With the threat of climate change looming over you, it’s easy to feel like there’s something you could be doing to improve the situation. While the large scale kind of change needed to stop or reverse climate change has to originate from legislation and policy, individuals can do their part of reduce their own carbon footprint. Here’s what you need to know.

Look For Opportunities

The size and shape of the pollution problem are staggering. This can make it difficult to stay motivated, but it also comes with the upshot of providing endless ways that the average person can step in and make a change for the better. For example, if you find yourself in need of a DUI lawyer in Seattle, consider pushing for community service as a punishment. Far better than jail time or outrageous fines, simply cleaning up litter on the side of the highway is a great way to do your part for the environment and, in this case, making the most of a bad situation.

Reduce Waste

One of the major problems with modern society is the widespread trend of designing disposable products and/or products with disposable elements. Plastic in particular is commonly used for disposable products, and it’s also known for lasting up to 1,000 years before it decomposes. This combination of factors has resulted in the mass accumulation of plastic litter that’s here to stay. The good news is that this dilemma gives you a place to start when trying to overhaul your lifestyle in the name of the environment.

Simply avoiding the creation of waste when you encounter it can go a long way, and this revelation has led to the rise of the zero waste lifestyle. The point of zero waste is not to eliminate literally 100% of waste from your lifestyle. While this is the goal, the more important lesson to be learned is that this kind of waste is everywhere, and reduction is better than nothing. It’s no coincidence that the zero waste lifestyle is notoriously challenging, but striving to be better will yield positive results, even when and if you inevitably make mistakes.

Recycle Waste

The problem with plastic is that it simply lasts too long to be viable for disposal using current means. However, some plastics can be recycled, meaning that the existing waste can be undone in some cases. More importantly, a variety of materials can be recycled, and doing so addresses the litter problem from two angles at once. First and foremost, recycling can render garbage down to its essential components, thereby allowing it to be made into new products so that it can continue to benefit people. Without using additional resources. More importantly, it can all but undo the negative impact of a given piece of trash.

The problem with recycling is that it isn’t always offered in a given area, leading many without this option. However, even in places in which recycling hasn’t been adopted on the municipal level, there may still be recycling plants that can offer you the services you need. There’s even a third possibility, one in which individual companies will pay you a small amount for returning glass bottles, for example, after you’ve purchased and consumed certain beverages.

Invest in Clean Energy

Last, but certainly not least, there’s the elephant in the room. The primary cause of global warming in particular is the excess of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. While the burden is shared between the methane produced by livestock and the exhaust from the burning of fossil fuels for energy, the more pressing issue is that of energy creation. There are a few clean energy solutions out there, but none is more viable for the average person than solar panels. Solar power is the fastest growing clean energy industry for a reason, and that reason is that solar panels are much more accessible to consumers in terms of both cost and the space required to house your own personal generator.