Take Action
Montclair is moving toward a more sustainable future, and there are many ways you can help us lead in lowering our emissions and preventing further climate change. Take action below, and find out about how you can make a difference. Click through our action items to discover that sustainability often has other benefits: learn how going green can save you money, from electric vehicle subsidies to New Jersey’s community solar pilot program.
Individual Action
10 Things You Can Do!
Eat a more plant-based diet
Recycle and compost your trash
Walk and bike around town as much as possible
Buy 100% renewable electricity
Use public transportation
Buy an electric car
Use a heat pump to convert heating and AC to all electric
Get an energy audit for your house and find out how to save energy
Write to your elected leaders and demand action to address the climate crisis
Talk to your friends and neighbors about climate change
Community Action
Things We Can Do!
Transportation
“>Transportation is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, at 29% of our total. Unlike some other emissions sectors, you can control your own transportation emissions, which means there are many ways for individuals to make a real difference by changing their daily habits. Take the train to work, Walk or Cycle to school, or Ride the bus to the grocery store. Read more to learn about ways to reduce your transportation emissions, help save the planet, and possibly save yourself some money.
Energy & Electricity
In the United States, generating electricity still accounts for 25% of our total greenhouse gas emissions, and 60% of our electricity is still generated by fossil fuels. Here in Montclair, there are many ways to take action individually and as a community to make the transition. Learn about Sustainable Essex, a great program in Essex County to bring renewable energy to your home while lowering your energy bill. Or, read about how to purchase Solar Energy, either on your own home or by subscribing to a Community Solar Project.
Waste
There are more than 3,000 active landfills and 72 active waste incinerators in the United States alone, posing numerous threats to the environment. Luckily, there’s a lot we can do now to waste less and protect our environment at every scale, helping to stop global warming and win environmental justice for the New Jersey neighborhoods that suffer from our waste disposal. We can buy Sustainable Products and reduce our use of single-use plastics. We can Reuse and Recycle and Compost food scraps.
Buildings
Homes and commercial buildings are responsible for 13% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. That’s more than the entire agricultural sector, and only includes day-to-day, operational emissions! Overlapping with other sectors, the complete carbon footprint of residential and commercial buildings reaches to almost 40% of the US total. Clearly, to prevent climate catastrophe, we need to rethink our buildings. Luckily, we know exactly where to start. These emissions come from two main sources: Construction and Energy Use.
Contact Your Representatives
There are many ways we can take action against climate change individually, but to truly prevent the crisis, we must convince our elected officials in Trenton, Washington, and here in Montclair to take action. It’s our responsibility to show our leaders that strong climate policy has overwhelming public support and that we must act now. Our township is split between multiple districts, so enter your address here if you’re not sure who your representatives are. Find the names and contact information below for all of Montclair’s state and federal legislators, and let them know that action against climate change should be one of the government’s top priorities.
Continue to read all about the climate crisis. In Global Crisis and Regional Issues, you can learn about the science behind global warming and about how the changing climate will impact New Jersey and the rest of the world. Luckily, we know what we need to do to stop this. See our Mitigation and Adaptation pages to read about the steps we need to take to prevent catastrophe, and discover what you can do to help.