# Most effective personal climate change moves **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 29, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309 "2023-08-29T19:39:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/21 "2023-08-31T06:19:19Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Looking into an EV or hybrid, but that’s more concern for air quality (and gas prices) that specifically about global warming. That’s a good reason too. There was a study a while back that showed that neighborhoods with higher adoption of EVs had a lower incidence of asthma attacks requiring ER visits. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/22 "2023-08-31T10:54:55Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Pizza? You gotta have pizza Indeed. I sequester my carbon in the form of Sirloin steaks, an elegant solution if there ever was one. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/23 "2023-08-31T15:53:03Z")
My belief is that not having children — especially in the consumption-heavy US — is the biggest way of minimizing one’s footprint. That’s what we’re doing anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/24 "2023-08-31T16:04:26Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > The problem, of course, is that reducing how much you fly and how much meat you eat both make your life less pleasant. (Assuming you are currently flying and eating meat because you like to travel and you like eating meat.) Recycling and getting a fancy new inductive stove are lifestyle neutral (recycling) or wins (the stove). Same with getting an EV. If you already have a working stove or working auto, replacing it with an electric one may not be an environmental win, when you consider the cost of producing them. And if your car is sold to someone else, it’s still going to spew pollution. (As would your stove, if you sell it for reuse.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/25 "2023-08-31T16:15:28Z")
yeah, but your newer car may replace someone’s less efficient older car. Odds are it’s a net win to the system, unless the exchange spurs someone to drive more. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/26 "2023-08-31T16:25:46Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Gas appliances and the pipes that feed them leak a small amount of unburnt methane all the time, even if not in use. So if they can shut off the line before it gets to your property, that’s all for the better. Any idea how to quantify this? I searched a bit, but mostly found data about leaks in the infrastructure. What I really like about your link is that it prioritizes behaviors based on impact. I’m not sure what the magnitude is of turning off the gas to your house. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/27 "2023-08-31T16:45:41Z")
Interesting article, thanks. Makes me feel good that I’m doing most of those things. I don’t have an EV but I drive so little that I can’t even remember the last time I filled up. I’ve developed something of an aversion to red meat, except for the occasional hamburger every once in a long while. The closest I come to dairy is some cheese once in a while and cream in my coffee. As for recycling, I don’t care whether it’s efficient or not, it has to be better than sending stuff straight to landfill, and I’m so conditioned to it that I’d be horrified at throwing something like a large plastic jug into the garbage. I’m careful to only put clean and appropriate items in the recycling bin, and it nevertheless typically contains two to three times the volume of the garbage bin. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/28 "2023-08-31T16:56:44Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > Also, everyone mentions that methane is a much stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but nobody mentions that it doesn’t last nearly as long > > But it breaks down by combining with oxygen to make CO2 (and H2O, but that’s not important). It still contributes to climate change even after it’s gone. True, but not important, because methane is such a powerful greenhouse gas that oxidizing it to CO2 **[eliminates 99% of its warming impact](https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2021.0108)** over a 20-year timeframe, or 97% of its warming impact over a 100-year timeframe. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/29 "2023-08-31T17:14:55Z")
Not for everyone. My wife never learned how to ride a bike. As an adult, she even took lessons, but failed miserably. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/30 "2023-08-31T17:16:38Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > I’m not sure what the magnitude is of turning off the gas to your house. Probably not a huge magnitude by individual action; it’d likely only make a big difference if millions of people did it. But there’s also the local effect. You’re breathing any gas leakage in your house. It might make a big difference there, especially if someone in your house is asthmatic or has other repiratory problems. ---
**Author:** ![Redcanoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b487fb/32.png) [@Redcanoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redcanoe)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/31 "2023-08-31T17:59:35Z")
I live in Hillsboro also. I would be very depressed being stuck here with only a bicycle. I couldn’t get by without being able to go to the beach or Mt. Hood, or central Oregon. Our house is all electric and we don’t have kids. I don’t fly because I hate being trapped in a tube with hundreds of people. Dairy makes me sick. I guess I’m not THAT much of a burden on planet Earth. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/32 "2023-09-04T12:25:06Z")
> [@B.Serum](#): > > My belief is that not having children — especially in the consumption-heavy US — is the biggest way of minimizing one’s footprint. > > That’s what we’re doing anyway. DH and I have just one between us, so, we’re sort of doing that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/33 "2023-09-04T13:06:10Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > As for recycling, I don’t care whether it’s efficient or not, it has to be better than sending stuff straight to landfill, and I’m so conditioned to it that I’d be horrified at throwing something like a large plastic jug into the garbage. Is it better than sending stuff straight to the landfill, though? Landfills sequester carbon, and it’s not like we’re short of space to put them in. There have been a few times in history when New York City has had contract disputes with landfill owners, and this has somehow led to a global perception that landfills are absolutely awful. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/34 "2023-09-04T13:08:09Z")
Yeah, i struggle to understand what the problem is with putting non-toxic waste into landfills. If something is actually worth recycling, because doing so it’s profitable, great. But I’d not? 🤷‍♀️ Our descendants can mine the landfills if they run out of resources we’ve buried there. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/35 "2023-09-04T13:11:43Z")
Anyway, I’m terrible. I have a mostly-gas house. I like to travel (and like to travel far enough that I’m using planes) although i haven’t done as much of that since the pandemic. I love meat and dairy, and while i enjoy a nice soothing meal of lentils, brown rice, and cauliflower (what my husband prepared last night) i get sad if i don’t get my meat and dairy pretty regularly. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/36 "2023-09-04T13:42:52Z")
I wanted to do a ground-source heat pump instead of a propane boiler, but the numbers were crazy–like $50k. Hopefully in 10 years the price comes down. We did put in a heat-exchange water heater, which really doesn’t work that well. We have 7.2kw of solar and an EV on order. These technologies need to become much more robust and affordable. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/37 "2023-09-04T14:53:06Z")
> [@Tride](#): > > I wanted to do a ground-source heat pump instead of a propane boiler, I looked into that, but couldn’t find any contractors willing to do it. My site probably isn’t very good for it, either, but that wasn’t the issue. I literally couldn’t find someone to look. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/38 "2023-09-04T17:54:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is it better than sending stuff straight to the landfill, though? I think the answer is that it greatly depends on the recycling practices and facilities available where you are. I tried to find some numbers but just ended up discovering how pathetically little stuff actually intended for recycling actually does get recycled! Some of this is apparently because morons don’t understand what is and is not appropriate for recycling and end up contaminating the whole batch. I’d like to think that we do a better job than that around here but I don’t really know. What I had in mind with my comment is that a good portion of my recycling consists of plastic Coke bottles, juice bottles, and large plastic jugs like 4-liter spring water jugs and 1.5 liter juice bottles – all of them clear plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PETE) which is among the best possible plastics for recycling. If not recycled, these large-volume containers would be taking up landfill space for hundreds of years. So I always conscientiously recycle them, but what actually happens downstream is beyond my control, except in a limited way at election time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309.md?page=1)