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    Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste
    Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste
    Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste
    Ebook448 pages1 hour

    Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste

    By Eduardo Garcia and Sara Boccaccini Meadows

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Learn what you can do right now to reduce your carbon footprint with this inspiring, accessible, stunningly illustrated book based on Eduardo Garcia’s popular New York Times column.
     
    “This beautiful and practical book on the climate crisis is for people of all ages, packed with wonderful pictures, powerful stats, and sound advice.”—Mike Berners-Lee, author of There Is No Planet B

    Award-winning climate journalist Eduardo Garcia offers a deeply researched and user-friendly guide to the things we can do every day to fight climate change. Based on his popular New York Times column “One Thing You Can Do,” this fully illustrated book proposes simple solutions for an overwhelming problem. No lectures here—just accessible and inspiring ideas to slash emissions and waste in our daily lives, with over 350 explanatory illustrations by talented painter Sara Boccaccini Meadows.

    In each chapter, Garcia digs into the issue, explaining how everyday choices lead to carbon emissions, then delivers a wealth of “Things You Can Do” to make a positive impact, such as:
    •  Eat a climate-friendly diet
    •  Reduce food waste
    •  Cool your home without an air conditioner
    •  Save energy at home
    •  Adopt zero-waste practices
    •  Increase the fuel efficiency of your car
    •  Buy low-carbon pet food
    •  Hack your toilet to save water
    •  Slash the carbon footprint of your online shopping

    Delivering a decisive hit of knowledge with every turn of the page, Things You Can Do is the book for people who want to know more—and do more—to save the planet.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherClarkson Potter/Ten Speed
    Release dateApr 19, 2022
    ISBN9781984859679
    Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste
    Author

    Eduardo Garcia

    Passionate comic book artist Eduardo Garcia works from his studio (Red Wolf Studio) in Mexico City with the help of his talented son, Sebastian Iñaki. He has brought his talent, pencils, and colors to varied projects for many titles and publishers such as Scooby-Doo (DC Comics), Spiderman Family (Marvel), Flash Gordon (Aberdeen), and Speed Racer (IDW).

    Read more from Eduardo Garcia

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      Book preview

      Things You Can Do - Eduardo Garcia

      Cover for Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste, Author, Eduardo Garcia, Illustrations by Sara Boccaccini MeadowsBook Title, Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste, Author, Eduardo Garcia, Illustrations by Sara Boccaccini Meadows, Imprint, Ten Speed Press

      Text copyright © 2022 by Eduardo Garcia

      Illustrations copyright © 2022 by Sara Boccaccini Meadows

      All rights reserved.

      Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

      www.tenspeed.com

      Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Garcia, Eduardo, 1976– author. | Meadows, Sara Boccaccini, 1986– illustrator.

      Title: Things you can do : how to fight climate change and reduce waste / by Eduardo Garcia ; Illustrations by Sara Boccaccini Meadows

      Description: First edition. | New York : Ten Speed Press, [2022] | Includes

      bibliographical references and index.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2021031478 | ISBN 9781984859662 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781984859679 (ebook)

      Subjects: LCSH: Climatic changes. | Waste minimization. | Climate change mitigation.

      Classification: LCC QC902.8 .G37 2022 | DDC 640.28/6—dc23/ eng/20211008

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021031478

      Trade Paperback ISBN 9781984859662

      Ebook ISBN 9781984859679

      Editor: Sarah Malarkey | Production editor: Kim Keller

      Print designer: Lisa Schneller Bieser

      Print typefaces: Filson Pro and Filson Soft by Mostardesign, Colby by J Foundry, Macarons by Latinotype, Palmer Lake by Jen Wagner Co.

      Print production manager: Dan Myers

      Copyeditor: Lisa Brousseau | Proofreader: Kathy Brock

      Indexer: Ken DellaPenta | Fact checker: Hannah Seo

      Publicist: Felix Cruz | Marketer: Monica Stanton

      Ebook production manager: Eric Tessen

      rhid_prh_6.0_148350778_c0_r0

      Contents

      Introduction

      One

      There Is No Planet B

      Two

      Power Up

      Three

      A Climate-Friendly Diet

      Four

      Eco Travel

      Five

      What a Waste

      Things You Can Do to Bring Systematic Change

      Super Practices

      Resources

      Sources

      Acknowledgments

      About the Author and Illustrator

      Index

      Introduction

      The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.

      — Robert Swan, British explorer and the first person to walk to both poles

      Are you familiar with the parable of the hummingbird? It goes like this:

      One day, a huge wildfire breaks out in the forest, forcing all the animals to flee. Terrified, they find refuge by the edge of the forest, where they feel overwhelmed and helpless as they watch the ferocious flames destroy their beautiful home. They are paralyzed, except for the hummingbird, who says, I’m going to do something about this fire. She flies to the nearest river, scoops a few drops of water with her beak, rushes toward the blaze, and drops the water onto the fire. And off goes the hummingbird, back and forth between the river and the flames at whizzing speeds, dropping water into the blaze at every turn. The rest of the animals are stupefied. The elephants, the bears, the deer, and the other big critters that could carry much more water yell at the hummingbird, What are you doing? Your beak is tiny, you can barely carry any water! And without missing a beat, the hummingbird turns around and tells them, I’m doing the best I can.

      That’s what Things You Can Do is about—doing the best we can.

      Like the forest animals in the hummingbird parable, we’re facing our biggest challenge as greenhouse gases warm our planet, wreaking havoc on the climate system. Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by around 2.1°F (1.2°C) since the start of the Industrial Revolution. The extra heat has thrown the climate system off balance, unleashing catastrophic events, from rising sea levels and destructive mega-storms that threaten coastal communities to wildfires that turn billions of trees into ash and droughts that deplete fertile cropland of nutrients.

      The reason is clear. Greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, are trapping the sun’s heat in the atmosphere. We humans have created all that carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels with our cars, our airplanes, our factories, and our power plants.

      The solution is clear, too. We need to stop burning fossil fuels and usher in a green economy that relies on renewable energy, electric and shared forms of transportation, and sustainable diets.

      But that is easier said than done. For decades, those with the most power to fight climate change have turned a blind eye. Politicians, company executives, and investors have mostly stayed on the sidelines, watching this catastrophe unfold, issuing targets that they rarely meet, and even denying that climate change is happening at all.

      After decades of broken promises, expecting that governments and corporations will fix the climate crisis is at best naive and at worst irresponsible and reckless. We need to demand that they implement transformative changes to slash emissions, but It’s also up to us, the humble hummingbirds, to do the best we can.

      And there is a lot we can do. Research cited by the United Nations shows that households are responsible for two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions, which makes sense when you consider that there are 7.7 billion people on Earth—and by 2050 we will be nearly 10 billion.

      But we are not all equally responsible. Those of us living in the United States, the European Union, and other developed countries have greater carbon footprints because we typically drive bigger cars and have to heat and cool larger homes with electricity generated by burning fossil fuels. To compound the problem, the food we eat is mostly produced by industrial farms that cause deforestation and rely on aggressive agrochemicals that poison pollinators and pollute waterways. And we generate humongous amounts of waste, much of which ends up in the environment, where it kills countless animals.

      There is no question about it—our lifestyles are destroying planet Earth. Like parasites, we live at the expense of our host.

      But we can turn things around. If each one of us reduces the carbon emissions associated with our lifestyles, it will go a long way toward fighting climate change.

      This book was inspired by a series of stories I wrote for the New York Times. Beautifully illustrated by Sara Boccaccini Meadows, backed by peer-reviewed research, official statistics, and interviews with researchers and activists, Things You Can Do is a toolbox filled with dozens of actionable tips that will allow you to slash your carbon footprint and live in closer harmony with nature. From reducing plastic waste, recycling efficiently, and increasing your car’s mileage to cooling your home without an air conditioner, composting, and eating a climate-friendly diet, this book is packed full of thoughtful practices and ideas that can build a bridge to a better tomorrow.

      One

      There Is No Planet B

      Earth is the most magical place in the universe. It’s the only planet where countless species of plants and animals have flourished through millennia, from single-cell organisms like cyanobacteria to mighty dinosaurs and everything in between.

      They have all thrived here for the simple reason that Earth is the only planet in our solar system with the right temperature to sustain life. That temperature is constantly changing—it varies with the seasons, drops at nighttime, and is influenced by the weather.

      The temperature also depends on where on Earth you are. Equatorial regions remain warm most of the year, and the poles tend to be pretty cold all the time.

      The coldest place on Earth is Vostok, Antarctica, where the thermometer dropped to −128.6°F on July 21, 1983.

      The highest temperature of 134°F was recorded in Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913.

      By measuring temperatures in many places across the globe and through the years, scientists have come up with an average surface temperature for the period 1951 to 1980: 57°F.

      That is pretty balmy—perfect for life to thrive.

      That’s in large part because Earth is in the so-called Goldilocks zone. Our planet is not too close to its host star (the sun) and not too far—just the right distance for liquid water to exist. If we were closer, water would evaporate. If we were farther away, it would freeze.

      Earth is also perfect for life because the liquid metal in its core works with the planet’s rotation to generate a magnetic field that keeps gases trapped in the atmosphere. If it weren’t for this magnetic field, those gases would be spilled into space.

      The atmosphere is our planet’s comfort blanket, and the magnetic field holds the gases needed for life, such as nitrogen and oxygen, close to the surface. No other planet in the solar system has this lucky combination.

      The Solar System’s Gas Giants

      Jupiter. The largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter is twice as massive as all the other planets combined and is thought to have 79 moons. Jupiter is made mostly of swirling gases and liquids, with an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium. Its powerful atmospheric pressure turns the hydrogen into liquid, creating the largest ocean in the solar system. Jupiter cannot sustain life because it does not have a solid surface and is beset by ferocious storms that can last for centuries—the planet’s Great Red Spot is an anticyclonic storm that has lasted for at least 340 years.

      Saturn. Named after the Roman god of agriculture and wealth, Saturn is a massive ball of mostly hydrogen and helium. It is encircled by seven rings made of chunks of ice, rock, and as many as 82 moons. Saturn is also unlivable. The strongest hurricane on Earth can reach a top wind speed of 360 feet per second, while the winds in Saturn’s upper atmosphere reach 1,600 feet per second. The atmospheric pressure of Saturn is so powerful that it turns gas into liquid, just like on Jupiter. Astronomers think that two of its moons, Enceladus and Titan, could potentially host microbial life.

      Uranus. Named after the Greek god of the

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