Outside
Climate Change and the Outdoors, i.e., Our World
We forget this so many times each day – the outside world. But it is the foundation of life, providing the air we breathe, the water we drink, our food, and all the animals, plants and other life keep the plants pollinated, and circulate the nutrients, including sequestering carbon for decades in trees and soil. How do we help the outdoors do its job now that there is a strong release of ancient, fossil carbon into the system? Can we put that carbon back in the ground? We, emphasizing us regular folks, can do this, not just governments.
Climate Steps: Outside
Avoid gas-powered leaf blowers
Bike instead of drive
Support whale conservation
Averaged over 2015—2017, global loss of tropical forests contributed about 4.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year (or about 8-10% of annual human emissions of carbon dioxide).
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Linda Cotton, holding a tomato from her jointly held community garden in Washington, DC.
About Climate Change and Outdoors
A new page we are developing that will feature a round-up of information. But first, we’ll highlight some articles we’ve written about our environment, our outdoors — the thing we think we don’t absolutely need and often don’t think about, but which, really, is the foundation of life, providing the air and water we breath, the food via pollinators, the animals and other life that support the nutrient recycling – everything. Yards, Landscapes, and those Edges along Curbs:
- Changing Lawns to Actual Life (the many replacements for lawns.) – a Climate Steps article.
- Native Plant Finder (for U.S.)
- Trees, which is mostly about the benefits of trees near a house. – a Climate Steps article.
Planting Trees
Planting Trees – Yourself, through Donations, and more
- Trees for a Change “Dedicate a tree as a gift” happy occasions, memorials for a friend or colleague, and thank you’s for help given in the fight against climate change.
- Gift Trees Gift a tree through the green search engine Ecosia – they have a page dedicated to how to donate the planting of a tree(s).
- Tree Trust Dedicate a tree planting, and provide job training at the same time.
- USDA Forest Service Donations The USDA Forest Service Plant-A-Tree Program was established in 1983.
Cats!
Cats are invasive species in so many countries. We brought them to the Americas especially, where many went feral.
From an article in Living Bird magazine, modified from the book Cat Wars. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-obituary-of-the-stephens-island-wren/
Both feral and domestic cats let outdoors kill birds, even if well fed. Causing a huge, costly impact on the environment, which needs to stay resilient in the face of climate change. So here are key climate steps:
- Get your cats (and dogs) fixed. Don’t let them breed!
- Keep your cats inside.
- Bells only work about 40% of the time. A study of cats in the UK showed that domestic cats returned home with prey about 40% fewer birds (and 34% fewer mammals). (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159105000742).
- If you must get a cat, adopt a shelter cat.
- And this is less an Outdoors thing, but feed your cat more sustainable foods (less beef, etc.; https://www.ovrs.com/blog/environmental-impact-of-owning-a-cat-eco-friendly-practices-for-cats/)
- And there’s no need to make your cat fat! It’s not good for them, or the environment.
- Sustainble cat litter please – recycled shavings, nut shells. No clay, please
See more in the Resource(s) below.
Environmental Impact of Owning a Cat: Eco-friendly Practices for Cats
Green Burials
Burials
Okay, weird, but if you think about it, most burials are outside (minus cremation urns kept inside.) We’re going to expand on this section in the near future, but here are some interesting articles about green burials, especially in the U.S. So far options include: standard burial (not green at all), pine box burial, shroud burial, forest groves burial, cremation (not as green as one think), cremation and burial with a tree seed, biodegradable pod burial – often with a seed, water/chemical cremation (seems pretty green), and composting (only in Washington State in U.S.) Enjoy the read!
- https://www.newscientist.com/article/2152509-why-burying-loved-ones-in-unmarked-graves-could-save-wildlife/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/eco-friendly-cemeteries-more-people-preferring-green-over-standard-burials/2019/11/29/af9de6ce-0fc5-11ea-bf62-eadd5d11f559_story.html?
- https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/05/opinion/human-composting-new-york.html?
Water
WATER
Photo by Matt Hardy via Pexels.comWaterSense (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) is a water-saving certification for bathroom equipment, such as showerheads, toilets, faucets, plus irrigation controls, sprinklers, etc. Being sensible about water is directly linked to climate change resilience. We already have done-in so many water resources, but climate-related drought and heat will greatly change our water resources further. We must preserve them. Be water-sensible. Thank you!
Additional References
Additional References
- How Climate Change Fuels Increasing Wildfire Disasters, www.snappywords.com/knowledge/
how-climate-change-fuels- increasing-wildfire-disasters, recommended by student. Nice and succinct explanation of climate change influencing wildfires – and it also includes steps to adapt and help mitigate climate change.
Contributors and Photo Credit
Dr. Annette Olson
Header Image: Courtesy of []
Articles
Better access to fresh, local food helps your community fight climate change
A wonderful, essential concept to build your community around is food. There are three main areas in which we can do so. First, by working with our neighbors to improve our community’s access to local, fresh food, we can spend more time in healthy environments while...
Save a green space
We are rapidly losing shared green space to private development. These spaces are our community meeting places, nature refuges, playgrounds and outdoor gyms. They improve water and air quality while providing a variety of mental and physical health benefits. Plus they...
Keep your cat inside
Did you know that house cats are the number one cause of non-natural bird deaths globally? It is estimated that cats kill over 2 billion birds and 12 billion small mammals every year. That is absolutely mind-boggling. But simply by keeping your beloved pet inside...
Regularly clean up an area
Every year we dump a massive 2+ billion tons of waste. There is no simple solution to a problem of this scale, but the cleanup can start with you. This is a simple, achievable action that positively affects your community. You can help in a few ways. First off, do not...
Stop vehicle idling
This one is simple. Switch off your vehicle when pulled over. It is an easy way to protect public health and immediately improve local air quality. There is a surprising amount of pollution that comes out of vehicles while idling. Engine idling contributes to asthma,...
Plant a pollinator friendly garden
Turn available space into an oasis for bees and butterflies. With so many green spaces disappearing, our pollinator friends could use some help finding food. They return the favor by sticking around and pollinating both our flowers and our fruits and vegetables....