An Inconvenient Truth
This weekend my husband and I went with my film-student son Freddy to see Al Gore’s documentary about global warming: “An Inconvenient Truth” First of all, the film is really well done and the message is well presented. Global warming is a reality that we just can’t ignore; the consequences are impacting our planet already. We should have acted sooner, because now we must change course to both stop the damage from getting worse and to heal the hurt that has already occurred. Fortunately, it is possible to do just this. And it doesn’t take a big budget or a lot of technology – it just takes individual effort. We can each make a difference. Here are some of the suggestions that are offered:
-Change a light: Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
-Drive less: Walk, bike, carpool or take mass transit more often. You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don’t drive!
-Recycle more: You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.
-Check your tires: Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
-Use less hot water: It takes a lot of energy to heat water: Use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pound of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year).
-Avoid products with a lot of packaging: You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.
-Adjust your thermostat: Moving your thermostat down just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 dgrees in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
-Plant a tree: A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over it’s lifetime.
-Be a part of the solution: Learn more and get active at ClimateCrisis.net.
-See the movie: “An Inconvenient Truth”, and encourage others to see it, too!
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Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)