What are some simple steps or creative ideas that I can take at home and work to contribute to global warming?
Answer:
~~ I am hopeing that you are talking about helping to prevent global warming,,,,,,some steps you can take is to recycle. Recycle all paper, plastic and also you can recycle glass. If possible try to carpool to work. You can also see if the company you work for has their own recycling program, if not,,,then talk with personel and see how you and your co-workers can get a progran started at work.
I bet you don't really want to contribute to global warming. You want to help reduce it. Drive a fuel efficient car. Live close to work, school and shopping. Use energy efficient appliances. Or best of all, invent a new power source that does not emit CO2. In the long run, that is the ONLY solution.
Contribute: Drive a Hummer, crank up the A/C, leave the car running at all times.
Counter: Buy and install energy efficient light bulbs, use cloth bags that can be used more than once instead of paper or plastic, turn down the A/C, buy a hybrid, or, better yet, take your bike/ the bus/ the subway to work and shopping, and, if at all possible, buy photovoltaic (solar power) panels for your roof.
There's really nothing you can do to either contribute to or prevent global warming.
If you are rich and famous, then you can do whatever you want. Just off set your carbon footprints by purchasing carbon offsets that make some people in third world countries have to plant more trees and hope their governments don't pocket the money or it goes to some other in between er. But then you can have a clean guilt free existence to have as much fun as you want.
Now if you are not rich or famous, there are many great things you can do as well. Just live with less energy use.
Use your computer for only an hour a day.
Get a gas saving car and only use it if you absolutely can't get there by bicycle or public transportation. You may find that most car use is frivolous.
Use energy saving light bulbs. They may give you a headache at first but after a while you get used to it.
Recycle all plastic and glass containers. Whatever you can re-use, use as often as you can and then put it into a recycling bin.
Avoid any jet travel. Find fun things to do on your vacation around your neighborhood. You may be surprised how fun your home town really is.
At work, encourage your bosses and management not to have business trips. So much can be handled by a phone call. The modern world is spoiled on this waste of money and energy. Also, learn to work with pencil and paper. People have forgotten the wonders of the typewriter. We can cut the energy expenditure of businesses by 89% simply by avoiding the use of the computer!
We should also get savvy at measuring our own carbon footprints. If our footprints are in surplus, we should consider giving voluntarily the appropriate fee to the government until our footprint is carbon nuetral. Hopefully, by then, the carbon tax will be in affect and the poor and middle class can pay for the energy use of the rich and famous and their politician friends who will have carbon tax write offs for telling us not to use energy and to pay our fines I mean fees.
To contribute to global warming think of a way to spend money.
To prevent global warming think of a way to save money. Whoever said fighting global warming would cost lots of money wasn't thinking too clearly. Most any way you conserve power or fuel will reduce CO2 emissions.
Here's a long answer, I hope you find some useful tips that you can use at work and home.
There are several things that can be done including reducing dependency on fossil fuels, recycling, becoming more energy efficient and offsetting carbon emissions.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY AT HOME AND WORK
● When replacing appliances buy energy efficient ones.
● Turn off electrical appliances when not in use, don’t use the standby option.
● Use energy efficient light bulbs and switch off lights when not in use.
● Fit individual thermostats to radiators and don't heat rooms that aren't used.
● Insulate walls, lofts, hot water tanks and pipes.
● Turn your heating and air conditioning down, a small difference will be barely noticeable.
● Similarly, turn down water heating by a few degrees.
● Sign up to a green energy supplier, one that produces energy from renewable sources.
● Turn off heating and air-conditioning when the house is unoccupied.
● Wash full loads of clothes at a lower temperature; modern machines and detergents are just as effective at lower temperatures.
● Dry your clothes outdoors instead of in a tumble drier.
● Wash full loads in the dishwasher.
● Insulate your home and block draughts around doors and windows. In Europe this is free to many people.
● Consider installing a renewable energy system such as solar panels or a home wind turbine.
● Use rechargeable batteries; don’t leave rechargers on for longer than is needed (including mobile / cell-phones).
● Boil only as much water in the kettle as you need.
● Buy locally produced organic food where possible, there's less transportation and the farming methods are more environmentally friendly.
● Look where goods were manufactured and avoid buying those that have been flown or shipped long distances.
● Recycle and reuse as much as possible. Sign up with mail preferential services to stop junk mail.
● Avoid buying products with excessive packaging.
● Don’t have your fridge or freezer set lower than need to be, regularly defrost freezers, don’t put hot food into your fridge or freezer.
● If your fridge or freezer is over 15 years old then consider replacing it (check with local authority regarding disposal of old one).
● Work from home where possible.
● Eat less meat and dairy produce, farming produces large quantities of greenhouse gases.
ENERGY EFFICIENT TRAVELLING
For many people a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved by driving a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Each gallon of gasoline burned produces 10kg (20 pounds) of carbon dioxide. A motorist driving 15,000 miles a year in a vehicle that delivers 30mpg will produce 5000kg of carbon emissions whereas a vehicle returning 50mpg will produce 3000kg.
● Drive a fuel-efficient vehicle, if you have more than one vehicle then use the most economical one more often.
● Consider walking or cycling when going to work or taking the kids to schools, if you have to drive then consider car sharing.
● Use public transport where possible and consider taking a coach or train instead of using domestic flights.
● When replacing your vehicle look at diesel and liquid petroleum gas models.
● Combine multiple journeys into one and do your weekly shopping in a single trip.
● Stagger journeys where possible to avoid rush hour traffic and hold ups.
FUEL SAVING TIPS FOR DRIVERS
By driving carefully and keeping your vehicle in good condition you can save up to 30% on your fuel bills and cut greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. Below are some tips for increasing fuel efficiency.
● Avoid harsh braking, accelerate gently and drive at a steady speed.
● Keep tyres inflated to the correct pressure.
● Remove bike and ski racks when not in use, also remove detachable roof racks, luggage boxes etc.
● Carrying unnecessary weight wastes fuel, declutter your vehicle.
● Use the correct gear and use cruise control if your vehicle has it.
● Keep your vehicle regularly services.
● Turn the engine off when stopped or waiting.
MORE ENERGY SAVING TIPS
Natural Resource Defense Council - http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/genergy.a...
Energy Saving Trust - http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/
Carbon Footprint - http://www.carbonfootprint.com/index.htm...
Carbon Trust - http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy...
Energy Quest - http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/saving_ene...
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/...
Salt River Project - http://www.srpnet.com/menu/energy.aspx...
---------------------
CARBON OFFSETTING
Each of us leaves behind what is commonly referred to as a 'carbon footprint'. This is a measure of the environmental impact in terms of the amount of greenhouses gases produced; it is measured as the equivalent number of units of carbon dioxide. The global average is 5 tons per person per year, in developed nations the average is 11 tons and in the US it is 19 tons.
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:
The Woodland Trust - http://www.carbonbalanced.org/
Carbon Footprint - http://www.carbonfootprint.com/usa/calcu...
The Carbon Neutral Company - http://www.carbonneutral.com/pinfo/carbo...
My Climate - http://www.myclimate.org/index.php?lang=...
Atmosfair - http://www.atmosfair.de/index.php?id=9&l...
The answers post by the user, for information only, FunQA.com does not guarantee the right.
More Questions and Answers: