This is great, you guys! It’s important enough that the WP didn’t bury it behind a paywall
10 steps you can take to lower your carbon footprint
Here’s the thing: Small changes alone won’t save our planet. To keep the Earth from warming above the critical 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) limit, climate action needs to happen at an institutional level. The Washington Post has built a tracker to keep you up to date on all of President’s Biden’s environmental actions.
But that doesn’t mean you should feel helpless, or that your actions aren’t worthwhile. Taking steps to lower your own carbon footprint may help ease your climate anxiety by giving you back some power — and even the smallest of actions will contribute to keeping our planet habitable.
With that in mind, here are 10 places to start.
Let’s see them
- Create less food waste (tell us how this works at big climate conferences)
- Ditch your grass (not a problem in liberal infested big cities)
- Save coral reefs by packing smartly for your beach vacation (this is environmental, in terms of using environmentally friendly sunscreens)
- Shop sustainably by buying less (piss off)
- Protect our forests (no houses for you Warmists)
- Trade in for an electric car (because the middle and lower classes can totally afford this. Say, has the WP replaced all their vehicles with EVs?)
- Weatherize your home (these people)
- Learn about the link between climate change and racial equity (good grief. It’s a cult)
- Consider carbon offsets (like paying a speeding ticket for your bad behavior)
- Pass it on (annoy the shit out of your friends, family, coworkers, people you don’t know)
Let’s go back to the EV on
One of the most powerful individual actions people can take against climate change is to change the way they get around.
New electric vehicles can be expensive — even the most affordable have a suggested sale price between $30,000 and $40,000. But as more car manufacturers start producing EVs (General Motors has even said it will only make EVs by 2035), the cost of these cars is expected to come down. EVs also tend to have lower fuel and maintenance costs than gas-powered cars, making them cheaper over the course of their lifetimes than combustion engine vehicles, according to recent research from MIT.
Again, the vast majority of people cannot afford that price range, and do not want a 6, 7, or 8 year loan for it. Especially not when it will drop in value 52% (on average) after 3 years.
Electric vehicle purchases also qualify for federal tax credits of up to $7,500. Depending on where you live, your city or state might also provide additional financial incentives to go electric. The Energy Department maintains a full list of rebates, tax credits and other programs offered in each state, and more are expected to become available as President Biden moves to expand the nation’s electric vehicle fleet.
It’s a one time credit that, in most cases, doesn’t actually save you $7,500. Furthermore, again, it won’t help reduce the purchase cost of the vehicle. It’s just scamming people. GM’s going to find themselves in a bit of financial trouble when they’ve reduced the pool of buying customers to those making $200k and up.
Read: Washington Post Offers 10 Steps YOU Can Take To Reduce Your Carbon Doom Footprint Or Something »