An Inconvenient Truth

Last night, we finally watched An Inconvenient Truth. It was powerful.

We must do more to care for our environment. My wife and I recycle. We compost. We close up parts of our house we don't use. We bought digital, programmable thermostats. I've started replacing some light bulbs. When it was time to get a bigger vehicle, we have a "light" front-wheel drive SUV instead of an Explorer or a 4-door Tundra. Yet, we too can do more.

Did you know that there's talk about the Southwest of the US turning into a dust bowl?

Is anyone else bothered by the weird disappearing bee phenomena?

I'm not advocating becoming a "tree hugger" or running for congress. My wife believes that if the President (not this one) made global warming a national priority (like WWII mobilization or the Space Race) we could do something. As of today, there are still 652 days left for the current administration, it's up to us to start making our own changes. There is a Take Action page to help. And if you're too lazy to click on these links, there's a list of Ten Things to Do.

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 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothe 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 just 2 degress in winder and up 2 degrees in summer
You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.

Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime

Turn off electronic devices
Simply turning off your television, DVD player, Stereo, and computer when you're not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Spread the Word