How to Start Your Environmental Activism Journey

Medium Jun 5, 2018
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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Giving Compass’ Take:

• On Medium, CallHub’s Saurav Pathak discusses ways that aspiring activists can get involved in environmental issues, from diving deep into research to uniting like-minded people.

• How can we all start putting our ideals into action? These are some good, basic steps — but it’s up to everyone to forge their own path.

• Looking for some impact investments? Here’s why environment-related bonds are catching on.

For most things in life, from keeping a bug collection as a hobby to putting a satellite into orbit, taking off is the hardest part. The same happens even for activities people are really passionate about. There are a lot of people around the world right now who feel they need to get involved in environmental activism but put off the effort for tomorrow.

Here are some ways to get involved.

Stick to the facts. Every time an issue or bill related to the environment comes under discussion, the furore is caused by skeptics who tend to downplay the impact. They would cite the lack of concrete evidence or turn to misinformation to strengthen their position. At such a situation, it is natural to want to take them head-on and prove them wrong. Fighting the naysayers is not worth your time. Reach out to the undecided individuals and get them to participate.

Contest for an influential role. It is likely you would feel insignificant to affect policymakers’ decision on a matter on your own. If the issue is a local one or affects your community, you should gear up for a position where you can influence change. Stand for election to your city council or a position in your municipal board.

Reach out to decision makers. Even if you cannot commit to contesting for an election or organizing a public event, you could still do a bit every day for the environment. That is you can call your local congressman’s office to let them know your position on the issue. The opinion of their home constituents matters for representatives and senators because they face re-election every few years.

 

Read the full article about how to get started with environmental activism by Saurav Pathak at medium.com.

Interested in learning more about Climate? Other readers at Giving Compass found the following articles helpful for impact giving related to Climate.

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    Peter Makasi's crop yields were small, and the family often had to ration food to survive until the next harvest. He knew his land could be more productive, and that he could stave off hunger for his family, if only he had access to better-quality inputs. In 2009, Peter joined One Acre Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides smallholders with high-quality inputs on credit, without the need for collateral, along with training on proven farming techniques to increase crop yields. Soon, Peter’s harvest increased sixfold — enabling his family to have plenty to eat year-round. With his additional income, Peter has been able to pay school fees for his children and grandchildren, buy solar lights for his house and purchase chickens and ducks for his farm. More than 450 million smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America lack access to financial services, with an estimated $200 billion in unmet needs for credit worldwide. It is possible, and often profitable, for financial institutions to reach them. To do so, practitioners need to tailor their services with farmer-specific risks in mind. AMK MFI Plc, part of the Agora Microfinance network has been doing this since 2006. Instead of requiring farmers to borrow all at once and repay in regular installments or lump sums at the end of a loan term, the company began offering a flexible disbursement and repayment option, allowing farmers to draw down the loan in parts and also make repayments whenever they had cash on hand. Farmers are often considered risky customers because many factors that influence their productivity and income — But that doesn’t mean that investing in farmers isn’t worthwhile. It is possible to offer sustained, long-term investment to smallholder communities even in difficult years. The key is to place clients’ needs at the center of business decisions and respond quickly to problems. Read the full article about impact investing in small farmers by OneAcre at ImpactAlpha.

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