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Individual and Global Warming
Hi,
The article published by Om Prakash for the Global Warming is really
useful. My suggestion is publish the article how to stop the Global
warming. What the Individual can do to stop the Global Warming. Find
some article http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html 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. We recommend you
purchase your CFL bulbs at 1000bulbs.com, they have great deals on both
screw-in and plug-in light bulbs. 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. 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 energy efficient products 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 30-35şC, 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
(10şC 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 maximize 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... another help against global warming.
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. In
some of these, you can even get refunds by government if you choose to
switch to a clean energy producer, and you can also earn money by
selling the energy you produce and don't use for yourself. 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. Seek farmer’s markets in
your area, and go for them. 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
service connecting north american 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 tire
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
FuelEconomy and on GreenCars 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 Flexcar and Toyota - offer low
emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar. 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 carbon
emissions by investingin renewable energy projects. 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. 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. Protect and
conserve forest worldwide Forests play a critical 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 saving forests from
global warming. 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. 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. All of us must have a stronger commitment
from our 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. 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)!
Satyabrata Pattanayak
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