Just For Kids
Often, stopping climate change seems giant and unreachable. You can easily feel like there is nothing you can do, no difference you can make - especially for kids. We don't have a lot of power over many things - but that couldn't be further from the truth. Even a small thing can make a difference. Set doable goals and then encourage your friends and family to do the same, and you can make a big change with something small and easy to do.
You can:
Print efficiently
Print on both sides of the paper and make sure your document is the way you want it before printing in order to use less paper.
Turn off lights when you leave a room
This is a very easy way to save energy and lightbulbs. When you leave a space, make sure all the lights are off.
Take short showers
Hot water takes a lot of energy to heat and pump into your showerhead. Try taking 5-10 minute showers.
Use Air Conditioning Efficiently
Air conditioning can keep your house cool, but the emissions it creates ultimately warm the earth up. If you do need to use air conditioning, make sure to keep your windows closed, so that the cool air stays in and the warm air stays out. Talk to your parents about your AC usage.
Get books from the library
Borrowing books from your library can minimize paper usage while also giving you a great way to learn about new books, without having to buy them. It can save money, paper, and help minimize emissions by lowering the number of objects you need to ship.
Take the bus
On average, a person produces about 8,080 grams of Carbon Dioxide if they drive 20 miles to school. If 10 people drove that far, they would produce 80,800 grams of carbon in just one morning. A bus allows everybody to take the same vehicle to school, emitting a fraction of the amount of greenhouse gasses.
Get your clothes from the thrift store
Making clothes accounts for about 10% of carbon emissions around the world. Growing cotton, making it into a T-shirt, dying it, and sending it to stores is a process with a giant carbon footprint. Instead of buying new clothes, try getting your clothes from thrift stores to minimize waste. When you outgrow clothes, send them on to a thrift store as well, so that the cycle continues with as little waste as possible.
Do some research!
Knowledge is power. People are afraid of what they don't know. Find out more about climate change using these links:
Inspiring Books About the Earth and Climate Change
Knowledge is power, and what better way is there to gain knolege than reading books! Each of these books sends an important message about climate change, inspires you, or informs you on ways to combat it. Most of the books are links to read alouds or reviews. None of the links go to a store, we are not incoraging you to use more paper, big brands, and spend money.
Author Favorites:
*Also for middle schoolers*
Picture Books:
You may also want to look at:
*Also for middle schoolers*
*not a link*
