Do the actions of ONE person really matter?

If you’ve ever swapped out a lightbulb for an LED and thought, “Well, that’s not going to save the planet,” you’re not alone. Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, world-renowned climate scientist, author, and activist, has heard that same doubt countless times. But here’s the twist—while those small actions do cut heat-trapping emissions, she crunched the numbers and found that if every climate-concerned person with the resources made every possible sustainable choice, it would only fix about 20% of the problem.

So does that mean we should give up? Absolutely not. Because history tells a different story. Think about the abolitionists boycotting sugar and cotton produced by slave labor, or the suffragists fighting for women’s right to vote, or the civil rights movement, or the legalization of gay marriage. These transformations weren’t sparked by people quietly doing the right thing at home. They happened because people used their voices together, demanding something bigger than what they could change alone.

That’s why Dr. Hayhoe’s number-one piece of advice isn’t about compost bins or electric cars (though she still loves those). It’s about conversations. Real ones. Not about distant polar bears or melting ice sheets, but about what’s happening to us—our health, our homes, our favorite fishing spots, the local rivers we kayak, the gardens we tend. Talk about climate change at the dinner table, at your school, in your workplace, at your book club, at your church. Because when we talk about it, we think about it. And when we think about it, we act.

Joining climate action groups like ours (Sustainable Stillwater MN) multiplies that voice. Looking into where your money is invested (hello, green banks and credit unions!) makes your finances part of the solution. Talking to your elected officials—even the local ones who usually don’t hear from climate-concerned constituents—can shift the needle in surprising ways. And yes, personal choices still matter: whether that’s weatherizing your home, choosing clean energy, or showing off your new heat pump. The secret is to make those choices contagious by talking about them.

So why aren’t more of us doing this? Dr. Hayhoe points out that most Americans—67%—are worried about climate change. But only 8% are actually taking action. The problem isn’t apathy, it’s paralysis. Fear and doom might get clicks on social media, but they also shut us down. What we need is hope. And not the fluffy, “don’t worry, it’ll all work out” kind of hope. Real hope. Hope that requires action. Because when we act, we see change. And that change fuels more hope.

Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. And when our “somethings” add up, they become unstoppable. As Dr. Hayhoe reminds us, every tenth of a degree of warming matters, and every action matters too.

Here in Stillwater, we believe that. From planting pollinator gardens to biking instead of driving, from calling city hall to celebrating local businesses going green, we see the ripple effects every day. Change doesn’t happen because someone else takes care of it—it happens because we all show up.

So yes, your actions matter. Your voice matters even more. And together, we can make hope go viral.

---

Climate Change Statistics and Sources

• Individual actions – limited impact (≈20%): Even large-scale voluntary efforts by concerned individuals have a relatively small effect on total emissions. For example, the UN Environment Programme’s ActNow campaign notes that if 1 billion people worldwide take climate actions (such as installing solar panels or eating plant-based), global carbon emissions could be reduced by only about 20 % (unep.org). This implies that even if all Americans who care (and have the means) took personal steps to cut their carbon footprints, they would address only roughly one-fifth of the climate problem.

• Public concern (≈64–67% worried): Multiple surveys show that roughly two-thirds of Americans express worry about climate change. A Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC) survey (Dec 2022) found 64 % of U.S. adults were at least “somewhat worried” about global warming (climatecommunication.yale.edu). Hayhoe often phrases this as “two-thirds (≈67 %)” of Americans being worried. These figures match other recent findings that a clear majority (around 60–65 %) of Americans say they are concerned about climate change.

• Public engagement (≈8% taking action): In contrast, very few Americans translate their concern into action. Katharine Hayhoe notes that only about 8 % of Americans are “activated” – meaning they are actively doing something (e.g. contacting officials, changing behaviors) to address climate change (faithandleadership.com). In her words, at least two-thirds are worried but only ~8 % are actually taking climate action.