Resources

Each of us has the capacity to make small changes to help protect the environment:

• • • Get involved and advocate for environmental and climate friendly solutions!
    • Check your own carbon footprint.
    • Turn off the lights and other electronics when you leave a room.
    • Do not let the faucet run when brushing your teeth or doing dishes.
    • When shopping for a new car, consider buying a hybrid or electric vehicle. Check out the tax advantages available through the Inflation Reduction Act.
    • Consider alternative forms of transit: walk, ride a bike or scooter, take public transit, and carpool!
    • Consider installing green technologies in your home such as solar panels, high efficiency appliances, an induction stove, a tankless or heat pump water heater, and a heat pump heating and cooling system. Check out the tax advantages available through the Inflation Reduction Act.
    • Plant native plants in your garden (link is for Illinois, but native plant lists are available for any state).
    • Consider giving up disposable cups and only using reusable cups.
    • Consider buying coffee from businesses that ethically source their coffee or direct from farmers.
    • Bring your own bags when shopping to reduce demand for plastic bags!
    • Shop from second-hand stores.
    • Use a resource, like Ethical Consumer, that tells you if a company is ethical or not.
    • Know what brands are fast fashion and avoid buying from them.
    • Buy clothing from ethical brands. 

– Information used with permission from the Anthropocene digital lobby.

• Volunteer on a Lake Michigan beach cleanup: Find a Cleanup.
• Climate Action Evanston
• Evanston Environmental Association
• Chicago Environmental Justice Network
• Chicagoland Environmental Network
• Cook County Poplar Creek Prairie Stewards
• Illinois Environmental Council
• Large list/database of different Illinois environmenal groups: Eco-USA

• • Know who in the government is in charge of sustainability: Office of the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer.
  • Union of Concerned Scientist
  • The Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Sierra Club
  • US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • Know your congressional representative and write to them about issues that concern you. 

– Information used with permission from the Anthropocene digital lobby.

• • • World Wildlife Fund
    • The Nature Conservancy
    • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
    • Read the United Nation’s climate action plan.
    • Climate Action Network International
    • Fair Labor Association

– Information used with permission from the Anthropocene digital lobby.