Global warming is the #1 environmental problem today, but everyone can effectively fight it by offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions they are responsible for, essentially erasing their carbon footprint and ‘undoing’ the damage.
-- DrivingGreen.com

Glaciers are receding and ice shelves are breaking off into the sea. Sea levels, rising and getting warmer, are flooding coastal communities, killing marine life, and producing catastrophic storms that cause sizable damage, loss of life, and rampant homelessness. A third of our country is experiencing drought; another third is flooded; and the last third is on fire. All of this is causing crop failures and some of us are starving. Much of our energy comes from fossil fuels – coal, oil, and natural gas that formed underground from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. But they release heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. This, coupled with the carbon dioxide that the 6,000,000,000 of us around the world release daily, is causing global warming, and it is this warming that breaks the glaciers and causes the errant weather conditions.

Perhaps that’s why we’re visiting other planets. Ours is becoming extinct.

Maybe humans did so much damage to some other planet millions of years ago that we had to explore earth and move here before we burned up or used up all its resources. Hmmm...

So what can we really do to save ourselves and the planet from what some call a natural and inevitable occurrence?

We can all ride bicycles, live in solar houses, raise our own food and cattle, and have no more children.

Okay, realistically, there’re a lot of simpler and more practical things we can do to preserve the earth we’ve got, and if each of us does these things, we can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, the stuff that clogs up the air and makes it warmer, by a large percentage.

First of all, we can keep our mouths shut more often. The more we talk the more energy we expend into the universe. Think about all the hot air you spread each day... Okay, that may not be a documented way to decrease gas emissions, but, less talk gives you more time to listen, and listening increases thinking, thinking you can do to take seriously the issue of global warming and formulate solid plans to reduce it. So, shut your mouth.

Next time you brush your teeth, turn the water off, you’ll save gallons of water. Or, better yet, brush your teeth in the shower as you shower which, by the way, uses less water than taking a bath. Kill two birds with one stone. Speaking of birds, don’t kill any real ones; they eat moths and flies, the flies that land on your food that was expensive because of the drought and flooding.

When you wash, either the clothes or the dishes, make sure you’ve got a full load in the washing machine and dishwasher; open the fridge only after you’ve decided what you want to eat, not while you decide; and turn off your lights and unplug your appliances when they’re not in use. Those are simple.

Use compact fluorescent lights instead of standard bulbs in your lamps. They use two-thirds the energy and last 10 times longer; lower your water thermostat to 120 degrees; over the course of a year, it’ll save you nearly 10% on your heating and cooling bill; and when the grocer asks you if you want paper or plastic, tell him, “Neither. I brought my own jute bags because paper kills trees and plastic takes 100 years to biodegrade.” Okay you don’t have to say all that, but just take your own bags.

When you drink bottled water, you’re not only increasing the crude oil consumption it takes to make the bottles, you’re wasting the hard earned money you pay each month to your local municipal water service whose responsibility it is to keep your tap water fresh and safe for you to drink. If you don’t trust that water, challenge your water company.

Plant a seed-bearing tree each year so that all that carbon dioxide you’re breathing out can be converted into breathable oxygen. The tree roots help hold soil in place to prevent flooding and the leaves and branches provide food and shelter for numerous creatures that are vital to the earth’s ecosystem. And keep the pesticides out of your garden so it won’t kill off the dragonflies who eat up all the mosquitos!

And speaking of trees, all the junk mail you receive everyday could heat a small country. Visit the privacy rights clearinghouse at http://www.privacyrights.org to stop junk mail. You don’t read it anyway.

Drink organic or fair trade coffee which supports small farms that don’t use chemicals. Buy, or grow, organic flowers. Don’t use Styrofoam or plastic forks and spoons. Keep your tires full; this reduces gas mileage by 3%. Use ceiling fans to circulate the air in your home. Use a dark screensaver on your computer; it uses less of your monitor’s energy. Use appliances with the energy star label; sometimes you can get a tax break for this. Carpool; you’ll get to use the HOV lane.

Since most of us don’t want to stop having children (or raise cattle in our backyards), and the children we have deserve a chance to live on earth, we must each be responsible for reducing what’s causing earth’s extinction. Every little bit of pollution and energy consumption hurts; every little thing we can do to stop polluting and save energy helps. Do your part and encourage somebody else to do the same.

Sadiqqa © 2007