Climate change is a big topic! We hear a lot about it lately in the news, in newspapers, and in people’s conversations. Climate change is something that we all need to talk about, and many questions are surrounding it.  People often get lectured about the things they are doing wrong in the world today. So, we would like to use this series to open people up to the idea of having conversations so that we can all work together to find solutions.   I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach, and my favorite co-host, Tony Pratte, is joining me today for another episode in our series on climate change.  In this episode, we talk about human-made climate change. We will talk specifically about the choices that we can make, as humans, to fight the whole people-driven part of climate change.  Tony and I want to help you, the listeners, climb into the details of climate change. We want to encourage you to think about things differently, and we would like to help you dive deeper into the issues that matter and consider a perspective that you might not have thought of before. Everything has become politicized There has been a lot of discourse and disagreement around climate change, and like everything else, the topic of climate change has become politicized. Grace I come from two things - people and grace. I come from caring about everyone, including the people I know and those I don’t. In the past, people have forgiven me for the wrong things I believed in or what I did wrong. That helped me to understand how important it is to give grace to everyone else. Talking about things Tony and I have honest conversations. Although we often disagree about things, we always agree to talk about them. You have to be able to discuss every issue from both sides because that is the only way you will ever find the truth. 600,000,000 Years of Climate Change Climate change is a fact. It is real. Some things have been going on for 600,000,000 years that cause the heating and cooling of the earth naturally. Tony has a chart that he stares at every time we talk about climate change. The name of the chart is 600,000,000 Years of Climate Change. Climate change impacts our lives  Climate change impacts every area of our lives. That includes our food, livelihood, social injustice, the buildings we live and work in, and our transportation. It all matters! Yet, we have run amuck! We have made decisions that are not in our best interests in the long term because there are many unintended consequences to those decisions. There is a winner and a loser When someone is doing what they can to maximize their quality of life, there is always a negative externality that is causing someone else to have less. Everything is balanced If you look at the physical rules of our universe, everything is balanced. That could be happening with human-induced climate change. Human impacts on the environment A National Geographic article highlights that humans impact the physical in many ways. Those include overpopulation, pollution, and deforestation. Those kinds of changes have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water. Air quality The air quality improved in many urban centers across the planet during the pandemic. The quality of our lives We need to consider what we are willing to accept for the quality of our lives. Social cost There is often a social cost to the recycling of things, which is not accounted for. A growing movement  There’s a growing movement to buy products from companies that support your values and do things that are in line with you or better. More and more companies are telling us about what they are doing to be accountable for their actions. A better quality of life Some people are willing to spend a little more to buy what they need for a better quality of life that has less impact on the environment.  An impact Almost every activity we engage in to improve our quality of life has an impact that can be negative on our or someone else’s