Articles

Simple Steps to Combat Global Warming

by D. Jones and A. C. LaMonica

In the last couple of years we have seen growing attempts to raise awareness about the effects of global warming on this planet. Last year global warming was thrust into the mainstream by the popular documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” by former vice president, Al Gore. Still after all the media attention and scientific evidence, some people don’t believe that global warming is a real and immanent threat to our world. For those people, I have one simple question. What harm will it do in trying to make a couple changes? Even if global warming is just a bunch of scientists and "liberal tree huggers" being paranoid, what is the harm in making a couple of changes to our daily lives and at least trying to clean up a few things for this planet that has given us so much in the last oh…million years (6000 if you’re evangelical)? The following are just a couple of things we can do to help lower our greenhouse gas emissions and maybe even save a couple of bucks in the process.

1. Change your light bulbs to CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp). By replacing your familiar incandescent light bulbs with CFL bulbs we can cut down on the daily energy usage in our homes. This in turn will cut down on the overall power usage used by power plants that burn harmful fossil fuels. While initially a bit more expensive, CFL bulbs last about ten times longer than incandescents and use 50-80% less energy. Not only will you save money on your energy bill but you won’t have to replace your bulbs as often. Replacing a single bulb with a CFL bulb will keep an average of 1 ton of Co2 out of the atmosphere over the lifetime of the bulb. Click hereto purchase these light bulbs.

2. Walking, Riding a Bike, Carpooling or Using Public Transportation. Instead of driving to your local convenient store or movie rental place, try walking, riding a bike or using public transportation. When you drive, your car releases an average of 20 lbs of carbon dioxide per gallon of gas. So if you live close enough to walk or ride your bike do so, and maybe even bring a family member along. Not only will you be saving money by not having to drive and use gas but you may get a chance to enjoy some personal conversation time with a loved one in the process. In our fast paced, "get it done now" society we forget that by slowing down and enjoying a nice walk or bike ride, it can be enjoyable and save the environment as well.

3. Unplug Un-Used Electronics. It may seem that when our home electronic appliances and devices are off they don't use electricity or at least not much. However, that idea is completely false. Some appliances like cable boxes, video game boxes, and even some TVs and VCRs use as much power when they're off as when they're on. To make unplugging multiple electronics easy, plug everything into a power strip and simply shut off the power strip before you go out. Practice this simple routine and you could save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $256 per year!