By Lori Danielson

You may have seen the new climate report released by National Audubon. It’s titled “Survival by Degrees: 389 Species on the Brink,” and it shows that as global temperatures rise, weather patterns shift, and vital habitats dwindle and disappear, more than 64% of bird species across the country are vulnerable to extinction. It illustrates why we need to take action now to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to explore the report at climate.audubon.org.

Seeing the report, my reaction was to look for ways in which I could personally take action. Climate change is an overwhelming environmental problem, like the problem of plastic pollution I wrote about earlier this year. So I was happy to see that Audubon Washington has described five actions that individuals can take to make a difference.

Reduce your use of energy at home and ask your elected officials to support energy-saving policies that reduce the overall demand for electricity and that save consumers money.
Ask your elected officials to expand consumer-driven clean energy development that grows jobs in your community – like solar or wind power.
Reduce the amount of carbon pollution released into the atmosphere. In order to drive down carbon emissions, we will need innovative economy-wide solutions that address every sector of the economy – like a fee on carbon. Another option is to address carbon emissions one sector at a time like setting a clean energy standard for electricity generation.
Advocate for natural solutions, from increasing wetlands along coasts and rivers that absorb soaking rains to protecting forests and grasslands that are homes to birds and serve as carbon storage banks and putting native plants everywhere to help birds adapt to climate change.
Ask elected leaders to be climate and conservation champions.

I’m now committed to reducing my energy use and becoming a stronger advocate for the birds and our environment with elected officials. Will you join me?