It’s Getting Hot in Here: Act Now
Illustration by Christopher Niemann/The New York Times
I’m having a major grr-arrgh, stompy-boots day because our callousness about global warming is now drowning baby walruses. For the love of God, Montresor!
The Artic is being poisoned, threatening the lives and livelihoods of villagers in the Far North. We’re facing a major wave of extinctions on a catastrophic scale. Plant growth cycles are completely out of whack. Tropical islands are being swamped by rising sea levels. Evidence is mounting that climate change is fueling super-storms, while “vanquishing ancient glaciers throughout South America, killing crops, and threatening the water source for millions.”
I remarked to my husband the other day that, growing up, we were always told we’d never see the effects of global warming in our lifetime. Well, someone forgot to carry a 2 in their calculations or something, because climate change is very real and it’s happening right now. (So just cram it, Michael Crichton.)
And, hey, guess what? Polar bears and hippos are now officially endangered species, which means your grandkids’ grandkids may never get to press their button noses against the smudged glass and see either up close.
10 things you can do:
1. Take mass transit, bike, or walk whenever possible; if driving is necessary, choose a fuel-efficient car. (For every gallon of gasoline burned, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide go into the atmosphere.) Be judicious when choosing to fly.
2. Buy energy-saving/Energy Star-rated appliances. Repair broken appliances instead of throwing them out and buying new ones.
3. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). CFLs use 75 percent less energy, swapping one incandescent bulb for a CFL reduces carbon dioxide by 500 pounds a year; replacing 17 has the equivalent effect of taking one car off the road for a year. And since you’re up there unscrewing things, why not switch to a low-flow shower head, as well?
4. Turn off the lights, TV, and stereo when you leave a room for more than a couple of minutes. If you’re walking away from your PC for any longer than a few minutes, shut it down—or, at the very least, put it in standby or hibernation mode. (Even if you’re running an antivirus/malware scan on your PC or downloading updates, turning off your monitor will reap savings for both you and the planet.)
5. Opt for clean, renewable energy if offered in your area. Learn more about energy-efficiency and renewable-energy projects happening in your state.
6. Offset your carbon emissions by buying green tags. (Do the same for your car with TerraPass.)
7. Always recycle. You’re saving raw resources that need to be mined or harvested. (For extra credit, choose recycled versions of the products you buy, as well.) In fact, stop wasting resources by bringing your own commuter cup to your coffee shop, and use strong canvas bags instead of plastic bags for groceries.
8. Consume consciously and reduce your food miles; buy less, and when you do, choose domestically produced products that don’t require a lot of packaging or need to be shipped great distances. Make use of your local library and buy used more often.
9. Cancel paper catalogs—I like flipping through catalogs, too, but I cancelled all of mine last month when I realized deforestation is responsible for 25 percent of all carbon emissions released into the atmosphere through the burning and cutting of 34 million acres of trees annually. Browse online, instead.
10. Write to your government representatives to express your concern about global warming, and urge them to back legislation that will curb greenhouse-gas emissions.
Kathy said,
May 3, 2006 at 4:10 pm
My new job doesn’t believe in recycling. These jaded old newspaper men (NEWSPAPER MEN) believe everything goes into the landfill anyway and because recycling is a financially losing proposition, nobody bothers. I was so flabbergasted that I didn’t know what else to say. For now, I’m just tucking anything remotely recycleable into my messenger bag and sticking it into the bin at home.
kevin said,
May 3, 2006 at 4:39 pm
Good list. Most of the things you’ve chosen are truly meaningful without being radical (which is good). Too often, I see suggestions that can only make a marginal difference at best, distracting us from the really big problems: transportation and consumption.
Mollie said,
May 9, 2006 at 4:07 pm
I feel your frustration. Great list! By the way, I think your blog is great! Keep up the great writting.
Mollie said,
May 9, 2006 at 4:08 pm
um….yeah. I meant writing (with one “t”). yikes.
The Worsted Witch » Bring Your Own said,
June 15, 2006 at 11:15 am
[...] Plastic containers and bags end up in landfills, where they photodegrade after a millennia into toxic offal that leaches into our groundwater and soil. Landfills also produce methane, a greenhouse gas that traps our increasing carbon dioxide burden within the atmosphere, resulting in, yes, that sleeper hit global warming. Scroll down to the bottom of this site: that spinning number is the number of plastic bags consumed in the last six months. Now scroll down to the bottom of this site … way down: that spinning number is the number of plastic bags consumed in the last six months. [...]
The Worsted Witch » Oh Scrappy Day said,
July 9, 2006 at 11:52 am
[...] I ordered 2 pounds of organic cotton scraps from Natural America ($4 per pound; shipping and handling cost $9), just to see what I would get—you may marvel at my journalistic dedication—and also to try my hand at making some of these lovely Japanese patchwork bags. And if your spouse or partner protests at the deluge that has overtaken the living room, you can grit your teeth in self-righteous indignation and inform said person that you’re saving fabric waste from the landfill, and bark “DON’T YOU CARE ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING?!” [...]
The Worsted Witch » Blog Love: FeliciaSullivan.com said,
August 8, 2006 at 11:07 pm
[...] (Change a light bulb, save an old lady/gent. More ways you can help fight climate change here.) [...]
The Worsted Witch » Global Warming Will Alter Character of the Northeast said,
October 5, 2006 at 12:55 pm
[...] 4. It’s Getting Hot In Here: Act Now [...]
The Worsted Witch » Money Quote said,
December 7, 2006 at 10:43 am
[...] Related articles: 1. Mail Call: Eco Scrapbooking 2. It’s Getting Hot in Here: Act Now 3. Simply Green Giving 4. Bring Your Ever-Lovin’ Own 5. Bonfire of the Vanity Fair Green Issue (Chekhov’s Eco Tip) 5. Junk the Junk Mail [...]
The Worsted Witch » This is the Cold That Never Ends said,
February 2, 2007 at 10:58 am
[...] Related articles: 1. The Warming of Greenland 2. Manhattan in January 3. CO2’s Double Identity 4. Your Carbon Diet 5. Global Warming Will Alter Character of the Northeast 6. Lick Global Warming 7. The Canary Project 8. Kids Starting to Feel the Heat 9. It’s Getting Hot In Here: Act Now [...]
The Worsted Witch » If All Else Fails said,
July 6, 2007 at 9:59 am
[...] Related article: 1. It’s Getting Hot in Here: Act Now [...]