The primary cause of manmade global warming is heat from the sun being trapped by greenhouse gases. The main greenhouse gases we produce are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, the largest contributor is CO2. It's this gas that many people are taking steps to reduce emissions of. Below are some practical steps to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, they’re expanded upon in this earlier answer http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...
? Buy energy efficient appliances
? Don’t use standby on electrical devices
? Switch off items that aren’t being used (lights etc)
? Use energy efficient light bulbs
? Lower your thermostat
? Heat only the rooms that are in use
? Turn the water heater down a touch
? Insulate your property
? Turn the air-con down
? Sign up to a green energy supplier
? Dress appropriately, put on a jumper instead of turning the heating up
? Wash full loads of clothes
? Wash clothes at lower temps
? Dry your washing outside
? Turn off all but essential appliances when away from home
? Switch off lights when the workplace is unoccupied
? Avoid using dishwashers
? Reduce draughts
? Generate your own power
? Use rechargeable batteries
? Don’t overcharge devices
? Only boil water in the kettle that’s needed
? Buy local produce
? Recycle, reduce and reuse where possible
? Reduce paper consumption, opt or paperless billing
? Buy products with minimum packaging
? Set fridges and freezes at the correct temp
? Work from home if practical
? Eat less meat and dairy produce
? Shower instead of bath
? Conserve water
● FUEL EFFICIENCY
? Drive a fuel efficient vehicle
? If you have more than one vehicle use the most economical one
? When replacing your vehicle look at alternative fuel models.
? Walk or cycle short distances
? Consider car sharing
? Use public transport where possible
? Take a coach or train instead of using domestic flights.
? Combine multiple journeys into one, do the weekly shopping in a single trip.
? Stagger journeys where possible to avoid rush hour traffic and hold ups.
? Avoid harsh braking, accelerate gently, drive at a steady speed.
? Keep tyres properly inflated.
? Remove bike and ski and roof racks when not in use.
? Carrying unnecessary weight wastes fuel, declutter your vehicle.
? Use the correct gear, use cruise control if your vehicle has it.
? Keep your vehicle regularly serviced.
? Turn the engine off when stopped or waiting.
● CARBON OFFSETTING
Carbon Offsetting is one way to reduce or eliminate your carbon footprint, in most cases this involves calculating your greenhouse gas emissions and planting trees so as to absorb an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. Some websites where you can calculate your carbon footprint and purchase offsetting are...
● GEOENGINEERING
Ambitious schemes have been proposed that would manipulate our climate through geoengineering. These contentious schemes include constructing a giant sunscreen to block out some of the sun’s heat and artificial trees to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If these schemes are successful they could prevent global warming from getting worse and may be reverse the warming trend. There’s more about geoengineering in one of my earlier answers http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...
● FURTHER INFORMATION
Natural Resource Defense Council
http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/genergy.a...
Energy Saving Trust
http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/
Carbon Trust
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy
Energy Quest
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy
US Government
http://www.energy.gov/energyefficiency/i...
Alliance to Save Energy
http://www.ase.org/
UK Government
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmenta...
Rough Guides
http://www.roughguides.com/savingenergy/
As Gandhi said, "Be the Change you want to see in the world". Lets start with us and spread ideas and save the world.
start by been a better person, you first have to change yourself before changing the world
start by making an example out of yourself. be nicer to people. spread your ideas in a manner that opens their eyes and makes them realize what they have been missing out on.
i want to change it to the better place
