Taking+Action



Although the government can't exactly force you to buy anything you don't want to, they could narrow your choices so that you are, in a way, forced to go green. Flourescent light bulbs, for example, use less energy, while lasting almost six times longer than incandescent light bulbs. Ontop of that, they are 66 percent cheaper and do not produce excess heat, which means that heat won't irritate the users if standing too close. The government should start to wean people off of "unhealthy light bulbs" by raising the prices on only incandescents, which will almost funnel people into choosing flourescents. Also, if companies made flourescents instead of incandescents, not only would they be helping the people of the world, but they would be helping themselves, because flourescents are cheaper to make. ([]) People are always going to be difficult about what they want to buy, but if incandescents are too expensive, people might want to buy flourescents instead. Other products, like cleaning agents, rechargable batteries, paint, water filters, air fresheners, clothing, and even insect repellent can all be replaced with green products that do exactly the same thing. ([])

In order for Global Warming to be fixed, the government needs to take hold and force the nation into doing something good for the environment. Carbon emission laws, where the government limits the amount of carbon a certain area can emit, are being enforced more and more every year, but still need to be happening faster and need to be more strict. Every person has to watch their carbon footprint, and these laws would help people realize what they are doing to our planet by emitting CO2 so rapidly. First, the federal government needs to stop turning down these proposals. California is one of the only states in the United States, as of 2007, to have a carbon emissions law that is very strict.([]) As said by [], " “It is disappointing that the federal government is standing in our way and ignoring the will of tens of millions of people across the nation,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said. “We will continue to fight this battle.” He added, “California sued to compel the agency to act on our waiver, and now we will sue to overturn today’s decision and allow Californians to protect our environment.” Twelve other states — New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington — had proposed standards like California’s, and the governors of Arizona, Colorado, Florida and Utah said they would do the same. If the waiver had been granted and the 16 other states had adopted the California standard, it would have covered at least half of all vehicles sold in the United States." ([])

As long as we are creating waste, we are going to have to find a way to get rid of it. The United States uses so much stuff and the more we use, the more waste we generate. The government needs to take initiative and help us find a way to get rid of the garbage we produce. Most of the ways we get rid of our trash is by either landfill, or we incinerate it. By landfill, in the UK alone, 1.5 million tons of methane are released into the atmosphere a year. And by incineration, extremely hazardous pollutants are given off and this can affect our health and our ecosystem. We need cleaner ways to dispose of our garbage. Recycling is a big way of helping out to limit the amount of incineraters and landfills we use. If the government tells companies to make their products atleast say, 50% recyclable, and enforces recycling laws in the people, then that is 50% less waste going into landfills, incinerators, and ultimately, our atmosphere. Another way of disposing of our waste is to ask people to decompose their own organic waste in a compost pile, or make local compost sites where people can bring their decomposable materials, and instead of garbage trucks, there could be trucks which collect only this garbage. ([])



We need forests. They house animals, they produce oxegyn, and at the rate we are cutting them down, these forests could be gone from deforestation within the next forty years. 50,000 species a year are being lost due to deforestation each year, and it's up to the government to help us stop it. ([]) We are deforesting for no other reason than logging and creating space for aminals to graze; but we don't understand what we are doing. In order to stop this, let's //recycle// the wood we have already cut down and use it over and over and over again. It's not that hard. And we could always find a different material to use instead of wood, we're smart enough to find something else. The government needs to tell companies //NO// to deforesting//.// It really is that simple. Don't give them the grant to do this, and they won't be able to cut down every tree in sight. Also, the slash and burning method that they use to clear areas of land could be eliminated and with this so could a huge part of the CO2 released into the atmosphere, which is what is causing part of the climate change on earth. ([])



One of the biggest things we can do to stop global warming is stop using fossil fuels. By using them, we emitt a lot of co2. In 1999, we emitted 5.3850 pounds per kilowatthour just from fossil fuels to generate electricity. We need to lower that number. We can do that by using alternative energies. Alternative energy basicly means anything that doesn't use fossil fuels. We can replace fossil fuels with things like wind energy, water energy, energy from waves, and even solar energy. Wind energy uses different types of wind turbines to capture the wind and turn it into energy. There are a lot of them in use already. Along many coasts, near some big industries, and even some schools have built wind turbines to supply their electricity. Many people will argue that it costs too much money to build on but over the years, it will start to pay itself off. We can also use the tides and water to produce energy for ourselves. One other way that we can get energy is by solar panels. These panels soak up the sun’s rays and use the energy they carry to power homes and buildings. All of these alternative energy sources are pollutant free and most importantly, don’t emit co2. If we can get rid of all of the factories and industries that run on fossil fuels, we will be that much closer to stopping global warming, plus, we will have an endless supply. The sun never goes away. Neither does the wind or the water. These are all renewable recourses, plus, we won’t have to do as much work to find fuels and turn them into power. [] []



A lot of the co2 being emitted into the atmosphere comes from cars. If you have one of those 10 year old pick-up trucks that only gets 10 mpg, you are really helping contribute to global warming, or at least a lot more the the person who has the new hybrid car that gets 35 mpg. According to [], The average person with the 10 mpg car emitts 13.6 tons of atmosphere pollution per year, where as the person with the 35 mpg car only emitts 3.4 tons per year. That's a huge difference. A lot of people don't really care about the environment. A lot of people will say that they can't afford a new car and with today's economy and unemployment rates, thats not too hard to believe. But that's still not an excuse. There are ways to save money when buying a new car. You can trade in your old one for a new fuel efficient one. A lot of places will give you credits for trading in old cars. Also, you can save a lot more money on gas.

One of the easiet ways to help stop global warming is to try and save energy. By doing asomething as simple as shutting the lights off when you leave a room can make a difference. By not truning our heat up as high in the summer, we can save a lot of energy. Even though this doesn't seem like it helps, it really does. A lot of the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere come from electricity plants that provide us with the electricity we need to run our heatimg and appliances. If we try and use less of the electricity, the plants wont have to produce as much and less gasses will be emitted into the air. Here are some of the things we can do to help: ([]) [] []
 * Turn off appliances like lights and fans when they aren't being used and unplug electronics like cell phone chargers when they aren't boing used. Even though they aren't on, it still uses a small amount of electricity.
 * Only wash full loads of dishes and clothing in the washing machines and dishwashers. You wont have to do as many loads which saves energy and time.
 * Try drying your clothes and dishes the old fashioned way one and a while. Hang clothes outside in the summer and wash and dry your dishes by hand when you have some free time.
 * When you go shopping, buy everything in one trip. Even try and carpool with a friend. This saves you gas and money, too.
 * During the summer, be sure to lower your thermostat a degree or two. When it's hot, you don't need to be using energy to heat a house thats already heated.
 * Try taking shorter showers or not filling up the bathtub as much or even get a "low-flow shower".
 * Always try to get more efficient elecrtonics. Solar powered calculators, rechargable batteries, and when buying a car, get a hybrid. These all help with global warming and if everyone contibutes, we will be that much closer to stopping it.



One of the easiest ways to make a difference is recycle. Everyone can do it. After your done with you water bottles and milk cartons, even things like light bulbs and newspapers, recycle them so they can be made into new products. A lot of companies will give you a bin to throw your recyclables in and they will pick it up for you. That’s not a hard thing to do. When we recycle things, we do a number of things to help the environment. We keep garbage out of landfills, reduce the amount of things needed to make the products, and it reduces the co2 emissions. Though it will help, recycling alone will not fix global warming. Even though it will only help a little, it will push us to do more to help stop global warming. h[|ttp://www.doitgreen.org/article/gw/recycling-connection]