As the effects of global warming increase in severity, many of us understandably want action. Multiple organizations focus on climate change communication and persuading people to act. But in many ways, this effort has hit a wall: the percentage of Americans who think that global warming is happening has held steady over the past two years, at around 70%. Furthermore, belief does not always incite action. How can we speed up progress in persuading people to act?
What if we take another communication approach? What if we communicate about a topic less likely to face the challenges faced by focusing on climate change? What if we do not even mention global warming or climate change? Why would we make this change in our communications strategy? Because if people act on it as a result, we also contribute to reversing global warming. The topic I’m referring to is simple living.
Simple living, also referred to as “minimalism,” is the practice of being more intentional in purchases and eliminating from your life that which is inessential to health or happiness. The results will vary for different people, as diverse people have diverse sets of values.
Communicating about global warming faces several challenges that simple living communications avoid. Perhaps the most vexing challenge to climate change communication is the issue’s cultural and political polarization, and even denial that global warming is happening. This causes many conversations about global warming to quickly derail. Talking about simple living does not face this challenge. While there are advantages and disadvantages to simple living, it’s not related to politics. It’s an attitude and approach to life.
Another challenge with climate change is that the topic can trigger fear and worry, and even a sense of hopelessness. Simple living, conversely, is a positive concept, as it is about taking control of your life. It’s about examining the possessions, people, and pursuits in your life and choosing those that bring the most joy. It inspires action rather than rumination. Simple living is associated with positive actions rather than with problems that feel overwhelming.
Global warming on its surface seems impersonal and abstract, making it challenging for people to relate to. While there are ways to frame climate change in a more personal way, living a simple life is inherently about your life, and that of your direct community. It’s also concrete, as you can take actions to live a simpler, more fulfilling life. These actions include reducing belongings or moving to a smaller, more serene living space.
Thus, encouraging people to live a simple life faces fewer challenges than persuading them to take action on climate change. Simple living calls individuals to action. Following from that action, we address global warming by lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Several simple living tenets lead to reduced emissions. The first is focusing on fewer, more valuable activities. Doing less will typically correlate with driving less instead of busy, transportation-focused routines such as shuttling the family from one event to the next. Based on data from the EPA and Bureau of Transportation Statistics, reducing social and recreational trips by just one-third could result in 0.14 Gt of reduced CO2 emissions in a single year. If continued over a 30 year period as in the Drawdown analysis, this action by itself has similar impacts to their 47th ranked solution.
A second simple living practice is to focus on health. Healthier living may lead to habits such as biking rather than driving. As just discussed, less driving results in lower emissions. Another healthy practice with beneficial emissions effects is going vegetarian or vegan. As discussed in the Drawdown project, this can reduce greenhouse gasses significantly; it is their fourth ranked most impactful solution.
Additionally, a recent simple living trend is the “tiny house” movement. One analysis estimates that if U.S. homes averaged 1,200 square feet instead of the current 2,008 square feet, CO2 emissions caused by housing would drop by 38%. Obviously, this reduction couldn’t happen immediately, but as new housing is built, a “small is beautiful” trend can prove to be beneficial for our greenhouse gas reduction efforts.
Finally, the most common simple living maxim is reducing possessions. Fewer trips to the store, fewer deliveries to the home, and less trash to the landfill will all reduce emissions. This also curtails the emissions associated with creating consumer goods. One study explored a transition to simple living that included reduced discretionary spending, and found this resulted in a potential 37% household emissions reduction.
My suggestion to invigorate our communication about simple living might worry those who now focus their communication efforts on global warming. They might justifiably feel we need to communicate about global warming clearly and frequently. I agree. I would not argue to stop doing so. I am proposing to add an independent component to the communication.
Based on the mounting evidence, people will soon realize global warming is real. But meanwhile, we face audiences entrenched in denial. We face anxiety. We face this nebulous issue of climate change. Instead, we can spur necessary and environmentally beneficial action by communicating about simple living. We shouldn’t forego that opportunity.
FOOTNOTE
Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash
