Hello my green gals and guys! Today I am going to talk about what is arguably the most effective way to help the environment. I know I’ve talked a lot about the individual things you can do this past month, but unfortunately one person can only do so much. In the grand scheme of things, your actions alone don’t have a huge effect on helping the environment; we need to encourage everyone to take the same actions and encourage lawmakers to pass legislation enforcing it. For this reason, political activism is something you can do to have a wider, possibly global impact.

Environmental activism can include anything from direct action through protests and strikes to lobbying your policymakers by writing letters. You can adapt political activism to make it fit what you want to do; the important thing is doing something in the first place.

There’s also so many different subject matters you can focus on under environmental activism. From air pollution to resource depletion, you can really find the niche that you are interested in and focus on that.

If activism sounds boring, there are also so many ways you can get creative with it. One artist created statues from plastic waste found on South African beaches to highlight the problem of plastic pollution. Figure out how your talents can best serve the movement.

It’s also important to mention that simply spreading the word about environmental issues and solutions is also extremely effective. 

Try bringing it up at your next family dinner or posting about it on social media. Write an editorial to your local newspaper (or The Chatterbox!) sharing your views. The more people become educated on an issue, the more likely they will be inclined to take action for it.

If you’re still feeling hesitant, start small. There’s no need to organize a nation-wide campaign your first time. Maybe start by writing letters to your Senators or Representatives. It doesn’t take much work to craft a letter! You could even host a letter party to get friends involved and make the process more fun. 

350.org also has great, easy options for those looking to get involved with environmental activism. You can start off with simpler tasks and then expand into more difficult ones. While we don’t have a local chapter in Cincinnati, there’s still a lot you can do online. 

Climate Changemakers is another digital organization for those who don’t have climate groups in their area.

For those that are older, Third Act is another great environmental activism organization that aims to connect those over 60 in climate activism. 

For those who would prefer to participate in person and not online, Green Umbrella is probably Cincinnati’s largest climate activism group. They have options for businesses, organizations and governments to join and pledge to address climate change. Here’s a list of all the ways you can get involved with Green Umbrella. 

Finally, The Woman’s City Club of Greater Cincinnati Environmental Action Group also does a lot of work in our community. They have frequent meetings and often work with other Cincinnati organizations to implement eco-awareness programs. 

Hopefully one of these programs sticks out to you. The only way we can stop climate change is if we all work together, so I cannot stress enough the importance of participating in environmental activism! 

Elena