# 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:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309/1 "2023-08-29T19:39:39Z")
WaPo has an article on the personal climate change actions and how they’re perceived. (gift link) > **[You’re doing it wrong: Recycling and other myths about tackling climate change](https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/08/28/climate-action-poll/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjkzMjgxNjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjk0NjYzOTk5LCJpYXQiOjE2OTMyODE2MDAsImp0aSI6IjM2ODViMDhmLWNmMGUtNDkzYy04MTIyLWY4YWNhZWEyN2VjNSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9jbGltYXRlLXNvbHV0aW9ucy8yMDIzLzA4LzI4L2NsaW1hdGUtYWN0aW9uLXBvbGwvIn0.tYYBWL69SqI7F8RnbsND7lb00vu8PnBZeOtB4Q1jzxg&itid=gfta)** > > Most Americans think their actions can help fight climate change, but they’re not always right on which are the most effective, according to a Post/UMD poll. Synopsis: the most effective things are reducing flying and reducing the amount of red meat and dairy in your diet. Getting an EV, installing solar panels and a heat pump in your house are also good moves. Recycling and replacing your gas stove with an electric won’t do much. I disagree to some extent on that last item. Replacing a gas stove, if combined with replacing all other gas appliances (furnace, hot water heater and clothes dryer, if you have them), would mean you’ve completely de-natural-gassed your house and you can then tell the gas company to shut off the gas line leading to your house. 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. Now this may not work as well as one would hope. I don’t know the details of natural gas distribution, but it’s quite possible that they can’t shut off just your gas without also shutting off the neighbor’s. You might have to convince the entire neighborhood to go gas-free. But at least it’s worth a shot. Previous thread on a similar topic: > [@What are you personally willing to give up to combat Climate Change?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-personally-willing-to-give-up-to-combat-climate-change/976906/): > > There was recently a quiz in the NYT which compared lifestyle changes Americans thought would have a positive effect on climate change versus what actually would. The results showed an inverse relationship, as well as some confusion between addressing other environmental problems, and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the NYT, the following, though upvoted, all have a “small effect”: recycling lowering the room temperature energy efficient appliances buying fewer things car pooling t… Personally, I’ve reduced my carbon footprint almost as much as possible for somone who doesn’t own their own home. I won’t go into details unless someone really wants to hear them. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-personal-climate-change-moves/989309)._