AT THE RISK OF BEING RUDE…
You’ve been hearing much about being green lately and it made you think that perhaps it is time to change some of the ways you have been doing things. So you go out and buy a few CFLs to swap them for the old-fashioned incandescent bulbs, you started recycling and conserving water and energy, cutting your showers short and washing laundry in the cold water, just to name a few… Maybe you even stopped using plastic bags in the grocery stores (or anywhere else for that matter) and instead bought the reusable ones… Perhaps you started car pulling or even went as far as getting a hybrid… (wouldn’t that be something!).
There are probably plenty of little sacrifices you try to make every day for the sake of the environment… And then one day you notice one of your neighbors throwing away a few cardboard boxes into the regular trash bin even though the recycle trash bins are only a few feet away. And you think to yourself: “How inconsiderate!”. But you feel foolish enough not to mention anything. Then when you look around, you start noticing that many of the houses in the neighborhood have the outdoor lights on even though it’s a bright day! And to make things even worse, many of your neighbors have their sprinklers on even though it rained the day before! So you shake your head and keep going with your day, thinking it would be quite rude if you said something to them…
And in the meantime, there are more and more droughts around the world; the hurricanes are getting stronger each year causing massive destructions; the glacier are melting rapidly leading to lack of fresh water in the surrounding areas and slow extinction of some of the species of animals; the greenhouse gasses continue to rise adding to the warming of the earth’s climate and we are running out of time…
But you’re still not sure whether you should mention to your neighbors not to waste so much water, turn the lights off during the day and throw the recyclable thrash into the proper bins… Doesn’t it make you mad though? Such inconsideration and many a times simple laziness. So, at the risk of being rude, don’t hesitate to make a difference. Even if someone should shut the door in your face… The next person may listen and follow suit…
SWICTH TO RENEWABLE POWER
I must admit I am not some paragon of green virtue, but like many people (I’m sure) I am trying to limit my own negative impact on the environment, especially the greenhouse gas emission. So when I heard about the renewable sources of energy, I was quite excited. And the newest thing in being green is converting to green energy. This means that anyone (and I mean absolutely anyone!) can purchase the electricity generated from regional wind and hydropower sources.
According to some more then 50% of all American consumers now have an opportunity to buy green electricity directly from their suppliers. By doing so, we can reduce the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, coal or natural gas and, more importantly, support the development of renewable energy sources. However, some of the states are not implementing the so-called electricity market competition, but (luckily for those “green frogs” living there) they at least give the opportunity to purchase green power through regulated utility. By paying a premium on the electric bill, consumers are supporting a higher level of investment in renewable energy sources, and the premium itself covers any above-market costs of obtaining such energy.
And for those that happen to live in a state that does not offer either way of acquiring green power, there are renewable energy certificates (also known as green tags or green energy certificates). These certificates stand for power generated from renewable electric plants and a number of organizations offer these green tags separate from electricity service so changing your present electricity supplier in order to purchase the certificates is not required.
So, if you’re still trying to decide whether it is all worth the effort, imagine this: a 2 bedroom apartment that uses about 925 kilowatts per month, after converting to green power reduces its CO2 emission by about 795 pounds a month! Now, imagine what a house can do…
CFLs- Compact Fluorescent Lights
Imagine this: if every American household replaced just one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent one, enough energy would be conserved to provide light for more than 3 million homes a year and $600 million in annual energy cost would be saved. Moreover, we would prevent greenhouse gasses equivalent to the emission of 800,000 cars!
So what are Compact Fluorescent Lights? They were invented by Ed Hammer, an engineer with General Motors, in 1973 and are simply miniature versions of full-size fluorescents. They screw into standard lamp sockets, and give off light that looks like the common incandescent bulbs but, unlike the incandescents, they last up to ten times longer and are four times more efficient. Moreover, they use 75% less energy, produce about 75% less heat (which, in the long run, will save money on electricity used to cool your house) and save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime. The purchase price of a CFL is higher than that of an incandescent bulb, but this cost is recovered in energy savings and replacement costs over the bulb’s lifetime. The CFLs are also available in a variety of sizes and shapes to fit in any fixture, indoors and outdoors, e.g.
• spiral lamp—a continuous tube in a spiral shape which has similar outside shape and light casting qualities to a standard incandescent bulb
• triple tube lamp—has more tubing in a small area and generates more light in a shorter bulb; good for table or reading lamps
• globe lamp—reduces heat build-up, used mainly in bathroom or vanities where multiple bulbs are required
• standard lamp—designed to give the appearance of the traditional bulb; light similar to the “soft-white” of the incandescent bulb
• candelabra—designed for smaller light fixtures, e.g.: chandeliers or scones
• flood lamp—designed for recessed and track lighting fixtures, indoors and outdoors; provides diffused, soft, white light, and generates less heat than incandescent flood or a halogen bulb
When choosing the right CFL, find one that is labeled as equivalent to the incandescent bulb you are replacing. Most manufacturers nowadays include such information on the packaging to make it easier for the consumers to find the right CFL bulb. The examples of terms used include “soft-white 60” or “60 watt replacement”. The newer CFLs, available on the market, give a warm, inviting light instead of the cool white light of older fluorescents, thanks to the rare earth phosphors that is used for excellent color and warmth. The also don’t flicker or hum… Moreover, they are versatile and can be used everywhere incandescent lights are used, e.g. recessed fixtures, table lamps, track lighting, ceiling fixtures and porch lights; 3-way CFLs are also available for lamps with 3-way settings and dimmable CFLs—for lights using a dimmer switch.
And most importantly, Compact Fluorescent Lights reduce air and water pollution! Replacing a single incandescent bulb with a CFL will keep a half-ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere over the life of the bulb. If everyone just in the US used energy-efficient lighting, 90 average size power plants could be retired. Saving electricity reduces CO2 emissions, sulfur oxide and high-level nuclear waste.
So don’t wait any longer and go get some CFLs. Even one will make a difference!
Is Earth At The Point Of No Return?
The global warming has been on everyone’s lips lately but despite all the talk, many people still don’t quite believe it. And even if they do, they often shrug it off thinking it will not affect them as much. Unfortunately, the problem is becoming increasingly urgent. Many leading scientists claim that the window to slow down the warming of the earth’s climate is very narrow, and that humans have only ten years to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions before the changes become irreversible.
The evidence of the effects of climate warming is noticeable around the globe but mostly in the Antarctica and the Arctic, where the glaciers are melting rapidly causing many dramatic transformations in the environment. The decreasing level of ice around Antarctica causes the populations of the penguins to slowly vanish, mainly because of the lack of food. Krill is their chief source of food and it grows in the ocean, right under the ice. The thinning layer of ice brings about the reduction of krill found, therefore causing the penguin population to become smaller in body size and numbers—according to scientists, the penguins in Paradise Cove decreased in about 60%. Similar thing is happening to polar bears in the Arctic.
In the summer the ice melts there three weeks earlier, which has dire consequences for the population of bears, resulting in fewer cubs and less body fat in the adult bears. The rapid decline in the amount of ice forces the bears to travel longer distances in order to find food, often drowning in the process. The scientists, who keep a close eye on the changes, predict that ice in the Arctic will disappear by the end of the century, which will lead to the extinction of the bears since they cannot survive without it.
Moreover, for the past ten years the Antarctic Peninsula has been warming up about a degree a year, which makes it the fastest warming part of the globe. If this process is not slowed down, the temperatures are predicted to rise about six degrees, which will cause a few feet rise of sea levels and, in turn, migrations of millions of people inland. This, the experts say, could be the biggest catastrophe in human history bringing about shortages of food and water, to say the least.
John Hanson, NASA scientist and the leading researcher of global warming, affirms that the climate warming is accelerating and the natural changes in the earth’s climate are dwarfed by the human changes (CO2 emissions) and this is why we have merely ten years to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere or the global warming will be unstoppable. The US are the biggest contributor to the greenhouse gasses, however the president refuses to sign a treaty that would regulate the fossil emissions.
Hansen also maintains that the scientists’ efforts to communicate with the public are restricted by the Bush administration. According to him, the politicians are rewriting the science to their own benefit. Many of the scientific reports are edited at the White House before sent to the congress to make the global warming issue less threatening. More often than not, the reports are labeled “unstable” after being censored. What is quite interesting is that the Chief of Staff at the Counsel on Environmental Quality, who edits such reports, is a former oil companies’ lobbyist… What is urgently needed now, Hansen says, is action, such as a decrease in CO2 emissions with the ultimate goal being having it on a decline by the end of the century.
So is the earth at the point of no return or do we still have a chance to say it and ourselves?