President Obama recently reiterated the need to mitigate climate change. Given the amount of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, there is no time to lose. Weather patterns have already visibly shifted.

The most important action the public can take is reducing consumption of fossil fuels. There are many ways to do this; from retrofitting cities to become pedestrian friendly, to growing produce at home, to converting waste into energy.

There is great potential energy in the waste created in our homes. Food scraps, animal feces and human excrement give off methane gas as they decompose — the same gas that leaks into the air from frack wells.

Methane can power household appliances, is easy to harvest from decomposing material, and there will have an abundance as long as people continue to eat.

The cost to the environment of harvesting natural gas above ground is not only lower than harvesting gas by hydraulic fracturing, but it creates revenue. The leftover matter is natural fertilizer. Back in the garden, it improves soil and the produce nourishes our bodies, thereby improving the quality of the environment.

There are incredible opportunities for small businesses to capitalize on renewable energy systems, and there is no better way to secure energy independence than making it right in the community, without poisoning the water with toxic run-off, or causing earthquakes by blasting the rocks beneath our feet.

Emily Dingman, Lewiston