What Can an Individual Like Me Do to Protect the Environment?

Adapted from the book Collapse by Jared Diamond, here are some actions an individual can take to impact environmental protection, even without wealth or power.

First and foremost, each individual should not expect to make a difference through a single action or even a series of successful short-term goals. Instead, if we want to make a difference, we should commit to a lifelong action policy.

Voting

In a democratic society, we can use our vote to support representatives who we believe will take beneficial actions to improve environmental issues if elected. Ask questions about the issues you care about during voter meetings to understand their stance.

Shopping Choices

As consumers, we can consider what products to buy or not buy. Large corporations operate for profit. They will stop producing products that the public does not buy and shift to producing and enhancing products that the public does buy. Prioritize purchasing from brands with environmentally friendly policies.

Drawing Attention to Company Policies and Products

Large corporations often do what consumers want but receive less praise for good actions than criticism for bad ones. In the fable about the contest between the Wind and the Sun to make a man remove his coat: After the Wind blew strongly without success, the Sun shone brightly and won. Consumers can learn a lot from this story, as large corporations implementing environmental policies know that no one will believe them if they self-praise their policies to a skeptical public; they need public help to get their efforts recognized. Besides condemning "dirty corporations," praise "lovable corporations."

Consumers wanting to impact large corporations with their purchasing choices need to identify the most sensitive link to public influence. For example, if you dislike the way mining operations are conducted in your hometown, try to influence retail chains in the city that use materials from your hometown. Retail chains will base their purchasing decisions on your buying trends, which in turn affects mining companies.
Amplifying Power by Mobilizing Others

Of course, as a single voter or consumer, you cannot sway election results or force giant retail corporations to act according to your wishes. But any individual can amplify their power many times over by mobilizing other voters and consumers. Start with parents, children, and friends. Many talented employees complain or switch jobs because their friends, acquaintances, and family make them feel ashamed of their company's activities. While few of us know millionaires or politicians, our children's classmates or our friends likely have connections to influential people—those who are very sensitive to how their children, friends, and relatives perceive them.

Investing Time and Effort to Improve Local Environmental Quality

Efforts to address local environmental issues not only make our lives more comfortable but are also effective. Residents understand the situation best and benefit directly when the environment improves, so our efforts are more likely to be supported and replicated. Our actions can become a model for others to follow, even in other countries. Local environmental organizations regularly interact, exchange information, and support each other. We will persuade people in other countries to adopt better environmental policies for the benefit of all humanity (including ourselves) more effectively if we pursue those policies ourselves.

Donating to Environmental Organizations We Support

Most environmental organizations operate on tight budgets, and their operating costs are very efficient, so even small contributions can make a big difference. This is true for both the richest and largest environmental organizations. For example, you can contribute one tree with just 35,000 VND donated to the JOY Foundation's Forest Garden project. This tree will live for many years, participate in the ecosystem where it is planted, prevent water and air pollution, improve soil, combat desertification, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mitigate natural disasters, and regulate the climate.