In the last couple of years, we have seen a significant uptick in the engagement of millions of people hoping to move things in a positive direction on a wide range of issues. We’re living in an activist age. People are actively seeking out ways to make a positive impact in their own lives. From the Women’s March to the March for Our Lives, people are turning out in the streets in record numbers. From lawyers providing pro bono counsel to families facing deportation to young people organizing fossil fuel divestment campaigns at their schools, people are clamoring for hands-on ways to engage on the ground.
On the environmental front, there is plenty to do. With the Environmental Protection Agency being dismantled from within, climate scientists coming under attack by climate skeptics and polluting industries, and our national parks being significantly scaled back, the health of our environment can use all the help it can get. When basic environmental protections we have taken for granted for decades are degraded, it is up to individuals to take things into their own hands.
Our aim is to allow people to do just that. We are counting down to the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020 by empowering people to take simple actions that make a big impact. Our “Do Just 1 Thing” campaign allows people to take control of their electricity supply and support the transition to wind and solar energy at our website dojust1thing.org.
In some cases, this might mean making a one-time 60-second switch to renewable energy that will result in monthly support via your regular electricity bill to renewable energy suppliers. In other cases, it might mean joining a community solar project, which allows households and small businesses to become a partial leaser of a brand new rooftop solar farm in NYC and saves you money as you get paid for the electricity generated by those solar panels. It’s a win-win for both the environment and your household budget as you can help build solar energy generation and save money.
In the new age of activism, don’t sit on the sidelines. Take a simple action that has a big impact today. Do just one thing. Then tomorrow do one more. And day by day all our actions will build the future we want to live in.
John Oppermann, Esq. is Earth Day Initiative's Executive Director, and a Green Real Estate Speicalist at Green Green|Real Estate|NYC. Metro US is a proud partner of Earth Day Initiative. Visit dojust1thing.org for more informatoin on how to make a difference.
