Margo Knox-As each of us learns to consciously create our own reality,and to know when and where our conscious and unconscious thoughts are manifest. Attention can turned to the more global ideas and our participation in group consciousness.
Do we settle for the status quo; the as is? And do battle like Don Quixote with the windmills thinking they are worthy of our attention. Or more importantly can we see through the miasma of political and governmental lies put forth in the name of control.
Hardly a week, or often a day goes by without some extreme weather condition, most recently severe floods have affected some parts of the world, severe cold in others. Wherever you live you will have experienced extraordinary weather conditions over the last few months and definitely during the past year or so. The official position on the part of the major governments of theworld is that global warming or climate change is due to carbonemissions from fossil fuels as the cause. In fact this is a myth whether the majorgovernments of the World believe it or not. It is a cloak under which the business of the world hides its uncertaintyIn an attempt to be “in control” of nature and the greater galacticforces of which we are both apart of and subject to.
What we are really experiencing are immutable, natural cycles ofenergy and weather patterns that have occurred throughout history. Climate changes occur with regular frequency with cold spells,or ice ages and warm spells, both of which accelerate as they reach a peak. Earth is currently reaching a natural weather cycle peak. And so the final outcome of these events or more specifically our experience of theseevents, at both a collective and individual level, will bedetermined by just a factor of which individually we are in controland that is human consciousness. Of course whatever humanity expects tohappen over the next few years will happen.
The major governments of the world are turning climate changeinto yet another set of ideas promoted as truth like the drugs industry or banking industry. These control ideas generally seek to take the money of consumerswhile the consumer feels grateful for it at the same time. You will see on the shelves of the supermarket more products labeled eco friendly and natural or kind to the environment or green, sold on the basis that if youbuy them you will be helping climate change.
These businesses will endeavour to cause peopleto purchase their eco friendly products in the context of savingthe world from the effect of climate change while feeling goodabout it. So it is important to keep these understandings real as you experience all aspects of the transition of the ages that we areall going through together in perspective. We cannot escape the apparent reality of the ever increasingextremes of weather conditions, but as we know, thoughts arethings, and the more people focus on these situations, the morethey will manifest into our experience. That said, and this is important having said the above, anything and everything we can do to help the planet,the environment and each other we must of course do first andforemost, but, most importantly, for all the right reasons. Thinking about the planet is the same as the thinking abouta loved one. The relationship is kind generous interdependentForgiving and loving with an innate knowledge that we are apart of a greater Universe of which we are not in control but can however learn to flow and be creative with; and this begins with our thinking, and where we place our attention.
All the best on your journey to greatness. Author by: Margo Knox
Showing posts with label Science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science. Show all posts
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
The Alternative Energy Revolutions Starts With You
John Erwin-Developing alternative energy sources is an undertaking that should appeal to people of every political persuasion. Whether you are concerned about global warming,or whether you are concerned about the national security implications of our dependence on imported oil, getting our civilization un-hooked from its addiction to fossil fuels is an issue that everyone should be ableto agree on. There are many things every individual can do today to improve our energy situation without waiting around for "them" to take care of it.
Some of the biggest alternative energy ideas will require vast concentrations of capital to bring to reality. Hydrogen fuel cell cars, plug-in electric hybrids, wind farms, cellulosic ethanol plants, thousand-acre photovoltaic farms, and wave energy projects all require research and development expertise and capital sources that are far beyond the reach of the average citizen.
However, one of the cheapest, easiest and potentially most effective forms of "alternative energy" is available to everyone. Unfortunately, it doesn't get as much press as it deserves. This form of alternative energy is CONSERVATION -- not using energy that we don't have to use. Also called "nega-watts", energy conservation is a vast potential reservoir of energy that we are currently letting go to waste. Energy conservation does not require making sacrifices. In many cases, using energy more efficiently actually improves quality of life and generates a far above average return on investment.
The best thing about energy conservation is that it doesn't require complex government regulations or advanced technology to implement. Almost every person living in a technologically advanced society can look around and find ways that they can use energy more efficiently.
In the past few years, we have done some simple things around our house that have resulted in about a fifteen percent reduction in our home energy consumption. We cut our electricity use by changing out most of our incandescent light bulbs with compact flourescents and by hanging our laundry outside to dry when the weather is pleasant. We turn off the power strips connected to our computers and other electronics when we shut them down. We replaced a 4 watt night light that stayed on all the time with a 0.37 watt LED night light that also stays on all the time. This tiny change cost $2.99 and will pay for itself in about a year by saving 31 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Of course, these things are a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the total electricity consumption in the United States, but if one hundred million American households figured out a way to save similar amounts, we could eliminate the need for a new power plant here and there.
We cut our natural gas consumption by plugging up obvious air leaks around the house. We put an insulating plug in the flue of a fireplace we never use, which keeps cold air from falling down through the damper which did not seal well. We use insulating panels in our windows at night, which keep a significant amount of cold air where it belongs in the winter -- on the outside. And, yes, we keep our thermostat turned down as low as we can in the winter and supplement our central heating by wearing sweaters and draping blankets on our laps to watch TV. It is a small "sacrifice", it saves a lot of money, and the cats love curling up on our blanketed laps in the evening.
All of these things cost very little money. Any investment we made quickly paid for itself in reduced utility bills. Plus, the savings go on and on year after year, representing significant tax-free returns on our investment.
Now that we have taken advantage of most of the "low hanging fruit" around our house, we are planning ahead for making some more serious investments which will also pay back in a short time and reduce our home energy consumption even more. In our near future, we see an extra twelve inches of attic insulation, an enclosed sun-space out our back door, and thermosiphoning air panels along our south-facing walls. By the time we are finished, our home energy consumption will be a tiny fraction of what it was a few years ago when we rarely gave it a thought.
Concerned about global warming and national security? Stop waiting around for the government to do something about it. Look around and do what you can do right now. For ideas on what you can do in and around your own home, visit Alternative Energy Resources and GreenRealist.Com today.
Some of the biggest alternative energy ideas will require vast concentrations of capital to bring to reality. Hydrogen fuel cell cars, plug-in electric hybrids, wind farms, cellulosic ethanol plants, thousand-acre photovoltaic farms, and wave energy projects all require research and development expertise and capital sources that are far beyond the reach of the average citizen.
However, one of the cheapest, easiest and potentially most effective forms of "alternative energy" is available to everyone. Unfortunately, it doesn't get as much press as it deserves. This form of alternative energy is CONSERVATION -- not using energy that we don't have to use. Also called "nega-watts", energy conservation is a vast potential reservoir of energy that we are currently letting go to waste. Energy conservation does not require making sacrifices. In many cases, using energy more efficiently actually improves quality of life and generates a far above average return on investment.
The best thing about energy conservation is that it doesn't require complex government regulations or advanced technology to implement. Almost every person living in a technologically advanced society can look around and find ways that they can use energy more efficiently.
In the past few years, we have done some simple things around our house that have resulted in about a fifteen percent reduction in our home energy consumption. We cut our electricity use by changing out most of our incandescent light bulbs with compact flourescents and by hanging our laundry outside to dry when the weather is pleasant. We turn off the power strips connected to our computers and other electronics when we shut them down. We replaced a 4 watt night light that stayed on all the time with a 0.37 watt LED night light that also stays on all the time. This tiny change cost $2.99 and will pay for itself in about a year by saving 31 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Of course, these things are a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the total electricity consumption in the United States, but if one hundred million American households figured out a way to save similar amounts, we could eliminate the need for a new power plant here and there.
We cut our natural gas consumption by plugging up obvious air leaks around the house. We put an insulating plug in the flue of a fireplace we never use, which keeps cold air from falling down through the damper which did not seal well. We use insulating panels in our windows at night, which keep a significant amount of cold air where it belongs in the winter -- on the outside. And, yes, we keep our thermostat turned down as low as we can in the winter and supplement our central heating by wearing sweaters and draping blankets on our laps to watch TV. It is a small "sacrifice", it saves a lot of money, and the cats love curling up on our blanketed laps in the evening.
All of these things cost very little money. Any investment we made quickly paid for itself in reduced utility bills. Plus, the savings go on and on year after year, representing significant tax-free returns on our investment.
Now that we have taken advantage of most of the "low hanging fruit" around our house, we are planning ahead for making some more serious investments which will also pay back in a short time and reduce our home energy consumption even more. In our near future, we see an extra twelve inches of attic insulation, an enclosed sun-space out our back door, and thermosiphoning air panels along our south-facing walls. By the time we are finished, our home energy consumption will be a tiny fraction of what it was a few years ago when we rarely gave it a thought.
Concerned about global warming and national security? Stop waiting around for the government to do something about it. Look around and do what you can do right now. For ideas on what you can do in and around your own home, visit Alternative Energy Resources and GreenRealist.Com today.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Top 50 Things To Do To Stop Global Warming
Global warming is a dramatically urgent and serious problem. We don't need to wait for governments to find a solution for this problem: each individual can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things. It's the only reasonable way to save our planet, before it is too late.
Here is a list of 50 simple things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the Global Warming phenomenon: some of these ideas are at no cost, some other require a little effort or investment but can help you save a lot of money, in the middle-long term!
1. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl). CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
2. Install a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.
3. Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer. Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling.
4. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner. Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
5. Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases. Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most efficient models available.
6. Do not leave appliances on standby. Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself. A TV set that's switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.
7. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket. You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 50°C.
8. Move your fridge and freezer. Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35ºC, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers.
9. Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly. Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.
10. Don't let heat escape from your house over a long period. When airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (10ºC or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 ton of CO2 emissions.
11. Replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing. This requires a bit of upfront investment, but will halve the energy lost through windows and pay off in the long term. If you go for the best the market has to offer (wooden-framed double-glazed units with low-emission glass and filled with argon gas), you can even save more than 70% of the energy lost.
12. Get a home energy audit. Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.
13. Cover your pots while cooking. Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!
14. Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full. If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.
15. Take a shower instead of a bath. A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximise the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.
16. Use less hot waterIt takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.
17. Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible. You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.
18. Insulate and weatherize your home. Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. Energy Efficient has more information on how to better insulate your home.
19. Be sure you’re recycling at home. You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates. Earth 911 can help you find recycling resources in your area.
20. Recycle your organic waste. Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions through the methane is released by decomposing bio-degradable waste. By recycling organic waste or composting it if you have a garden, you can help eliminate this problem! Just make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will cause methane emissions and smell foul.
21. Buy intelligently. One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.
22. Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can. You will also cut down on waste production and energy use!
23. Reuse your shopping bag. When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.
24. Reduce waste. Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.
25. Plant a tree. A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.
26. Switch to green power. In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. The Green Power Network is a good place to start to figure out what’s available in your area.
27. Buy locally grown and produced foods. The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.
28. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen. Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
29. Seek out and support local farmers markets. They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. You can find a farmer’s market in your area at the USDA website.
30. Buy organic foods as much as possible. Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!
31. Eat less meat. Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.
32. Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible. Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Look for transit options in your area.
33. Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates. Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year.
34. Don't leave an empty roof rack on your car. This can increase fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 10% due to wind resistance and the extra weight - removing it is a better idea.
35. Keep your car tuned up. Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.
36. Drive carefully and do not waste fuel. You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car mantainance.
37. Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated. Proper inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!
38. When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle. You can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency on FuelEconomy and on GreenCars websites.
39. Try car sharingNeed a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies – such as Flexcar - offer low emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar.
40. Try telecommuting from home. Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.
41. Fly lessAir travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel by investing in renewable energy projects.
42. Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions. You can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action.
43. Join the virtual march. The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to bring people concerned about global warming together in one place. Add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of other people urging action on this issue.
44. Encourage the switch to renewable energy. Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them. Take action to break down those barriers with Vote Solar.
45. Protect and conserve forest worldwide. Forests play a critial role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere - deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on global warming and forests.
46. Consider the impact of your investments. If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. Check out SocialInvest and Ceres to can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change.
47. Make your city cool. Cities and states around the country have taken action to stop global warming by passing innovative transportation and energy saving legislation. 194 cities nationwide representing over 40 million people have made this pledge as part of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Find out how to make your city a cool city.
48. Tell Congress to act. The McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would set a firm limit on carbon dioxide emissions and then use free market incentives to lower costs, promote efficiency and spur innovation. Tell your representative to support it.
49. Make sure your voice is heard! Americans must have a stronger commitment from their government in order to stop global warming and implement solutions and such a commitment won’t come without a dramatic increase in citizen lobbying for new laws with teeth. Get the facts about U.S. politicians and candidates at Project Vote Smart and The League of Conservation Voters. Make sure your voice is heard by voting!
50. Share this list! Send this page via e-mail to your friends! Spread this list worldwide and help people doing their part: the more people you will manage to enlighten, the greater YOUR help to save the planet will be (but please take action on first person too)!
http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html
Here is a list of 50 simple things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the Global Warming phenomenon: some of these ideas are at no cost, some other require a little effort or investment but can help you save a lot of money, in the middle-long term!
1. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl). CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
2. Install a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.
3. Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer. Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling.
4. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner. Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
5. Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases. Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most efficient models available.
6. Do not leave appliances on standby. Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself. A TV set that's switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.
7. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket. You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 50°C.
8. Move your fridge and freezer. Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35ºC, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers.
9. Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly. Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.
10. Don't let heat escape from your house over a long period. When airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (10ºC or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 ton of CO2 emissions.
11. Replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing. This requires a bit of upfront investment, but will halve the energy lost through windows and pay off in the long term. If you go for the best the market has to offer (wooden-framed double-glazed units with low-emission glass and filled with argon gas), you can even save more than 70% of the energy lost.
12. Get a home energy audit. Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.
13. Cover your pots while cooking. Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!
14. Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full. If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.
15. Take a shower instead of a bath. A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximise the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.
16. Use less hot waterIt takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.
17. Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible. You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.
18. Insulate and weatherize your home. Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. Energy Efficient has more information on how to better insulate your home.
19. Be sure you’re recycling at home. You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates. Earth 911 can help you find recycling resources in your area.
20. Recycle your organic waste. Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions through the methane is released by decomposing bio-degradable waste. By recycling organic waste or composting it if you have a garden, you can help eliminate this problem! Just make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will cause methane emissions and smell foul.
21. Buy intelligently. One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.
22. Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can. You will also cut down on waste production and energy use!
23. Reuse your shopping bag. When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.
24. Reduce waste. Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.
25. Plant a tree. A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.
26. Switch to green power. In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. The Green Power Network is a good place to start to figure out what’s available in your area.
27. Buy locally grown and produced foods. The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.
28. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen. Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
29. Seek out and support local farmers markets. They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. You can find a farmer’s market in your area at the USDA website.
30. Buy organic foods as much as possible. Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!
31. Eat less meat. Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.
32. Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible. Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Look for transit options in your area.
33. Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates. Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year.
34. Don't leave an empty roof rack on your car. This can increase fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 10% due to wind resistance and the extra weight - removing it is a better idea.
35. Keep your car tuned up. Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.
36. Drive carefully and do not waste fuel. You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car mantainance.
37. Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated. Proper inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!
38. When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle. You can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency on FuelEconomy and on GreenCars websites.
39. Try car sharingNeed a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies – such as Flexcar - offer low emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar.
40. Try telecommuting from home. Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.
41. Fly lessAir travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel by investing in renewable energy projects.
42. Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions. You can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action.
43. Join the virtual march. The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to bring people concerned about global warming together in one place. Add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of other people urging action on this issue.
44. Encourage the switch to renewable energy. Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them. Take action to break down those barriers with Vote Solar.
45. Protect and conserve forest worldwide. Forests play a critial role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere - deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on global warming and forests.
46. Consider the impact of your investments. If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. Check out SocialInvest and Ceres to can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change.
47. Make your city cool. Cities and states around the country have taken action to stop global warming by passing innovative transportation and energy saving legislation. 194 cities nationwide representing over 40 million people have made this pledge as part of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Find out how to make your city a cool city.
48. Tell Congress to act. The McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would set a firm limit on carbon dioxide emissions and then use free market incentives to lower costs, promote efficiency and spur innovation. Tell your representative to support it.
49. Make sure your voice is heard! Americans must have a stronger commitment from their government in order to stop global warming and implement solutions and such a commitment won’t come without a dramatic increase in citizen lobbying for new laws with teeth. Get the facts about U.S. politicians and candidates at Project Vote Smart and The League of Conservation Voters. Make sure your voice is heard by voting!
50. Share this list! Send this page via e-mail to your friends! Spread this list worldwide and help people doing their part: the more people you will manage to enlighten, the greater YOUR help to save the planet will be (but please take action on first person too)!
http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Stop Global Warming
Paul Arnold - More frequently we are being given reminders that we are living on a fragile and volatile planet. Many of our natural resources have been processed to near depletion. As the world population grows more land and resources are being used to cope with the increase in demands and deforestation, this in turn has a by product, Pollution and Global Warming. Global Warming is a "Global" issue and is not particular to one event or action, although one event or action repeated round the world by millions of us could make a big difference.
Because the effects of Global Warming are created by many different actions it is hard to put a "Cover All" solution into place. A "Cover All" solution is equally hard as it would have to be established as part of an international policy, a policy that would need every country to sign up to, but that's politics and will be covered in a separate article. This article is aimed on focusing the individual actions.
What can one person do?
Alone, not a lot but imagine if millions of others just like you done the same thing round the world! That would make a big difference on a Global scale, now imagine this happened with various different products at the same time!
The biggest pollutant in most of our lives is our beloved Car, for most of us the car is an integral part of our lives. Without taking the drastic measures of not having a car and hampering our lifestyles there are still a few tricks left to reducing the motor vehicle carbon emissions. Car sharing work journeys, lower c02 emission cars, hybrid cars, cutting out short journeys that can be done on foot, and public transport.
Having now looked at the ways to reduce global warming in regards to your traveling attention can now turn to the management of household waste products like old bottles, newspapers, excess paper, tins, unwanted toys, food and other such items. Many of these items can be recycled or disposed of without being put into a general land fill. All it requires is a few vital minuets to separate and sort it and it's done.
For instance you can make compost for your garden from food stuff like onion peelings, tea leaves, spoiled vegetables and fruit can be turned into compost. The items like tins, old bottles, papers and newspapers can be taken to recycling centres where they will be eventually taken for recycling.
You can take your old clothes, toys and other goods to charity shops so that someone else will have the chance of using them. This way you can prevent the many garbage dumps from becoming too full. This is another way to reduce the effects of global warming that rarely crosses our minds.
As you can see, while the large industries and companies work to reduce global warming on a large scale, the small scale reduction is down to the individual. For those of us who are looking at the ways to stop global warming our homes, the way we travel and our lifestyles can be looked at with this goal in mind. In the end it is all of our collective efforts to stop global warming which will help us to live a better and cleaner life. You may only be ably to change one element of the above at a time, but can you imaging the impact if everybody done just ONE thing?
About the Author
Global Warming site aimed at focusing individual efforts to what causes global warming and what we can do to help.
Because the effects of Global Warming are created by many different actions it is hard to put a "Cover All" solution into place. A "Cover All" solution is equally hard as it would have to be established as part of an international policy, a policy that would need every country to sign up to, but that's politics and will be covered in a separate article. This article is aimed on focusing the individual actions.
What can one person do?
Alone, not a lot but imagine if millions of others just like you done the same thing round the world! That would make a big difference on a Global scale, now imagine this happened with various different products at the same time!
The biggest pollutant in most of our lives is our beloved Car, for most of us the car is an integral part of our lives. Without taking the drastic measures of not having a car and hampering our lifestyles there are still a few tricks left to reducing the motor vehicle carbon emissions. Car sharing work journeys, lower c02 emission cars, hybrid cars, cutting out short journeys that can be done on foot, and public transport.
Having now looked at the ways to reduce global warming in regards to your traveling attention can now turn to the management of household waste products like old bottles, newspapers, excess paper, tins, unwanted toys, food and other such items. Many of these items can be recycled or disposed of without being put into a general land fill. All it requires is a few vital minuets to separate and sort it and it's done.
For instance you can make compost for your garden from food stuff like onion peelings, tea leaves, spoiled vegetables and fruit can be turned into compost. The items like tins, old bottles, papers and newspapers can be taken to recycling centres where they will be eventually taken for recycling.
You can take your old clothes, toys and other goods to charity shops so that someone else will have the chance of using them. This way you can prevent the many garbage dumps from becoming too full. This is another way to reduce the effects of global warming that rarely crosses our minds.
As you can see, while the large industries and companies work to reduce global warming on a large scale, the small scale reduction is down to the individual. For those of us who are looking at the ways to stop global warming our homes, the way we travel and our lifestyles can be looked at with this goal in mind. In the end it is all of our collective efforts to stop global warming which will help us to live a better and cleaner life. You may only be ably to change one element of the above at a time, but can you imaging the impact if everybody done just ONE thing?
About the Author
Global Warming site aimed at focusing individual efforts to what causes global warming and what we can do to help.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Global Warming
Global warming is a popular term used to describe the increase in average global temperatures of the earth due to the greenhouse gases effect, resulting in an increase in the volume of water which contributes to sea-level rise. Greenhouse gases occur by increasing of gas emissions. Increasing of gas emissions is caused by human activities such as burning coal, oil and natural gas. This releases CO2, Methane and other greenhouse gasses to atmosphere.
As we know more than 200 leading climate scientists have warned the United Nations Climate Conference (In Bali) of the need to act immediately to cut greenhouse gas emissions, with a window of only 10-15 years for global emissions to peak and decline, and a goal of at least a 50 per cent reduction by 2050. The side effect of global warming are increasing sea-levels caused by increasing the volume of water as mentioned before, causing by temperature heat make glacier retreat, arctic shrinkage, and altered patterns of agriculture are cited as direct consequences. As predicted by scientist for secondary and regional effects include extreme weather events, an expansion of tropical diseases, changes in the timing of seasonal patterns in ecosystems, and drastic economic impact.
As this problem caused by human activities so to prevent this things to be worse is start from our self. Begin from reducing the level of certain gases that enter our atmosphere and caused devastating changes to our world, watch how much fuel that we use in vehicles and other fuel powered machines. Encourage to stop illegal logging and give some education to people to plants for reforestation. The critical reductions in global emissions of greenhouse gases and the atmospheric stabilization target highlighted in the Bali Declaration places a tremendous responsibility on the Bali United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Negotiations at Bali must start the process of reaching a new global agreement that sets strong and binding targets and includes the vast majority of the nations of the world. Now let us fight together to stop global warming for better life.
As we know more than 200 leading climate scientists have warned the United Nations Climate Conference (In Bali) of the need to act immediately to cut greenhouse gas emissions, with a window of only 10-15 years for global emissions to peak and decline, and a goal of at least a 50 per cent reduction by 2050. The side effect of global warming are increasing sea-levels caused by increasing the volume of water as mentioned before, causing by temperature heat make glacier retreat, arctic shrinkage, and altered patterns of agriculture are cited as direct consequences. As predicted by scientist for secondary and regional effects include extreme weather events, an expansion of tropical diseases, changes in the timing of seasonal patterns in ecosystems, and drastic economic impact.
As this problem caused by human activities so to prevent this things to be worse is start from our self. Begin from reducing the level of certain gases that enter our atmosphere and caused devastating changes to our world, watch how much fuel that we use in vehicles and other fuel powered machines. Encourage to stop illegal logging and give some education to people to plants for reforestation. The critical reductions in global emissions of greenhouse gases and the atmospheric stabilization target highlighted in the Bali Declaration places a tremendous responsibility on the Bali United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Negotiations at Bali must start the process of reaching a new global agreement that sets strong and binding targets and includes the vast majority of the nations of the world. Now let us fight together to stop global warming for better life.
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