So.

I fear that things are going to get bad quickly. (And I assume, since you're reading this webpage, that you share my fear.) Here are four things to do, in case you're looking for things to do:

First.

Switch to carbon-neutral electricity.

If you live in New York, visit the ConEdison Solutions website. I made the switch, and my total Con Ed bill, for a one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, rose from about $30 per month in the winter to about $45 per month in the winter. (My summer bills depend, of course, on how much air-conditioning I use. See the third point, below.)

If you live in California, visit the PG&E ClimateSmart website. Resources for people living in other states are available here.

Second.

Plant trees.

Trees are the best carbon sinks we have, and until we are able to retire our coal-fired power plants, we will need to plant many, many billions of them. (Trees are also beautiful, but unfortunately that's beside the point.) Three organizations that plant trees are:

• American Forests
• The Conservation Fund
• The Greenbelt Movement

All donations to all three are tax-deductible. (And, if you have any doubts about which are more noble, trees or people, I recommend Colin Tudge's book The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, And Why They Matter.)

I should say: I have read recently that planting trees outside of the tropics may be counter-productive, due to the dynamics of heat retention in temperate latitudes. If that proves to be the case, organizations like the Greenbelt Movement will become even more important.

Third.

Consume less.

One good way to do this is to begin charging yourself voluntarily the carbon tax that our democracy has yet to impose mandatorily. For example, book all of your travel through Travelocity's "Go Zero" program. (Airplanes are nasty things for the earth, and ought to be more expensive.) Other helpful suggestions are available at the Climate Crisis website.

Also, a number of my friends have spent the last decade building an ecologically sustainable village in Missouri that they call Dancing Rabbit. If you like what they do, they can use your support.

(I should mention that the economics of carbon-neutrality are complicated. If you're interested in learning more, consider reading the audit of carbon-neutrality charities available here.)

Fourth.

If you have money to invest, invest it in companies that support environmentally sustainable practices. If you have the right to vote, vote for folks who do the same. And if you have friends, email them about how much trouble we are in.

Of course public measures need to be taken. But the international treaties and the national legistation that we need in order to control greenhouse gas emissions will take time; and one insomnia-producing aspect of global warming is that we don't have time. We must therefore take privately what measures are available immediately. Hence these four suggestions.

Thanks. Be well.