On Friday, September 27th, 2019, students from all over the world participated in a global climate march. If you were in Montreal, you were probably there. Some reports have stated there were upwards of 500,000 people in attendance, including Greta Thunberg and Justin Trudeau. However, now that the march is over, many people do not know how to keep the momentum of this massive display of collective action. So if you’re like me and want to keep contributing to the cause, here are six easy ways to positively combat climate change.
- Donate
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If you have any extra money -which most of us students don’t- a great, easy way to contribute is with a donation. If your student budget can’t take the strain of a donation, you could always ask your older siblings or parents if they are willing to, as they most likely are more financially stable.
Donating to a cause can be tricky, as there are so many organizations to donate to nowadays! Luckily, Macleans.ca has created a simple ranking of the top charities in Canada, which you can find here. Another good option is Climate Action Network Canada, as they have a comprehensive overview of what they are doing to help combat climate change on their website. - Keep On Marching
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A simple way to keep the momentum is to just keep marching. More strikes are being organized all the time, and a great way to keep track of them is at fridaysforfuture.ca. You can even register your own strike there, and then spread the word! More displays of collective action demonstrate the importance of this issue to both local and federal policymakers.
- Go Vegan—Or Simply Cut Down On Meat
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As I’m sure you’ve heard, animal agriculture produces large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and uses massive amounts of water and land. The overconsumption of meat is a uniquely Western problem and the industrial meat and dairy industries are inherently colonial. One U.K study found that agriculture-related emissions could be cut by 63% with a global shift to vegetarianism; and with a vegan diet, emissions could be cut to 70%. Another study showed that vegetarianism is actually healthier than a meat-based diet!
If you’re not sure about fully committing to veganism, an easy way to cut down is eating vegetarian or vegan on weekdays, and then eating animal products on the weekend! Plus, with these diets growing in popularity, vegan/vegetarian recipes, ingredients, and restaurants are more accessible than ever! - Eat Local
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Another great way to cut down on emissions is to eat local, whenever possible. This can reduce the amount of emissions created when shipping a product from somewhere far away. It also supports your local economy by promoting small businesses over the industrialization of agriculture and its resulting negative effects on workers. In Montreal, eating local is so easy—the Jean-Talon market is a great year-round resource for organic, fresh, local foods!
- Don’t Let Your Food Scraps Go to Waste!
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Many students in Montreal are unaware of how easy it is to get a compost bin from the municipal government. This website is a great resource for understanding the simple composting procedure in your borough. Composting can save tons of food waste, as well as coffee grinds (for the typical overworked McGill student), used paper towels, and more!
Another easy way to save waste is to make your own stock with your leftover vegetable scraps! There are lots of recipes online, and collecting scraps couldn’t be easier: grab a large sealable bag or bin and freeze your vegetable scraps rather than throwing them away! Then, when you have enough for a base, put a recipe -such as this one– to use! Then you can save money on store-bought stock and reduce your food waste at the same time!
- VOTE!!!
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Although individual action is important, we need change on a massive scale in order to protect the planet from even more irreversible damage. Stay informed and cast your vote for leaders on all levels -federal, provincial, municipal- who take climate change seriously. Various parties and candidates’ opinions on climate change vary, so do your research, ask questions, and let the government know that climate change is your main voting issue! Especially with the upcoming federal election on October 21st, it is important to know where all of the candidates stand on this issue. This website is a great resource for comparing the four main parties’ stances. Also, and this is crucial, make sure you are registered to vote. Elections.ca can easily tell you if you are already registered, and it has all of the info on voting dates, locations, and processes, so there is really no reason for you to not vote!
Protecting the environment, and ourselves, starts with us. Noticably, students have been at the forefront of this climate movement, and it is our responsibility to keep fighting, to keep speaking out, and to demonstrate lifestyle changes for others to adopt. Our voices are getting louder, and the aforementioned steps are easy ways to keep lawmakers aware that we are both changing our habits and demanding change.
Images obtained from:
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/09/28/features/mighty-greta-motiva…
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/resizer/jnFgwxAh4lz9dH6XS7zLhFp7TFc=/190…(80)/arc-anglerfish-tgam-prod-tgam.s3.amazonaws.com/public/UTZTO4HBQZBIZB4AFSZP4TXPNQ.JPG
https://santropolroulant.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/cowspiracy-film.jpg
https://www.tripsavvy.com/thmb/gIqyBIcAbUjsLSaiKDPSJJhMEz8=/950×0/filter…():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/GettyImages-73778069-5ac5422243a10300368f5a9a.jpg
http://ecoquartierpetermcgill.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Compostage1…