How to Fix the Climate, in One Simple Flowchart

Will eating fewer hamburgers help? How about dumping iron into the ocean? Here’s your one-stop shop for the answers.


During his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama promised that if Congress didn’t act swiftly on climate change, he would. And a few months into his second term, he’s already made a few promising moves. His political action group, Organizing for America, is taking climate deniers to task by issuing a mocking video of Republicans and a plush new website tool to help figure out which members of Congress are most resistant to taking climate action.

All this is a good start, but considering the opposition he faces in the House, what can Obama actually accomplish? And if an economy-wide carbon price is off the table, what’s next? What if he can’t get his new EPA administrator through the painstaking Senate approval process without being filibustered? And what about those other plans you’ve heard of to hack the planet, like pouring iron into the ocean?

The following chart is your one-stop shop for mitigating climate change from the top down. We look at what’s next for the Obama administration as well as where your own individual choices fit into the big picture. Choose your own climate action adventure:

James West, Climate Desk

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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