What Can You Do to Slow Down Global Warming? Help Prevent Global Warming with These Household Tips
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We need to start taking responsibility for the emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and CH4 (methane) that are creating a hole in the ozone layer. This hole catalyzes global warming by allowing more heat into our atmosphere. Since 1750, the level of CO2 in our atmosphere has increased by 31% and CH4 has increased by a staggering 149%. Surprisingly enough your family’s home can produce more pollution than the average gas operated car, so it is time to start taking some action! There are different ways that you can reduce your home’s yearly gas emission levels on any budget. Don’t let your home be an enemy to the ozone layer.
Recycle
Recycling is a free way to get started helping the environment. Some of the many things that can be recycled include: cans, bottles, newspaper, plastics, glass and even batteries. You can bring your cans and bottles to your local redemption center or donate them to charity. Sort out your newspapers, plastics, and glass into separate containers and check with your local sanitation department as to where they will be accepted. When you recycle, you help reduce the CO2 emissions because factories will not be producing extra materials. Another way to get on the recycling bandwagon is to buy products that are sold in already recycled containers.
Screw in a Lightbulb
An effortless and cost efficient way of reducing gas emissions in your home is as easy as screwing in a light bulb! You can reduce your electricity bill up to 67% and help the environment by replacing your current C02 producing light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Initially, Compact fluorescent light bulbs will cost you a few dollars more, but they will last 10-20 times longer than standard bulbs. Compact fluorescent lights also fit in standard fixtures, so there is no need to spend any additional money on buying new fixtures.
Plant Some Trees
A slightly greater investment to undertake around the house is planting trees and plants around your home. Fifty pounds of carbon can be recycled per year by the plants since they use it during photosynthesis. Planting trees around your property is cost effective because shade from them can reduce your air conditioning bills. After you’re done planting trees and plants around your yard, make to sit back and enjoy the savings, not to mention your new landscape!
Drive a Hybrid
If you are really gung-ho about reducing pollution, and have some extra money, consider investing in a hybrid vehicle. Hybrid vehicles do require fuel to run, however the fuel consumption levels compared to the average vehicle are much lower. Lesser fuel consumption translates into a reduction in gas emissions that are eating away at the ozone layer. Cars such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic can get up to 48 miles per gallon.
Causes of Global Warming & What You Can Do
All the causes of global warming can be separated into two categories: natural and human influenced. Global warming cannot be stopped, but it can be slowed down. While nothing can be done about the natural causes, something can be done about the human influences that are catalyzing global warming. You may not think that replacing your light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs will make much of a difference. Please consider this: what if everyone did just one or two things to help? Everyone’s efforts can combine to form a significant difference. You and your household can play an important part of that difference. Not only will you be doing something good for the environment, but you also will save a lot of money on electricity and/or fuel bills. Everyone can benefit from being environmentally conscious.
Go Green!
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References
Environmental Protection Agency. Make a Difference: Climate Smart Tips to Protect the Earth. By EPA. 17 Jan. 2000. U.S. Environment Protection Agency. 12 Oct. 2005 <http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/ActionsIndividualMakeaDifference.html
Federal Trade Commission. Energy Efficient Light Bulbs: A Bright Idea. By FTC and U.S. Department of Energy. June 2000. Federal Trade Commission. June 2000. 14 Oct. 2005 <http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/products/ffclight.htm>.
“Global Warming.” Wikipedia. 20 Sept. 2005. 20 Sept. 2005 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming>.
"Hybrid Vehicle." Wikipedia. 12 Oct. 2005. 17 Oct. 2005
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_car>.
Global Warming in the News
- Himalayan glaciers untouched by global warmingNDTV8 hours ago
A new report by India's Ministry of Environment and Forests has suggested that the Himalayan glaciers are not wasting away due to global warming.
- Letter: We canât solve global warming if we donât acknowledge itOpelika-Auburn News25 hours ago
In her Tuesday column, Floy Lilley proposes that instead of global warming, there is now a cooling trend. On the same day, the American Scientist E-News directed attention to an independent study by the Associated Press wherein four independent statisticians analyzed recent climate data and found that, small fluctuations notwithstanding, the global temperature trend is still upward.
- Global warming could worsen storm, flood losses: StudyBusiness Insurance33 hours ago
Insured losses from windstorms and floods in Britain and typhoons in China could rise significantly if global warming predictions turn out to be correct, according to a study released last week by the Assn. of British Insurers.
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Comments
I would have to agree with you there. This article outlines what can be done about the sources that come from humans. I'm personally convinced that global warming is more so influenced by natural causes, such as water and natural occurring methane(sounds like you are too), however my task for this course was to write a paper on what humans could do to help slow it down.
If you really want to understand the impact of carbon emissions on global warming, read "Sea Sick" by Alanna Mitchell. She is a reporter, not a scientist - as a result, she does an excellent job of communicating the overall story in very understandable language.
One of the issues is that CO2 is very persistent in our environment. Methane (while also a greenhouse gas) is not. Water vapour is also not a huge contributor, because it doesn't have the same persistence. It can also be more easily assimilated into the natural system. On the other hand, CO2 is something that earth had "stored" away (and out of circulation). The world's deposits of fossil fuels, that humans are wildly burning, are rapidly releasing the CO2 back into the environment, where it becomes too much of a "good" thing on many levels, including both air and oceans.
I have a hub on Mitchell's book. It is a short review - the book itself is much better.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Sick-Seas-How-Alannah-Mitc
Another hub I did is on "carbon sequestering". This is a way that humans could mimic the global / natural processes of storing carbon away (where it won't damage the life-based chemistry of the planet).
http://hubpages.com/hub/Capturing-Carbon-Is-Carbon
If we think that we merely caught the trend upwards in global climate just by accident, the argument is much more complex. CO2 in the air has risen from what geologists say is a mean of 200 ppm (over many millions of years) to the current level of 387 ppm in our air in less that 200 years. This is a huge change. Even if we go back just 100 years, we've added over 100 ppm to the concentration of CO2 in the planet's air. While it's possible that we are wrong about that process (any human opinion / belief is susceptible to our flaws), it seems unwise to take no action in the face of such a large increase in CO2 (and such wide-ranging impacts as are documented in Mitchell's impactful book.)
global warming and climate change is happening but with cooperation from everyone, there still hope that we could do something before its to late.
Another action that can be taken is to install low-flow plumbing, such as showerheads and toilets. Obviously, water is conserved, but so is the electricity that your utility company would have used to pump that water.
We just replaced two of our toilets. It wasn't too hard, and because our county, like a good many today, is offering rebates for these installations in order to cut water demand, it was almost free.
How often can you upgrade your house and get the county to pay?
I did a hub showing what's involved:
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-not-to-install-a-low-f
You can also learn about the history of some of the early global warming science, starting with this hub:
One of the things people forget is that if you buy new "environmentally friendly" stuff (like lightbulbs and cars) to replace stuff that's still useful, you may actually be doing the environment more harm than good!
It may be better to run an old car into the ground, even if it is a gas guzzler, than replace it with a hybrid which will consume vast amounts of hydrocarbons to build.
I am sorry, but I just don't buy into this theory of global warming. I like to think of it as climate change. If you look back over history, the climate changes in cycles. At the minute, it is getting colder, not warmer. It will continue to change and run in cycles for the whole of time.
Don't get me wrong, I am into saving the planet with recycling and not being wasteful of resources but there is little we can do to stop the weather cycles. If you look into carbon emissions here in the UK, we produce 2% of the global emissions. Reducing this to a lower figure will not have the dramatic effect on the climate that is hoped as the figure is so low to start with.
nicomp says:
6 months ago
Doesn't most methane come from non-human sources?
Isn't water vapor a more significant "greenhouse gas" than CO2 and CH4?