What are you doing about global warming because many of us don't want to die?

Question

Have we given up on ourselves? Don't we love life enough?

I'll start with myself.

1. Until three months ago I washed the dishes under running water from start to end but now i put them all in a sink full of soapy water, scrub and then rinse them off.

2. I take the train to work.

3. I shower in a third of the time I was using up before which is kind of sad but we'll get used with time.

4. I recycle everything , from paper, plastic, glass, batteries, old clothes etc.

5. I've completely switched off all the machines in the home that have been on standby waiting to be used a month from any given day.

And I don't know if that's enough. Do you?

tpopy, what do you mean "it's never going to happen". Isn't that an attitude that is going to let us go to hell? I mean we are intelligent enough and can not let non-living things like fuel, coal etc. have so much power over us that they decide if living things are to continue existing or not. Isn't life a miracle considering the fact that we haven't heard of or discovered life yet on any other planet?

¡Mari!, thanks for the information.

henry steven, the part about beef was more than I can handle. I love all types of meat and I hope you don't mean the we TOTALLY stop consuming meat. Is it so?

= ^_^ =, thanks.

brk, thanks alot. I'll try to educate friends and family whenever the chance arises.

Thanks alot for the information and responses Rick V, Rolf H, Trevor, wendy b and the rest.

Mature view point, yes sure I'm going to die and God knows when but suicide, or let me call it collective suicide, is not how I'd like to go!

joseph b, thanks for your answer. You said "... enjoy your life its the only one you have". Well, I try so hard to do just that, but many times I spend a little of my time responding to people who have forgotten that life is too short to be obsessing about someone else that is not yourself.

I have an answer for all the people that are skeptic about the issue of global warming. I think it's more worrying than calming to hear that we are not sure whether what we see (from melting glaciers, floods affecting certain countries, drought etc.) is a sign of what we've done to our environment. Because if we live in uncertainity we won't be able to make enough necessary changes to slow the process down and evetually stop it. We are not alone here. We share the planet with lots of other plant and animal species and it's kind of disturbing to imagine that we are putting ALL life on this planet at risk of extinction. There's a line I read on a website, that goes roughly like this: "It's hard to make a man understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it". Somethin to ponder on.

Answer 1

MMM. first of all, prove that there is "Global Warming" How do you know how warm it was 200 years ago. Maybe we're supposed to be at the current climate we have now. Parts of the world are experiencing record cold temps. Who is to say that the planet is warming. Maybe the ice caps melt off every 200 years or so. THERE IS NO PROOF! The liberals of this country want us to believe that we all need to pay a "Global Warming" tax so they come up with this brilliant idea to squander money from us.

Answer 2

What you're doing is fantastic, if everyone did the same as you then together it would make a big difference. Not only is it good for the environment but you'll be saving money as well.

You asked if this was enough - no matter what we do it will never be enough, the cuts we need to make are so drastic that they're as good as impossible to achieve. You really would need to live without any modern conveneinces, you'd pretty much have to grow your own food, do without motorised transport, no cell-phones, TV, computers etc.

What I'm saying here is that we can't stop global warming but we can slow it down and this is where every little bit makes a difference. The more we can slow it down the less damaging it will be and the more time it gives us to come up with solutions. Scientists are working on many things as the momnent but they need time.

One thing you shouldn't worry about is dying. I've looked at all the numbers regarding global warming (it's part of my job to) and even if the worst case scenario were to happen you'll be quite OK. You may need to adapt and make some changes in your life but it's not going to kill you. Imagine moving house to a state that's a bit warmer than where you live now - that's what it will be like in 50 or 100 years.

There are some things that you can do, have you thought about switching to a green energy supplier or possibly installing your own solar or wind power. If you live in a sunny or windy place you could generate more electricity than you need, not only do you have no bills but you can sell the surplus.

Planting some trees is a good idea. They look great and provide a natural habitat but at the same time they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If you plant enough trees in the right places you can become carbon neutral or even carbon negative (it's needn't be expensive either - as little as $0.20 per tree).

Here's a webpage with lots of ideas about how you can help the environment http://profend.com/global-warming/pages/combat.html

As for what I'm doing - lots of stuff, the little things and some big things as well.

Answer 3

Its great to help the environment, sometimes I wonder why it took all this babble about global warning to get people attention. The truth is we can all do something to help the environment last in its state a little longer. I'd prefer that but, all these other people just don't care. If we continue as is pollution will reign, and we won't have enough land to support our choice beef and oil prices will just continue to go up.
The things you list are great. and some of the comments were great. but what about helping to education your friends and family. I took my first environmental science class over a decade ago and started recycling and reusing then but it was hard to get others to join in. but now that a lot of the cities pick up your recylcing and are encouraging garage sales its much much easier and more people are doing it.
As well, I am now going to try to buy more produce from the US. Because it takes more fuel and pollution and space to import it from other countries and probably a good portion ends up rotting in our dumps which have enough waste as it is. I don't think I'm yet willing to do it for all produce but I'll try and see how it goes.
also going to try to buy less water in the plastic bottles so less garbage.
I also do the things that the other guy commented, turning off things when you're done, and unplugging. You can also encourage people at work to do this.
We have mostly native plants in our yard so we don't need to water.
I'm also hoping to shade the house with some vines or bushes on the side where the sun hits. it helps when its too hot.
maybe one day we'll have solar panels.

Answer 4

You are making a great effort in being environmentally friendly and this is a very good thing. We want our world to stay as clean and nice as possible. But you don't have to stress so much about global warming. Despite the abundance of scare tactics, it is not a proven theory.

According to a NASA website:

"What are humans doing that might change the climate?
Humans are putting the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the air by burning fossil fuel or wood. We also add CFC (that is chlorofluorocarbons) compounds like Freon, used in refrigeration systems. CFC's are greenhouse gases as well as destroyers of ozone. We measure that carbon dioxide is currently increasing, and it seems to be getting warmer the last few decades. Although this suggests that increased greenhouse gases are causing the warming, it is not certain."

Here: http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/land/global/climchng.html

Now calm down a little.

Answer 5

My opinion about anything in life is ONE person does make a difference!!!! Also, we don't have to do everything that seems to make a difference, ONE change makes a huge difference!! (and feels good) ;)

Also the word "Global Warming" gets attention, because it means death to us and our planet.

I as well have been reading alot about Global Warming. I see some scientists do not agree. This is a process that "naturally" happens with or without us, but, we can perhaps be helping to "ruin" the planet faster.

There are far too many people on earth. Nature will take care of itself. :)

Answer 6

Boy people love to make stuff up! Al Gore is one of them (hehe, I invented the internet!) and Turtleback is another -- 9 billion people on earth, eh? Tell me, where did you get that number from? It's actually around 6.6, 6.7 billion.

Here's an idea for everyone who decides to change their whole life based on ANY movie, no matter who creates it: Do research. Find out for yourself. Don't take anything on blind faith. If you are troubled by this issue then research it to see what the issue really is (if there is even an issue at all). And, in the process, you'll find good ways to combat it. That is, if you've decided it's still a problem after researching for yourself.

Answer 7

I don`t think we will be able to change the course of the climate. Even if we try! Climate is historically for ever evolving and changing. Look at the ice ages etc.
We are just a blip in the larger picture. We will come and go in an instant.
I personally do recycle and live green, but It`s a personal lifestyle choice. Good luck.

Answer 8

1. I replaced all bulbs in my home to CFL's including all outside lighting.
2. I put all electric items on surge protectors to make it easier for me to unplug when not in use.
3. I have cut beef consumption in my family by 50%
4. Set my hot water heater to 120 degrees, use cold water for laundry, energy efficent dishwasher that i only run when full, shorter showers and turn off the water while brushing my teeth.
5. recycle all plastic, metals and paper
6. donate all old clothing that is in good condition and use any clothing that is stained or ripped to make patchwork like quilts, pillows and stuffed animals which i donate to area hospitals and emergency relief agencies.
7. I am now finally fully purged of all chemical cleaning products and have a list of "earth friendly" recipes for cleaning products
8. I line dry as much clothing as possible
9. My family has downsized to only one car which we only use to get to and from work/school.
10. I do all my errands in groups of 4.. myself and 3 friends all go grocery shopping, etc together and at the same time.
11. I have gone paperless billing, paying all of my bills online and stopped all junk mail and circulars.
12. I use old fashioned push mower for my lawn and take my children every spring to plant at least one tree.

I do these things not because Al Gore tells me too, or i am a liberal idiot... but because i take pride in my planet and don't desire living in a dumpster and using more then i need too.

Answer 9

No you are not doing enough. Global warming is caused by over population of the planet. The earth can sustain about 2 to 3 billion people. It is currently swamped by 9 billion people and the number is rising rapidly. As GCSE biology teaches, populations are limited by violent death, pestilence and poisoning by waste products. Global warming is just nature poisoning us with our waste products. Wait until violent death and pestilence kick in and then you will have a really unpleasant planet to live on.

Answer 10

Eventually we will all die, there is no getting out alive here. As for what you are doing to conserve resources, your are doing good. 25 years ago the "top scientists" told us we were facing a ice age, now they claim we are making the world heat up. The movie, An Inconvient Truth, was made by the same man that said he invented the internet so go figure. Another benifit to what you are doing is you may have noticed that your power bill is lower.