Afireonthesnow

Yikes, that sounds really scary to be in that position 😰 I'd certainly wish the feds got to me first too

Adding on to what OP said here.

There are a lot of things you can do - lobby is a huge one. Join a group like Sierra Club, 350, Citizens Climate Lobby, Got Green etc. They can help train you how to engage with your representatives and are organized to actually get projects done. If you don't want to do this, CALL you're representatives and tell them to do more on climate, keep up to date with political news and be able to call on specific bills or issues. Right now call in support of the reconciliation bill and tell your rep to oppose line 3. You can also support carbon fees/taxes and a carbon standard. (That was a very American paragraph, sorry)

Locally, lobby for improved bike infrastructure and for healthy urban green spaces. Pressure the utility companies to improve their energy mix to green energy.

Donation is another big thing, money is easier than action for some people. Research into non profits you are passionate about, or donate to carbon offsets (make sure they are reputable). I personally donate to Rainforest Trust cause I have a big conservation passion. Through some orgs you can offset your emissions for a couple hundred dollars a year

For individual footprint, you put out ~12-16 tons of carbon every year. You can do a lot to minimize this bit even if you do get it down to 0 it's not a huge impact UNLESS you influence your neighbors/friends/family to make changes as well. The big hitters are lifestyle changes like using public transportation, or eating less meat. You can also attempt to move towards zero waste. If you open your house, insulate your attic, and a switch to a heat pump when it's time to change your AC or heater (unless you get your electrical from coal).

Learn to care for the land you inhabit. Grow native plants in your yard, ditch grass, ditch concrete, rewild your lawn. Reach out to indigenous communities or universities in your area if you want to learn more about the local ecosystems.

Volunteer on your community to improve resilience. Volunteer with whatever you're passionate about, a healthy community will be more equipped mentally, politically, and financially to deal with climate.

Finally, educate yourself so you can talk to others about climate confidently. I would recommend the podcasts How to Save a Planet and Matter of Degrees. Also the book project drawdown.

It's not a waste in regards to climate change.... Regenerative ag will increase organic matter in soil, improving the soil structure and microbiome. This will rebuild our topsoil which will capture carbon (our current system is carbon positive even if you ignore the combine fuel) and allow for a much better crop with less fertalizer, which reduces high nitrogen runoff that's been destroying our oceans and leading to algae blooms that kill of hundreds of thousands of fish.

OP is right it's an environmental benefit first and foremost but that directly ties to climate change. It's all a big system and healthier environments are going to withstand climate change better than degraded ones. And if we can find a way to grow food on a piece of land that's suffering from drought, that increases our likelihood of keeping people where they live despite rising temperatures.

Loads of industry and contractors support the space industry. The money used for these vehicles trickle into the rest of the industry which goes into the pockets of those engineers that support design build and test if facilities, ground support equipment and the vehicle itself.

Also, the customers of spacecraft (payload) is a whole other industry that supports GPS, satellite imaging, cell phones, TV, and much more. So if you are linked to those industries you benefit from spaceflight. Think of mega companies like Apple it Samsung, they wouldn't be here without satellites.

Sciences also benefit. Geology and cosmology gain huge boons from probes and telescopes, but astronauts also spend most of their time working on experiments that contribute to medicine, life cycle growth, engineering, materials etc etc. That all trickles into R&D of many many industries which benefit the common man as a consumer.

Plus it's cool.

=)

Good I love father Ted, it would have me wheezing