Ang Peregrino Recommends 16: ClimateCrisis.Net
ClimateCrisis.Net
URL: http://www.climatecrisis.net/ 
ClimateCrisis.Net is the website for the documentary The Inconvenient Truth. The movie has taken the rounds of movie houses in the US and worldwide. It has a powerful narrator in Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States. The documentary weaves the science of global warming with Al Gore’s personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change. I found out through the movie that Al Gore has been a longtime advocate for the environment, even when he was a young Congressman in the 70’s, as a Senator in the 80’s and as Vice President of Bill Clinton.
The website offers tips on how to reduce your impact on the environment. These are some of the things you can do at home and on the move:
Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. If every family in the U.S. made the switch, we’d reduce carbon dioxide by more than 90 billion pounds!
Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
Unplug electronics from the wall when you’re not using them
Even when turned off, things like hairdryers, cell phone chargers and televisions use energy. In fact, the energy used to keep display clocks lit and memory chips working accounts for 5 percent of total domestic energy consumption and spews 18 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year!
Buy recycled paper products
It takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.
Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible.
Avoiding just 16 km of driving every week would eliminate about 225 kg of carbon dioxide emissions a year!
Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates.
Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 720 kg a year.
Keep your car tuned up.
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.
When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
You can save 1360 kg of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one.
At the end of it all, it’s the realization that the small things we do–the things we think are insignificant–actually add up to bring our earth to this precipitous situation. For example,most emissions from homes are from the fossil fuels burned to generate electricity and heat. And almost one third of the carbon dioxide produced in the United States for example, come from cars, trucks and airplanes. By using energy more efficiently at home, you can reduce your emissions and lower your energy bills by more than 30%. And by doing the things mentioned above, YOU do your share in helping the environment.
I am recommending the website ClimateCrisis.Net, but at the same time, I am recommending the movie, The Inconvenient Truth. Buy the DVD, watch it and start doing your share in saving the world.
