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Global Warming -- What You Can Do
“The average American generates about 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year from personal transportation, home energy use and from the energy used to produce all of the products and services we consume.” www.climatecrisis.net
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Support PRBO www.prbo.org & other conservation science groups to study climate change, habitat loss and other global change impacts: (1) to sustain biodiversity and “ecosystem services” including birds, fish, clean water, flood control, pollination, carbon sequestration, and nature enjoyment; and, (2) to inform practitioners, policymakers, students, and the public about science-based conservation solutions.
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Reduce your carbon footprint. For dozens of personal steps you can take, see www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_actionitems.asp, www.fightglobalwarming.org, and www.theclimateproject.org/solutions.php . Here is a sampling from many on line resources:
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• Calculate your personal impact at www.safeclimate.net/calculator/ or www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator
• Do an energy audit of your home, workplace, place of worship and transportation; ID where you can save energy: www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/energy_audits/ or www.pge.com/res/energy_tools_resources/english_survey/index.html
• Replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescents – 3 bulbs save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide (CO2) and $60 per year. Buy products with less packaging. Recycle paper, plastic and glass. Bring your own canvass bags to shop. Buy organic and buy locally. Save another 1,000 lbs. per year. www.resuablebags.com
• Unplug un-used electronics. Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of CO2 and $256 per year.
• Drive a hybrid car or one getting 40+ miles per gallon; save ~16,000 lbs. of CO2 & $3,750/ year: www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/, http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/
• Drive 20 miles less per week and save 1,000 pounds of CO2 emissions per year.
• Walk or ride your bike to work and school; use mass transit & rideshare.
• Caulk & weather-strip doorways & windows. Save 1,700 lbs. of CO2 & $274/yr. Switch to low-e, double pane windows and save 10,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $436 per year. Replace old appliances with energy efficient ones.
• Invest in healthy ecosystems and renewable energy—see www.green-e.org, ecosystemmarketplace.com, nativeenergy.com, among many choices
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Get the Word Out: Meet with elected officials, talk about it in your community, workplace, school & religious center: consider kicking the carbon habit entirely by 2020 (as Sweden is committed to) and making conservation an equal priority. www.climateprotectioncampaign.org, http://www.interfaithpower.org/education.htm |
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Keep informed, take action and stay involved. Our future depends on it.
• Sign up at www.climatecrisiscoalition.org for free daily and weekly global warming news email updates. Check out their news archives for the latest scientific findings.
• See www.realclimate.org, an excellent, up-to-date climate science web site for “climate science by real scientists.”
• For in-depth reports from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on all aspects of climate change, visit www.ipcc.ch/.
• For state/federal action alerts & background information see Union of Concerned Scientists- ucsusa.org/global_warming/, Environment California- environmentcalifornia.org/global-warming, Environmental Defense- fightglobalwarming.org, & Natural Resources Defense Council-nrdc.org/globalWarming/default.asp.
• See http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/ for projected climate change impacts on California- Our Changing Climate: Assessing the Risks to California (2006).
• For innovative school & campus actions see: www.nwf.org/CampusBusinessCase
• See NASA’s Earth Observatory to view satellite imagery and scientific information about earth’s climate and environmental change: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
• For federal climate change policy, legislation, and innovative programs and partnerships, see Pew Center on Global Climate Change at www.pewclimate.org
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Other Recommended Resources:
• 50 People Who Could Save the Planet, The Guardian, January 5, 2008, an inspiring look at what others are doing to make a difference & what you might do! www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jan/05/activists.ethicalliving
• Adam, David. Ice-free Arctic could be here in 23 years. Guardian. UK, September 5, 2007. (free online)
• Amos, Jonathan. Arctic summers ice-free ‘by 2013.” December 12, 2007. BBC News. (free online)
• Bowen, Mark. Thin Ice: Unlocking the Secrets of Climate in the World’s Highest Mountains. 2005. Henry Holt.
• Climate Institute, University of Melbourne. Evidence of Accelerated Climate Change. November, 2007. Download report at www.climateinstitute.org.au/images/stories/CI056_EACC_Report_v1.pdf.
• Conor, Steve. A New Study Led by Jim Hansen Makes Unambiguous Warning that the Earth is in 'Imminent Peril'. The London Independent, June 19, 2007. (free online)
• Flannery, Tim. The Weather Makers, How Man is Changing the Climate and What it Means for Life on Earth. 2005. Atlantic Monthly Press, NY.
• Hansen, James, et. al. Climate Change and Trace Gases. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, May 18, 2007 http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/2007/2007_Hansen_etal_2.pdf (free online)
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. www.ipcc.ch, Nov. 2007 Summary Report. Also see Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Working Group 2 Report. April 2007. www.ipcc-wg2.org (free online)
• Kaufman, Mark. Escalating Ice Loss in Antarctica. washingtonpost.com, January 14, 2008. (free online)
• Lean, Geoffrey. New Studies Reveal Accelerated Global Warming. The Independent (UK). June 3, 2007. (free online)
• Linden, Eugene. The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather & the Destruction of Civilizations. 2006. Simon & Schuster.
• Malcolm, Jay, et. al. Global Warming and Extinctions of Endemic Species from Biodiversity Hotspots. Conservation Biology, April 2006. See also http://web.conservation.org/xp/news/press_releases/2006/041106.xml
• Milmo, Cahal. “Too Late to Avoid Global Warming” Say Scientists, The Independent UK. Sept. 19, 2007. (free online)
• McKibben, Bill. Voices: A Deeper Shade of Green, National Geographic, August 2006. (free online)
• McKibben, Bill. Carbon’s New Math. National Geographic, October, 2007. (free online)
• Parmesan, Camille. Ecological & Evolutionary Responses to Recent Climate Change. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution & Systematics. October 17, 2006. (free online)
• Stix, Gary. A Climate Repair Manual. Scientific American. September, 2006. (intro free online) See this special issue, Energy’s Future: Beyond Carbon, How to Power the Economy & Still Fight Global Warming,
• Trulio, Lynn, et. al. White Paper on Carbon Sequestration and Tidal Marsh Restoration. Dec., 2007. So. Bay Restoration.
• Williams, Louise. Emission Possible: Sweden Sets the Standard. The Age (Australia), June 17, 2007 (free online)
• Wilson, E.O. The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth. 2006. W. W. Norton, N.Y.
click here for a pdf handout of the above information
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