How You Can Help By IOL Health & Science Staff Climate Change: How Can You Help? - excellent ideas to save money too While governments and politicians argue about whether to take action or not regarding the impeding dangers of climate change, there is so much we, as individuals and businesses can do. IslamOnline.net compiled a list of changes in our lives that, if we all adopt, can save millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Use energy in a sustainable way. If you are going out, always remember to turn off the lights. Turning off your television, DVD player, stereo or computer when you're not using them can save you thousands on energy and decrease the amount of greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere. Instead of conventional light bulbs, switch to the new compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's). These light bulbs last over 12 times longer than conventional light bulbs and use about a quarter of the energy. They also produce more light. Replacing a single light bulb in each household in the US alone would prevent over 10 billion kilograms of CO2 gas from entering the atmosphere. Teach your children how to preserve nature. If done at a young age, we could have a generation of people who really care about the earth. Spread awareness among two or more of your friends or family members. This will promote a web effect of raising awareness. Choose energy-efficient home appliances. Look for the ENERGY STAR label, which indicates appliances that have low energy consumption. Use heating smartly. Do not waste energy inside your home. For example when preparing a cup of tea, don't heat up a whole kettle. If you have your air conditioner on make sure that windows and doors are sealed to prevent loss of energy. Insulate your home well to save up on energy. Tune up your heating system and close any visible cracks or gaps you find. Sometimes you might need to refer to an expert to find any hidden cracks in your home. These steps will make your home much more comfortable by eliminating annoying drafts, while saving on energy and greenhouse gases emissions. Your refrigerator is one of the most energy-consuming appliances in your home. Newer refrigerators are much more efficient than older ones – sometimes you can get a boost of 50% efficiency. Try cleaning the cooling coil once in a while, this alone can increase efficiency on your old refrigerator by a third! Always make sure the refrigerator door is well-sealed to keep the cool in. When mowing the lawn or the garden, use a push mower instead of a gas mower.. Push mowers consume no fossil fuels. It will also offer you a chance for some good exercise while mowing, which is especially important in the busy lifestyles we lead. Adopt and promote recycling programs. You can recycle newspapers, containers, old papers etc. In addition to that, support recycling by buying products that are made from recycled material. Reusing materials saves up on energy used in extraction of resources and manufacture. Use water efficiently and wisely. Huge amounts of energy are used in the purification and pumping of water. Help decrease that by saving on water, which is already becoming a rare resource. Do not leave the water running when you are brushing your teeth or shaving. Never leave a leaky toilet unfixed.. It can use up around 200 gallons of water per day. When going out, walk or bike instead of taking a car. Not only will you be saving energy, it's also a great way to stay fit and healthy. If your destination is too far, then try to carpool with friends while commuting or use public transportation. Trillions of greenhouse gases are emitted each day from cars around the world. When buying a new car, choose a clean, fuel efficient vehicle that meets your needs. There are many hybrid cars available on the market now with lower greenhouse gases emissions. EPA's Green Vehicle Guide is a great place to start. The way you drive has a huge effect on the amount of fuel you consume. Try to go easy on the brakes and the gas pedals. Fast accelerations consume up to 10 times as much fuel as gradual acceleration. Keep your car as light as possible as well to improve your gas mileage. When traveling to several places, try to combine trips. Your car engine uses up to twice as much fuel when the engine is cold. A longer, multipurpose trip covering the same distance while the engine is warm will save on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The best thing about this is while saving the environment and lowering greenhouse gases emission, you will be saving a lot of money on bills. Source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1175008889588&pagename=Zone-English-HealthScience%2FHSELayout Some of my addition::::: Make gardens wherever and whenever possible - even a single plant. Use less water-flow while cleaning households, car, etc. Water the garden or backyard during afternoon so that water can remain longer and do not evaporate due to day's sunlight if you water in the morning. Use bucket of water - instead of water pipe directly. When use flash in toilet, you possible, you not full flash when it is not required. Make the PC to hibernate or auto-off of your monitor when it is idle for 10 minutes for example. Encourage others to do as much as you can. Remember - I have money - so who cares! - is not a good thinking. What else? - Just be cautious always. For any personal reply, please reply me bejust.pe...@yahoo.com Thanks a lot for your time. BeJustPeace N.B.: I never mail any advertisement or spam - so if you get somethine like this from this account, please forgive me as sometimes, people may spam using my ID. Wish you all the best. RESPECT.
