We need a lot more climate heroes

The dictionary defines hero as a person noted for feats of courage, outstanding achievements and nobility of purpose. This rules most of us out.

I prefer my personal definition: a person of noble purpose who is grounded (in climate science), humble, persistent, willing to sacrifice and able to utilize others’ strengths. This is more reachable for the average person.

A climate hero uses these attributes to act on and speak up about climate change. It impacts both his personal and public life. He is an activist in the best sense of this term.

On the personal side, a climate hero walks her talk as best as her circumstances permit.

According to Project Drawdown (a group of highly regarded climate scientists who have thoroughly researched our options; see drawdown.org), the top two personal steps are:

Reduce your food waste It is estimated that as much as a third of all food produced goes to waste — that’s from the farm to the supermarket to one’s own refrigerator.

Only put on your plate what you can eat and consume leftovers in a timely manner.

Eat a lot less meat This is better for you as well as for our natural environment. Among other things, eating meat means cutting down trees to create pastures for grazing. Trees are in the front lines of fighting climate change.

Project Drawdown’s top 10 list of personal steps also includes the following: For the homeowner and landlord, one can consider better insulation, heat pumps (including water heaters), solar energy, LED lighting and better insulated windows. Check out the Canada Greener Homes grant for financial assistance for these positive steps. Where feasible, we can also consider public transit and carpooling.

There are two other important proactive steps I will add to our list of individual actions.

First, “Be more. Need less.” Avoid the orgy of overconsumption and waste.

Second, spend more time outdoors. Ground yourself in natural beauty. This reminds you of what we are fighting for … and why.

On the public side, a climate hero commits to three key steps:

1. Talk your walk. Tell others about the personal steps you are taking to fight climate change. You need to speak of your challenges and successes so others are inspired to follow.

2. Talk openly about climate change. It is by far the most existential issue humankind has ever faced and our tendency to not talk about this gigantic elephant in the room is fatal. We can’t rely on someone else. We can’t afford to say, “I’m too busy with other things.”

3. Lobby your elected officials at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. Commit to loudly and repeatedly demanding change, election time or not.

I am 74 years old. I could easily shrug off my responsibilities by saying, “Oh, well, it’s not going to impact me.” As a career outdoor and environmental educator, I regard this attitude as a profound cop-out. It is selfish. It ignores our children and grandchildren. It ignores what is already happening — the massive forest fires in Canada last summer and, more recently, Chile; the massive flooding in California. These events are only going to get more frequent, more widespread and more intense; this is already occurring.

We need a lot more every day and “everyday” climate heroes. Otherwise, we continue on our path to what the UN secretary-general characterizes as “collective suicide.”