A List of Ways To Take Action Against Global Warming

You probably stumbled across this page because your concerned about our environment, which is a good thing. Keep reading this article, and personally help reduce the rate of which Global Warming is occurring. Even if you do just one of these things listed, your helping. Every little change makes a huge difference, believe me. Also, donating to any various charities helps us fight Global Warming.

• Get educated. Educate yourself about global warming. The more facts that you have about Global Warming and its effects, the more you can persuade others to make simple yet effective changes in daily behavior.
• Vote and influence your government with telephone calls, e-mails, letters and meetings with those who represent you in government. We need to push for change.
• Recycle more. Use recycle paper, plastic, and anything else. You'd be surprised how much this can help reduce the use of Carbon Dioxide.
• Use compact fluorescent bulbs. Replace three frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs and save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 per year.
• Fill the dishwasher. Don't let it run with only a few dishes in it. Run your dishwasher only with a full load. By doing so, you can help save 100 lbs. of carbon dioxide.
• Buy minimally packaged goods. Less packaging could reduce your garbage significantly, saving 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, for your household alone.
• Insulate anything that uses energy to stay a different temperature from its environment. Better insulating your home helps save you money and helps reduce the use of Carbon Dioxide.
• Use a push mower to mow the lawn. Get some exercise while your at it, and ditch the use of fossil fuels.
• Plant a tree. Help fight deforestation.
• Use recycled paper. Make sure that your printer paper is 100% recycled paper. This also reduces the about of Carbon Dioxide that we use.
• Unplug unused electronics. Even when electronic devices are turned off, they can use energy.
• Use more tap water and less bottled water. By doing so will reduce the energy costs of bottling and transporting water. Also, most of these plastic bottles end up in land fills.
• Ride a bicycle. Ride a bike around town when running some errands instead of driving your car. By doing so, you're getting exercise, you're saving money, and you're helping the environment.
• Replace old appliances and reduce reliance on them. Older refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines use a whole lot of energy. Newer appliances are a lot more environmentally safe.
• By a more fuel efficient car. Next time you find your self on a lot looking for a car, be sure it is fuel efficient. Save up to 20,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year using a more fuel efficient car.

Read the full story

Quick Global Warming Facts

• Each and every single day, approximately 70 million tons of Carbon Dioxide are released into our atmosphere.
• Scientists are predicting that by 2040, the Arctic summer could be completely ice-free. This melting ice will cause polar bears and other species to lose their icy habitat and eventually become extinct.
• The warmest years ever recorded have occurred in the past 10 out of 12 years, all between 1997 and 2008.
• Since 1910, 82% of the glaciers in Glacier National Park (Montana) have melted away. Less than quarter of them are left, and they continue to melt away.
• 500,000 cubic miles of ice would be lost if either of the rapidly melting ice sheets in Greenland or Antarctica completely melted. Dumping this much freshwater into the ocean would be catastrophic not only to low-lying areas, but it would also mess up the ocean's complicated currents.
• Over a hundred million people will be displaced by just a 1-yard rise in sea levels. Many scientists predict that the oceans will rise at least this much by 2100. As more and more freshwater melts into the sea, this could greatly disrupt the ocean's vital currents.
• As ocean temperatures continue to increase each year, we are witnessing more and more events of extremely dangerous weather.
• The 20th century's last two decades were the hottest in 400 years according to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
• The Arctic is feeling the effects the most. Average temperatures in Western Canada and Alaska have witnessed temperature increases twice the rate that the rest of the world is witnessing.
  
• Humans are pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere a whole lot faster than oceans and plants can absorb it, causing the rate of Global Warming to increase continuously.
• By 2050, Scientists are predicting that more than a million species of animals could face extinction due to loss of habitat, changes to the ocean, and a changing ecosystems, all of which are directly linked with Global Warming.
• Global warming will expose millions of people to new health risks. Infectious diseases are emerging, resurging and undergoing redistribution on a global scale.
• The Global oceanic level has risen between 10-25 cm in the last 100 years, and is expected to rise faster still in the coming decades.
• Crops will become harder to produce in the coming decades due to increasing temperatures and more frequent droughts.
  

Read the full story

Spread of Diseases by Global Warming

Global Warming increases the rate of which diseases can spread. Warmer temperatures make it easier for diseases and viruses to spread around, since they they thrive in warmer temperatures.
Scientists believe that, as a result of the increasing rate of Global Warming, diseases that were previously limited only to tropical areas may show up increasingly in other, previously cooler areas. Diseases such as malaria, the bird-flu, and several hundreds of other diseases become a whole lot easier to spread, making this a strong threat to humans and animals.

Global Warming is allowing disease-causing bacteria, viruses and fungi to move into new areas where they may harm species as diverse as lions and snails, butterflies and humans.

Scientists say that pathogens that have been restricted by seasonal temperatures can invade new areas and find new victims as the climate warms and winters grow milder.

Read the full story

Natural Causes of Global Warming

Now that we are almost certain that humans played a huge role in Global Warming, we can at least say that not all of the damage was caused by humans. Although the major causes of Global Warming have all been attributed to our human actions, there are also some natural causes to Global Warming.



Scientists say that these naturally occurring events may play a role in Global Warming...

• Major volcanic eruptions
  
• Explosions on the sun (which are called 'sunspots')
• Explosions caused by large meteors hitting our planet
  
• Changes in Earth's orientation toward the sun
• Changes in Earth orbit

Read the full story

Global Warming and Extreme Weather

As Scientists continue to study the effects of Global Warming, almost all of them can certainly say that there is a strong obvious link between the rising temperatures and the events of extreme weather. While we can't definitely say that a particular heat wave or hurricane to was caused by Global Warming, we can make strong assumptions. The trends and studies are clear: While the Earth experiences hotter temperatures, there have been a whole lot more events relating to extreme weather conditions.

Stronger hurricane's occur more often...
One effect of Global Warming is hotter ocean temperatures. Hurricane's, which are formed in oceans, become more powerful in warmer ocean waters. We are already witnessing this (2005 Hurricane Katrina), and we will most likely witness even stronger hurricanes in the future. More ferocious hurricanes are expected from Scientists.

Heat waves will become a lot more deadly...
With the steady increase in temperatures that we are experiencing from Global Warming, this means we will witness a lot more heat waves. A warmer climate means warmer temperatures. Scientists are expecting Global Warming to increase the risk of deadly heat waves within the near future.

Higher chances of downpours and floods...
Scientists are predicting that the warmer temperatures will bring on a lot heavier rainfalls, which will lead to flooding. This will destroy a lot more property and crops as well.

Droughts will occur more often...
While downpours and floods have a higher chance of occurring more often, droughts do too in other regions. With Global Warming continuously becoming worse, Scientists are also predicting more droughts to occur because of the warmer weather. They will occur a lot more frequently in certain regions of the world and will have a huge affect on crops. These droughts will also easily shorten water supplies.

Wildfires will be on the rise...
Warmer temperatures and droughts will equal perfect conditions for wildfires. We have witnessed an increase in Wildfires within recent years, and the trends continue. This will lead to loss of lives, property, crops, and natural resources.

Each of these have been connected to Global Warming. As Global Warming continues to worsen, we should expect to see this to start occurring a lot more often.

Read the full story