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Top 50 Things To Do, To Stop Global Warming -
(source : http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html)
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!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Clean or replace filters on your furnace and
air conditioner -
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of
carbon dioxide a year.
- Choose energy efficient appliances when making
new purchases -
Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to
choose the most efficient models available.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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%!
- 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
- 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.
- Use less hot water -
It 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Choose products -
that come with little packaging and buy refills when
you can
You will also cut down on waste production and energy
use!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Buy fresh foods instead of frozen -
Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. ERideShare.com runs a free national service
connecting commuters and travelers.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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 Fuel Economy and on Green Cars
websites.
- Try car sharing -
Need 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 Flex car - offer low
emission or hybrid cars too!
- 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.
- Fly less -
Air 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.
- Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions
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You can extend your positive influence on global warming
well beyond your home by actively encouraging other
to take action.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Social Invest 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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).
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