LIFESTYLE CHOICES MATTER

If just 1 in 10 people changed how they ate, drove, heated or shopped, it would add up to a big climate impact in the U.S.

- AYA DIAB

Climate change is often viewed as an issue that’s too big for individual action to matter. But calculations show that personal choices add up, and the impact can be significant.

The Associated Press looked at four everyday behaviors in the U.S.: food, transportation, home energy and clothing. The question was then posed: What if just one in 10 Americans who currently eat beef, drive gasoline cars, heat their homes with natural gas or buy new clothes changed each of those habits?

To find out, the AP gathered data from federal agencies and other sources on each habit, then calculated how much emissions would be reduced if one out of every 10 users made a switch. The answer is tens, and in some cases hundreds of billions of pounds of carbon pollution avoided each year.

Food: Swapping beef for chicken makes an impact

Beef is one of the most carbon-intensive foods in the global food system because cattle emit methane and require vast amounts of land and feed, creating large amounts of climate pollution. Producing beef generates greenhouse gas emissions several times higher than chicken.

The recommended serving size of meat in the U.S. is 3 ounces, according to the American Heart Assn. Swapping one serving of beef that size for chicken once a week would cut about 10 pounds of carbon dioxide. Over 52 weeks in a year, that would equal a reduction of about 525 pounds of carbon dioxide per person per year.