10 ways to stop global warming

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    10 Ways to Stop Global Warming

    byEmily Gertz October 05, 2008

    Topics:Climate Change

    Words count : 1122

    Here are some actions you can take to stop global warming -- from cheapest

    and/or easiest to more committed and complex. Don't overlook the small steps --

    like using low-energy light bulbs and carrying groceries home in cloth shopping

    bags -- even if at first they seem inadequate to the crisis. When enough of us

    demonstrate that we want action on global warming, by how we spend our time,

    where we spend our dollars, and how we cast our votes, then our political and

    business leaders will take stabilizing the climate a lot more seriously, too.

    1. Take a walk

    It's not that surprising, given the intertwined dependencies of food and fuel in

    industrial society, that the most rigorous study on cancer to date ended up

    offering the same bits of advice that turn up on nearly every list of things one can

    to do save the planet: "Don't eat too much. Stay lean. Avoid red meat." As my

    colleague Alan AtKisson wrote last year, cover all these bases, and build your

    strength for the next step, by taking a walk.

    2. Switch to reusable cloth shopping bags

    An estimated 180 million non-biodegradable, disposable, petrochemical plastic

    bags are given to American shoppers each year -- and they throw away around

    100 million of them without using them again. It's like dumping almost 12 million

    barrels of oil (504 million gallons) -- and that's just one of the environmental

    harms caused by these filmy evil-doers. If you don't happen to live in one of the

    cities that have already banned plastic bags, switching proactively to cloth bags

    is an easy way to whittle down a bit of your personal carbon burden.

    http://news.change.org/authors/emily-gertzhttp://news.change.org/authors/emily-gertzhttp://news.change.org/authors/emily-gertzhttp://news.change.org/climate-changehttp://news.change.org/climate-changehttp://news.change.org/climate-changehttp://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007575.htmlhttp://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007575.htmlhttp://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/10/plastic_bags/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/10/plastic_bags/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/10/plastic_bags/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/10/plastic_bags/http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007575.htmlhttp://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007575.htmlhttp://news.change.org/climate-changehttp://news.change.org/authors/emily-gertz
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    3. Eat less meat

    The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has established that the

    global livestock industry generates almost a full fifth of human-caused

    greenhouse gas emissions. Americans are among the world's richest peoples,and thus in the top tier of meat consumers. It's estimated that if each American

    had one meat-free day of eating a week, it would cut greenhouse gas pollution as

    much as taking 8 million cars off the road. Eating less meat overall is effectively

    the same thing; here are some ideas on how to do it deliciously from Mark "The

    Minimalist" Bittman, food writer for The New York Times.

    4. Eat a local, grass-fed burger

    But then again, people like meat. So let's consider how we can raise livestock

    and still curb global warming. A small but growing number of innovative ranchers

    advocate carbon farming: growing grass that absorbs carbon out of the

    atmosphere; then grazing cattle on the grass, which tramples the grass into the

    soil, which absorbs the carbon; and then repeating the cycle over and over as

    new grass sprouts. So while it might seem counter-intuitive, eating a burger

    made from a grass-fed cow helps power a potentially massive-yet-natural engine

    for cutting atmospheric carbon and helping to stabilize the climate.

    5. Cut your energy use, get more for less energy

    Conserving energy at home is a direct way to have an impact on global warming,

    and saves some money to boot. Turn down the heat: lowering the thermostat just

    2 degrees can cut a winter energy bill 10 percent. Unplug gadgets when they're

    not in use: Americans spend around $1 billion a year powering devices that

    continue to pull current even when shut off. Trade out those energy-hogging"Edison" light bulbs for super-efficient compact fluorescents.

    6. Switch your electricity to clean power

    http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/9/16/174625/254http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/dining/11mini.html?ex=1370923200&en=8ffda17d995d2228&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalinkhttp://www.acfnewsource.org/environment/carbon_farming.htmlhttp://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008338.htmlhttp://www.grist.org/topic/energy_at_homehttp://www.grist.org/topic/energy_at_homehttp://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008338.htmlhttp://www.acfnewsource.org/environment/carbon_farming.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/dining/11mini.html?ex=1370923200&en=8ffda17d995d2228&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalinkhttp://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/9/16/174625/254
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    Grist Magazine and its Gristmill blog provide daily coverage of

    environmental news and views.

    deSmogBlog is generally on top of debunking the latest dis-

    information.

    The Society of Environmental Journalists puts out a daily digest of

    environmental news stories from around the country and the world.

    And of course, there's the Stop Global Warming blog on

    Change.org.

    9. Stay hopeful

    Keeping up with the latest science and news on global warming is important --

    but truthfully, it can also be a steady diet of alarming and depressing info. Pace

    for the long haul by tuning in to hopeful developments as well: the ideas, models,

    and tools we need to transform agriculture, business, industry, transportation,

    design, and more are already out there. As the British World War II motto put it,

    "Keep Calm and Carry On."

    Here are a few (of many) good sources for positive trends to keep

    in your newsreader:

    Worldchanging.com

    TriplePundit

    EcoGeek

    The Science and Development Network

    Treehugger

    http://www.grist.org/http://gristmill.grist.org/http://www.desmogblog.com/http://www.sej.org/news/index2.htmhttp://www.sej.org/news/index2.htmhttp://globalwarming.change.org/http://www.worldchanging.com/http://www.triplepundit.com/http://www.ecogeek.org/http://www.scidev.net/http://www.treehugger.com/http://www.treehugger.com/http://www.treehugger.com/http://www.treehugger.com/http://www.treehugger.com/http://www.scidev.net/http://www.ecogeek.org/http://www.triplepundit.com/http://www.worldchanging.com/http://globalwarming.change.org/http://www.sej.org/news/index2.htmhttp://www.sej.org/news/index2.htmhttp://www.desmogblog.com/http://gristmill.grist.org/http://www.grist.org/
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    10. Speak up

    Want to organize your block association, little league team, church congregation,

    stitch n' bitch circle -- your community -- to take any or all of the actions above --

    and get the message out to local, regional, and national leaders? Goto 350.org to find inspiration in the diverse actions people have organized to

    demand a sharp and fast cut in atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 ppm -- where

    the climate would likely stablize. Take photos, write it up, and put a record of your

    community action on the site, where it will inspire others.

    Website of this articles :

    http://news.change.org/stories/10-ways-to-stop-global-warming

    http://www.350.org/en/take-actionhttp://news.change.org/stories/10-ways-to-stop-global-warminghttp://news.change.org/stories/10-ways-to-stop-global-warminghttp://news.change.org/stories/10-ways-to-stop-global-warminghttp://www.350.org/en/take-action