Earth Day is often a time for individuals to reflect on how the choices they make impact the global environment.
But individual effort can seem negligible when global corporations continue to foster dependence on fossil fuels or operate in ways that increase greenhouse gas emissions.
So who has the most responsibility for responding to urgent warnings about climate change? And what can individuals do to galvanize action?
Veerabhadran “Ram” Ramanathan, professor of climate and atmospheric sciences at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said Americans would need to depoliticize climate change in order to truly address it.
"Unfortunately, America is divided into two separate tents, and we disagree no matter what the issue is. So we need to unpack climate change from all the political culture that divides us, and that has to happen at an individual level," Ramanathan said.
He joined Midday Edition on Thursday with more on how individuals can meaningfully contribute to the global climate change discussion.
