What You can do about climate change ?

You can What can you do? Many people, after realizing the seriousness of global warming and the fact that we ourselves have mainly caused it, soon take a defeatist attitude and give up. The problem is so complex and has blown out of proportion so badly that there’s nothing we can do about it, right? Wrong. While any changes made in the atmosphere now would take a few years to make any difference, simply giving up and doing nothing because we’re “going to die anyway” will only make the problem worse and speed up the imminent consequences. We must act now and start diminishing our carbon emissions and taking care of the planet we live in -- if not for the sake of our own futures, for the sake of the many to come after us; our children and grandchildren, the future generation which will live in the world of tomorrow that we create today. Below are some simple ways in which you can make a difference and contribute your effort to stop global warming. WITH TRANSPORTATION: • Whenever possible, instead of driving, bike, walk, or take public transportation. You will be saving money as well as carbon emissions and could even burn some extra calories on the way! • Try to avoid flying when possible. Take the train or boat instead if you can, although simply cutting down your flights to 2 a year would save enormous amounts of carbon emissions emitted from the fuel burned by airplanes. • Buy a hybrid car. Though they are more expensive, in the end you’ll be saving more than 2,000 euros per year, not to mention 7,300 kilos of co². If a hybrid is not an option, look for a more fuel-efficient vehicle. • Keep the tires on your car properly inflated, and check them regularly. This simple task could save you 115 kilos of carbon and more than 500 euros a year. • Maintain your car – it’s as simple as that. Regular and proper car maintenance by only 1% of car drivers saves nearly a billion kilos of co² from being released into the air per year. • Drive efficiently so as to not waste fuel: select proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, go for the engine break instead of the pedal break, do not drive unnecessarily faster, and be sure to turn off the engine if the car is motionless for more than one minute or so. All of this can save money as well as carbon emissions and will contribute to your car maintenance. AT HOME: • Move your thermostat down 2 degrees in the summer and up 2 degrees in the winter, or install a programmable thermostat that automatically lowers the heat or air conditioning at night and can save you up to 80 euros on your energy bill. • Instead of turning up the heating in your house, wear more clothes to keep warm. • Don’t let heat escape from your house for too long: when opening windows, only do so for a few minutes, as the heating inside will naturally increase and use more energy if they are left open for longer periods of time. • Regularly clean your air conditioning or furnace filter; unclean filters cause unnecessary overproduction which with regular cleaning could save up to 160 kilos of carbon dioxide a year. • Use a clothesline instead of a machine dryer during the hotter months. 318 kilos of carbon dioxide can be saved per year if this is done for 6 months out of 12. • Simply turn off any electronic appliances that you’re not using – and unplug them as well! Even when turned off, things like hair dryers and phone chargers that are plugged in still consume energy. These silent energy vampires are responsible for 18 million tons of carbon emitted into the air every year. • Following the above tip, don’t leave appliances on standby – it consumes energy as well. Make sure they are unplugged to properly save energy. • Use less hot water when possible; there are special showerheads designed for low flow that can save you up to 160 kilos of carbon dioxide emissions per year, and washing your clothes in cold or tepid water would save 230 kilos. • Also, take shorter showers. They account for 2/3 of all water heating costs, and simply reducing the time of your showers by a few minutes would save a lot of energy, not to mention money. • Take a shower instead of a bath. A shower uses four times less water and will save a lot more energy. • When buying electronics and new appliances, try to select the energy efficient ones, which besides cutting your carbon emissions, would also cut your energy costs in the bills. • Insulate your house thoroughly – it could save you up to 25% of your heating bill and 910 kilos of carbon per year. • Keep your water heater wrapped around an insulation blanket – it could save you up to 455 kilos of carbon emitted per year. • Double-glaze your windows – they keep more heat inside your house, which uses less energy. You could save up to 4550 kilos of co² and shave a few hundred euros off your heating bill. • Recycle – it’s as simple as that. 1090 kilos of carbon emissions will be saved per year if you recycle only half of your household waste. • Buy recycled paper products. Besides saving trees worldwide, it takes 70 to 90% less energy to produce than regular paper products. Also, avoid wasting paper. • Buy re-usable products instead of disposable ones when possible. • Only run your dishwashing machine when it’s fully loaded, and use the low-energy setting if there is one. • Plant a tree when you can. A tree can absorb up to one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime and supplies us with oxygen. • Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, and be sure to turn off unnecessary lights. • Make the switch to green power. Find out if your energy source can be changed to wind, solar, or biomass power and save hundreds of carbon emissions per year. WITH FOOD: • Buying locally grown and produced foods will save fuel used to transport and import, and will keep the money spent within the boundaries of your community. • Buy fresh foods instead of frozen, as frozen foods require 10 times more energy to produce. • Choose organic foods as much as possible; organic soil absorbs carbon dioxide much more than conventional farm soil. It’s also easier and uses less energy to recycle organic waste; you could even compost it in your own garden! • Avoid purchasing over packaged products; if you cut down your garbage by only 10%, 90 kilos of carbon dioxide will be saved per year. • Eat less meat. Besides this being healthy, Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas and it is emitted by cows with every breath they take. Also, the meat industry requires enormous amounts of water and energy to function fully. • Cover your pots when cooking – it reduces the amount of energy needed to produce the dish. Even more efficient would be to use a pressure cooker or steamer – it can save up to 70% more energy than a regular one. • Find and support local farmer’s markets, who work hard to reduce the energy required to produce and transport their crops to you. • Bring your own cloth bag when grocery shopping instead of purchasing paper or plastic ones. It’s cheaper and no energy to produce is required. • Purchase one water container that you can refill instead of multiple plastic ones that require more energy to produce and will be thrown away after consumption. SPREAD THE WORD AND LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS WEBSITE. ENCOURAGE THE REDUCTION OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AT HOME, AT WORK, AND IN YOUR GENERAL COMMUNITY. DEMAND THAT THIS ISSUE BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY AND TACKLED EFFICIENTLY.