily activities of the business. What does that mean for you? We care about you because we care about this city, and we only want the best for it.
And be sure to download our Free Solar Panel Buying Guide for more information.
We look forward to serving you!
