what steps should be taken to lesser the rate of global warming?

Answer 1

There's a great many things that can be done by individuals, organisations and large scale schemes designed to effectively engineer our climate.

Some of the things individuals can do include reducing dependency on fossil fuels, recycling, becoming more energy efficient and offsetting carbon emissions.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY AT HOME
● When replacing appliances buy energy efficient ones.

● Turn off electrical appliances when not in use, don’t use the standby option.

● Use energy efficient light bulbs and switch off lights when not in use.

● Fit individual thermostats to radiators and don't heat rooms that aren't used.

● Insulate walls, lofts, hot water tanks and pipes.

● Turn your heating and air conditioning down, a small difference will be barely noticeable.

● Similarly, turn down water heating by a few degrees.

● Sign up to a green energy supplier, one that produces energy from renewable sources.

● Turn off heating and air-conditioning when the house is unoccupied.

● Wash full loads of clothes at a lower temperature; modern machines and detergents are just as effective at lower temperatures.

● Dry your clothes outdoors instead of in a tumble drier.

● Wash full loads in the dishwasher.

● Insulate your home and block draughts around doors and windows. In Europe this is free to many people.

● Consider installing a renewable energy system such as solar panels or a home wind turbine.

● Use rechargeable batteries; don’t leave rechargers on for longer than is needed (including mobile / cell-phones).

● Boil only as much water in the kettle as you need.

● Buy locally produced organic food where possible, there's less transportation and the farming methods are more environmentally friendly.

● Look where goods were manufactured and avoid buying those that have been flown or shipped long distances.

● Recycle and reuse as much as possible. Sign up with mail preferential services to stop junk mail.

● Avoid buying products with excessive packaging.

● Don’t have your fridge or freezer set lower than need to be, regularly defrost freezers, don’t put hot food into your fridge or freezer.

● If your fridge or freezer is over 15 years old then consider replacing it (check with local authority regarding disposal of old one).

● Work from home where possible.

● Eat less meat and dairy produce, farming produces large quantities of greenhouse gases.

ENERGY EFFICIENT TRAVELLING
For many people a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved by driving a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Each gallon of gasoline burned produces 10kg (20 pounds) of carbon dioxide. A motorist driving 15,000 miles a year in a vehicle that delivers 30mpg will produce 5000kg of carbon emissions whereas a vehicle returning 50mpg will produce 3000kg.

● Drive a fuel-efficient vehicle, if you have more than one vehicle then use the most economical one more often.

● Consider walking or cycling when going to work or taking the kids to schools, if you have to drive then consider car sharing.

● Use public transport where possible and consider taking a coach or train instead of using domestic flights.

● When replacing your vehicle look at diesel and liquid petroleum gas models.

● Combine multiple journeys into one and do your weekly shopping in a single trip.

● Stagger journeys where possible to avoid rush hour traffic and hold ups.

FUEL SAVING TIPS FOR DRIVERS
By driving carefully and keeping your vehicle in good condition you can save up to 30% on your fuel bills and cut greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. Below are some tips for increasing fuel efficiency.

● Avoid harsh braking, accelerate gently and drive at a steady speed.

● Keep tyres inflated to the correct pressure.

● Remove bike and ski racks when not in use, also remove detachable roof racks, luggage boxes etc.

● Carrying unnecessary weight wastes fuel, declutter your vehicle.

● Use the correct gear and use cruise control if your vehicle has it.

● Keep your vehicle regularly services.

● Turn the engine off when stopped or waiting.

MORE ENERGY SAVING TIPS
Natural Resource Defense Council - http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/genergy.asp
Energy Saving Trust - http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/
Carbon Footprint - http://www.carbonfootprint.com/index.html
Carbon Trust - http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy
Energy Quest - http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/saving_energy/index.html
US Government - http://www.energy.gov/energyefficiency/index.htm
Alliance to Save Energy - http://www.ase.org/
UK Government - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Energyandwatersaving/DG_064371
Rough Guides - http://www.roughguides.com/savingenergy/
Salt River Project - http://www.srpnet.com/menu/energy.aspx

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CARBON OFFSETTING

Each of us leaves behind what is commonly referred to as a 'carbon footprint'. This is a measure of the environmental impact in terms of the amount of greenhouses gases produced; it is measured as the equivalent number of units of carbon dioxide. The global average is 5 tons per person per year, in developed nations the average is 11 tons and in the US it is 19 tons.

Carbon Offsetting is one way to reduce or eliminate your carbon footprint; in most cases this involves calculating your greenhouse gas emissions and planting trees so as to absorb an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. Some websites where you can calculate your carbon footprint and purchase offsetting are:
The Woodland Trust - http://www.carbonbalanced.org/
Carbon Footprint - http://www.carbonfootprint.com/USA/calculator.html
The Carbon Neutral Company - http://www.carbonneutral.com/pinfo/carbonoffsetting.asp
My Climate - http://www.myclimate.org/index.php?lang=en
Atmosfair - http://www.atmosfair.de/index.php?id=9&L=3

Answer 2

Now IF you are really interested in slowing, stopping, or reversing global warming the answer is quite simple.

1. Plant trees --Trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere and according to scientists (and Al Gore) all that CO2 is what is causing the warming.

2. Get rid of the root cause-- People. It's not CO2 that is causing the warming. It's the people who are generating directly or indirectly all that CO2. Mother Nature took CO2 millions of years ago out of the atmosphere and converted it into something else. People breathe and all that breathing creates millions of tons of CO2. People burn things and that creates millions more tons of CO2. Get rid of people and you reduce drastically the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

3. Or you can do nothing and let Mother Nature handle it. She'd compensated for everything before mankind ever showed up and she will compensate for everything man does. I'm going with the one who has experience at handling climate fluctuations.

Answer 3

How much energy does your computer consume? How many battery chargers do you have for your own use, such as cell phone, digital camera, etc.? How many cars are in your driveway and how many miles a day do you travel unnecessarily? How many wall wart current transformers do you have in your home?
Each of these items use energy. All energy forms -- even hydroelectric and nuclear generating plants, produce byproducts that add to the problem. Multiply your own home usage by the number of homes in the world doing the same things and you will have some idea what can be done to reduce the problem. Are you willing to do without these things in your environment?

Answer 4

Well don't drive ur car as much, don't litter, use the bus, plant trees. Plus we don't know if global warming is real yet because the earth has been through stages lik warm,cold,warm. U should still do this stuff though.

Answer 5

I believe everyone should do what they can to help the environment, but I do not believe that we are in the danger that the media and Democrats are trying to paint. It seems like yesterday that everyone was worrying about the next ice age coming. I think the earth has only increased 1 degree in the last 100 years, so I am not too worried.

Answer 6

There should be stricter federal, state and local enforcement, on the reduction of emissions of passing vehicles, especially those running on a diesel engine, industrial and power plants. Recycle all glass, metal, paper, plastic, batteries and all petroleum products. Become less dependent on oil from the Middle East, car manufactuers should produce hybrid, electric or natural gas vehicles.

Answer 7

The very first step is to ban globally all the usages of all incandesent bulbs..reducing the use of gases which destroys the ozone layer discourage destroying the forests,...total transportation should be on solar energy,.. the use of petrol diesel etc should be reduced by force etc

Answer 8

The big guns of the world should do away with their nukes. I´m sick of all that talk about global warming being our fault cauz we don´t turn the lights off before we go out.
The truth is taht those who massively produce nuclear material are responsible for global warming

Answer 9

well alot of people are using bio diesel thats helps and factorys need to stop allt he emmision that they produce they could cut down on them and they sould have trees in every outdoor public place

Answer 10

hybrids , new fuels , less forest should be being cut down i think that people are cutting down more trees and forest for unneccessary things