Things
You Can Do To Help environment and Reverse
Climate change
By
Dr. Abhinandan Bhardwaj PhD
Think global - act local. "Think Global" means
think about the environmental problems such as Global Warming and Climate
Change at a global level and think how they are
affecting the fragile environment of Earth as a
whole. Think how, due to
continued uncontrolled human actions, such as
indiscriminate use of fossil fuels, use of coal
and oil for energy production, and
indiscriminate growth of industrialization,
urbanization and deforestation has been contributing
to present day environmental problems. Our past
and present actions has brought us to the brink
of major global climatic disasters. We have
reached to a point where our own survival is
under threat.
You might feel
concerned about these problems and want to do
something about it but often feel helpless and
may think that these problems can only be
resolved in labs by scientists or by Governments
or might have questioned yourself, of how?
How can I help?.. and struggled for an answer,
but answer lies right there... and answer is
that every one of us in fact can help to save
this planet. We just need to start the action
and action starts right at our home, our office
and our communities. "Act local" in the
phrase exactly means that - that we need to
start it local and start it right at our home.
Then we need to talk about it to our family
members, our friends and our neighbors and our
colleagues in the offices, and our
communities. If we do all of this then we have
already started helping in a big way. This will
lead our action from local to regional and
regional to national and from national to
global level. And that is exactly what is needed now,
as time is passing by quickly and if we don't
act now then it will be too late. But it
can only happen if we take individual
responsibility of making sure that every one of
us are doing what needs to be done right at our
home and wherever we interact, as if every one of us
does what needs to be done sincerely, then all
of these
problems can be reversed and earth can be
brought back to its normal state.
Please follow the following guidelines at home:
For
Recycling at Home Tips
Click here
* Use compact
fluorescent light bulbs instead of normal light
bulbs. You will save on both your home
electricity bill and help save the environment.
Look for ENERGY STAR recommended items. CFL bulbs
consumes 60% less energy than normal bulbs. Only
problem with CFL bulbs is the use of mercury and
needs to be handled and recycled properly
after use.
The best bulb
or "a new generation bulb" is on its way and its
called "LED" bulb. LED bulbs has long been
used for traffic signals but now manufacturer
called Pharox is making them for home use as
well. It has no mercury and its a super energy
saver and environmental friendly. Only
problem is that technology is still in budding
stage and they could only come up with 40 watts
bulb as of now which costs about $39.99. The
best thing is that it only consumes 4 watts of
power. Company claims that they are soon going
to launch 60 watt LED bulb which will be
available in the markets across North America
soon. Until LED takes over its advisable to use
CFL bulbs keeping in mind proper recycling after
the use.
*Always heat up
your home very wisely in the winter. Turn down
the heat as much as you can. Heating and air
conditioning uses most of the energy at homes.
You should use thermostat which can be
programmed so as to reduce your energy
consumption at home.
* Think about
alternate sources of energy. A growing number of
utilities generate electricity from renewable
energy sources such as solar cells, windmills
etc. Think about using alternate clean energies.
*Biking or
Walking instead of using car: This is beneficial
to both environment and your health. Bike or
walk to your work instead of driving a car. Cars
and trucks uses fossil fuels which in turn
produce carbon dioxide and release it into the
atmosphere, which in turn result in greenhouse
gas build up in the atmosphere and causes global
warming. Minimizing the use of automobile can
reduce the green house gas emissions
drastically.
* Minimize your
flying as much as possible. For office meetings
or for vacationing always think twice before you
fly. For example in case of vacationing always
think if it can be done locally? or nearby
places? If it’s a office meeting, then think if
it can be done over the telephone or
videoconference. This way you will save time,
money, and environment. Jet plane engines pump
carbon emissions way too much than any other
transportation medium and can add up to 12
percent of transportation sector emissions. Use
of airplane is one of the worst thing for the
environment.
* If you shop
please do not use plastic bags to buy groceries
or any other items. Instead use reusable cloth
bags. This will help reduce the use of plastic
bags. Always remember that it can take more than
a 1000 year for one plastic bag to get recycled
if its left outside in the nature.
* Always
remember 3R’s. Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. Also
always use recycled products. Products made from
recycled paper, glass, metal and plastic reduce
carbon emissions because they use less energy to
manufacture than products made from completely
new materials. Always think of reducing the
amount of paper, metal, plastic or metal at
home. And always try to reuse the stuff you have
at home. Always collect and dispose of all your
home garbage in different bins,
for
recycling at home tips
Click here..
* Always check
your tire pressure and Inflate your tires if
needed. If your car tires are fully inflated you
will not only get better gas mileage but also
will burn less gas and emit less carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere.
* Always make
sure that you do not cut any tree around your
house or anywhere. Trees are life line for
controlling this planet from heating up. Help
plant as many trees as you can. Trees help us in
many ways. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the
air and produce oxygen which we including all
animals breath. Trees help us in numerous ways
such as they cool down the temperature,
stabilizes soil, provide shade, helps in rains,
help us make paper, medicine and variety of
other products and provide us delicious fruits.
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