Climate change gets personal. Can one individual make a difference?

|
Michael Probst/AP
A woman rides her bike to work in the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany, early Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019.

Dear readers,

World leaders are convening in Madrid this week and next for climate negotiations. Each nation brings to the table its own perspectives, values, and needs. But for the 197 signatories of the landmark Paris climate agreement the global nature of climate change demands a unified response.

This 25th United Nations climate summit is undergirded by a mounting sense of urgency. Last week Europe’s Parliament declared a “climate emergency,” just days after a U.N. report cautioned that our current course could lead to a world where average temperatures surpass preindustrial levels by more than 3 degrees Celsius. The Paris accord aims to hold warming to 1.5 degrees.

Why We Wrote This

When we asked readers how they think about climate change, we received dozens of responses from people who see themselves as part of the solution. While world leaders negotiate national climate commitments, we explore the role of the individual in climate action.

While delegates negotiate this week and next, we are exploring the role of the individual in tackling this global challenge. 

When we asked readers this fall how they think about climate change, we received dozens of responses from people who see themselves as part of the solution. Cynthia Kuest of DeLand, Florida, writes that she vowed to drive less after reading about changes in Alaska’s permafrost in a Monitor cover story. She sold her car in August and outfitted her bike for messy weather. 

“One benefit I discovered by riding my bicycle,” she says, “is that I am connecting more with people in my community.” 

Check back here throughout the summit for additional features.

Part 1: What can you do about climate change? A chat with Monitor reporters.

Part 2: Why you should talk about climate change – even if you disagree

Part 3: Not just Greta: Young people worldwide take charge on climate

Part 4: One diet fad scientists hope will catch on: climate-friendly eating

Part 5: How much can one person do to limit climate change? A graphic.

Part 6: Help wanted: Minneapolis recruits residents in the climate fight

 

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Climate change gets personal. Can one individual make a difference?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/Science-Notebook/2019/1206/Climate-change-gets-personal.-Can-one-individual-make-a-difference
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe