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Tuesday, 23 January 2007 16:10 |
| | Janese Johnson |
Two recent acts have backed George W. Bush into a corner, pushing him to recognize that global warming does exist and we need to do something about it or else future generations (maybe our generation) will not have a future.
The first of these acts was a petition by three environmental groups to recognize the polar bear as an endangered species. The Bush administration did not respond by the deadline, so a lawsuit was initiated. Through that lawsuit, a settlement with the administration was then achieved which recognized polar bears as an endangered species.
This is important because the only way to recognize an endangered species is by verifying it through a scientific approach. This scientific evidence confirmed the reality of global warming.
The
other activity that happened to help the Bush administration see the
validity of concerns about global warming was the recent breakup of a
thousands-of-years-old ice cap shelf into the ocean.
This ice shelf
is the size of 11,000 football fields and could have a serious impact
on the ocean level in the springtime when the weather warms up. Luke
Copland, a geologist, says that they are "surprised at the speed" of
the collapse of the Ayles ice shelf, about 800 kilometers south of the
North Pole. It took less than an hour.
He said the new
island formed by the 66-square-kilometer fragment, which maybe up to
4,500 years old, could "present a serious risk to oil platforms in its
drift path in the spring."
Now that the oil
platforms are at risk, global warming is being recognized and will be
taken seriously as policymakers actively work towards finding some
solutions.
It is widely
known that driving less will greatly affect the amount of carbons
molecules that are being emitted into the atmosphere. There are quite a
few small things that we all can do to have a positive impact on the
environment.
Some of the smaller important things that you can do to make a difference are:
ï Use a cloth bag for shopping. This will not only save oil, but the energy that is used to make the plastics.
ï Use compact fluorescent bulbs. This will save you 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 a year.
ï Inflate your tires. Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated. Save 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $840 per year.
ï Use recycled
paper. Make sure your printer paper is 100 percent post consumer
recycled paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
ï Adjust your
thermostat. Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and
up two degrees in the summer. Save 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98
per year.
ï Buy products locally. Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.
ï Buy minimally
packaged goods. Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10
percent. Save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide and $1,000 per year.
ï Carpool when
you can. Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790
lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.
ï Reduce
garbage. Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic
and glass. Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
ï Plant a tree. Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
If you are
interested in learning more, Al Goreës movie, "An Inconvenient Truth,"
lays out the problem and the solution pretty clearly.
There are quite
a few other things we can do to contribute to a healthier planet. I
wanted to put down here things that we can all do no matter what our
income level is.
It is up to us
to make a difference. Even if you do a few of these consistently that
is still much better than not at all. It seems really important that we
take this problem seriously and into our own hands before it is too
late.
ï
Janese Johnson
has been doing intuitive counseling nationally for more than 20 years.
She may be contacted at janesej-at-buncombe.main.nc.us.
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