Francoise Christine east Orange NJ, Global Warming Blog

By Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD

USA Today recently reported that after a post 9/11 slump, air travel has risen to a record high. An Arbitron study compiled just two years after flights had come to a standstill shows that half of this country’s 92 plus million air travelers routinely take two or more trips annually. Seventeen million qualify as frequent filers, traveling four to nine times a year. Few of us give a second thought to flying for holidays, vacations and business meetings.

If you haven’t seen the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth on the Earth’s climate crisis featuring Al Gore as he lectured around the world, you need to make it a priority.

An Inconvenient Truth emphasizes that we need to wake up to the fact that the U.S. alone is burning through mega gallons of fossil fuel on hundreds of daily flights, which emit megatons of the greenhouse gases that are causing global warming. Just an average personal roundtrip of 1,660 miles consumes enough fuel to release 2,258 pounds of gases into the atmosphere, injecting more than a ton of pollution into the air we breathe.

After watching, An Inconvenient Truth, I hope you are compelled to reconsider holiday, business and leisure plans, finding ways to fly less and travel closer to home. Many also are salving their conscience with another practical option. They are purchasing “Green Tags” to offset the carbon we personally generate when we fly or drive. These modest fees, easily calculated online, directly fund renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power.

Buying one green tag can offset an average air trip for less than $25.00. We can purchase offsets one trip at a time or for the whole year. Reliable sources include GreenTagsUSA.org and MyClimate.org. Some travel companies take care of this detail when booking a flight and may even match client contributions.

Observers predict that buying Green Tags will become as familiar as recycling and water conversation. Newsweek International has referred to carbon offsets as one of the ‘hottest new trends’ for travel—just the ticket for a guilt-free trip.

By Nathalie Fiset

What do you think could come in as more important to our basic human needs such as food, shelter, medicine, education or even the need for affection? There could be one issue that would predetermine everything that will transpire on the planet, and that is the planet’s condition. If the world were on the brink of destruction, saving it would be the priority of every single individual. And save it we must. Although the threat is still not at a life and death level, there is an alarming truth that there are several problems that are now bugging the place that we live in. Say hello to global warming. And try to say bye - stop global warming!

Global warming, which is also known as the greenhouse effect, has been here long before you or anybody else out there existed. It’s been here for thousands of years. And through those thousands of years, the earth’s temperature has increased, and so has the effects of global warming. Time magazine has actually coined this problem as a planetary emergency.

There are major solutions that have been done worldwide to cope, alleviate or altogether stop the effects of this major problem. But among these choices, the obvious choice that the human race is supposed to concentrate on is how to stop global warming. Since we have all contributed to the occurrence of global warming (in our own little ways), then we should also join forces in combating this dilemma.

1. Join organizations that promise to educate you about the effects of global warming and what you can do to put a stop to this problem. Be an activist on this matter. After all, everything begins with you.

2. The next step is to conserve energy. And yes, there are so many ways that an individual can save energy. Let’s list some here: car pooling, turning off appliances that are not in use; unplugging any electronic devices that are not in use; buying energy-efficient lamps; keeping the filters of your air-conditioning unit clean; taking a walk (instead of driving); turn off the faucet when enough water has been consumed; do not use appliances or products that release chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere (examples are hairsprays and refrigerators that have CFCs); use EEF appliances; start planting trees, etc. These are basic things that we have learned even from grade school and yet, tend to forget the most.

3. If you are a slave of your profession, then, cut on those work hours to help save energy. For every individual that would cut down an hour from his work, there would be millions worth of energy saved. Learn to maximize your time and to properly manage it. I guess you never imagined before that this could also stop global warming, huh?

4. Recycle. Need we elaborate on that?

5. Use environment-friendly fuels and vehicles. They may be a little bit more expensive but they do not contribute to pollution. Honda was the first to come up with a vehicle that is cell-powered, thus, there are no harmful emissions. If you cannot afford cell-powered vehicles just yet, you can opt for those that can run thirty miles in just a gallon of fuel. This way, carbon monoxide is greatly reduced.

6. If you can, harness the power of the sun, wind and water to generate electricity. There are equipments in the market that can be used to harness solar, wind or geothermal energy. These sources of energy are clean and reusable. If, again, you can’t afford to tap on the power of these sources, then, at least, choose an electric provider that does not pollute the environment by the use of fossil fuels.

7. Insulate your home to prevent excessive use of heaters. During summer, dress lightly to minimize the use of air-conditioning units.

Most people would argue that these, altogether, would not stop global warming. Well, maybe for now that is true. But with the collective efforts of each and everyone in the planet, and if everyone would be disciplined enough to care for environmental issues such as this, then even two degrees off the present global temperature would be such a major feat. The most important thing is for all of us to do something, as you have noticed, we only have one planet to save.