5 Ways To Reduce Global Warming

Each day, we go throughout our lives unable to realize that we leave a carbon footprint. This is, in lemon's terms, how much energy and pollution we create as one person. People aren't aware how much trash is consumed by plastic bags and paper ware. A plastic bag will sit in a land fill for 1,000 years and trees aren't being planted fast enough to support our paper supply. However, this isn't even the tip of the tip of the ice burg for global warming. There is so much more, and as a planet, we're running out of time, space, and solutions.

1. Paper/Plastic/...Cloth Bag?
I've worked retail for almost 6 years, and it's in the past year that the cloth bag trend is starting to popularize with consumers. What has happened to plastic and paper bags? People have educated themselves on the endangered environment, and they are going green to try to protect it. They've been watching all the ads, even the scare ones, and they believe them. It's good to be informed, but as a future journalist, I can't stand by the belief the public needs to be scared to do something. That just seems like they're giving up their free will, and it doesn't seem right.

2. Car/Public Transport/Bike
There's so many options to get to where you're going these days. If it's only a few blocks away, on nice days walk or ride a bike. If it's farther, see there's a public bus that'll take you there if it's safe for you to wait for it after you're done. Taxis, El's, subways--all of these save on the rising price of gasoline. If you must drive, consider buying the most reasonable gas-priced fuel for your car. If you don't need the most expensive, then it's not worth pinching your pocketbook. You may even start a carpool with coworkers or friends, and then there won't be so many cars on the road.

3. Heating/Cooling
Most of us don't consider the small changes we can make around our home or condo that can save us money in the long-term. For instance, something as simple as adjusting your thermostat may help your electric bills. If you put your thermostat 2 degrees lower in the winter and 2 degrees higher in the summer, eventually your heating and cooling costs would even out. Where ever possible, make sure your home has the correct insulation. This accommodation can save you 25% on your heating bill. You may even want to make sure you have weather stripping on doors and windows so air drafts don't come into your home.

4. Recycle, Recycle, Reuse.
Recycling goes beyond putting an item in a bin. After it leaves that bin, it gets compressed into a new item in a factory and sold back to a consumer as a new product. However, you can recycle an item just by finding a reason to reuse it, too. Probably the most generic example of this is "handy-downs." I don't know of anyone who hasn't done this in their family, but recycling should be taught at an early age. Also, you can recycle anything--you can even electronics such as TVs, VCRs, cell phones, etc. This would make our earth alot cleaner if everyone would do this, but not everyone believes in it.

5. Do work in your community
There's so many ways to get involved when it comes to saving the earth. You can get involved in community projects through your church or school. If you have kids, teach them the value of a clean world early. Find new, unique ways to get kids involved in green activities, and make it fun so they'll enjoy it. You could do something as simple as teaching them how to plant a tree or buy from a farmers market. Try making projects out of it, and someday they'll remember those memories best.