Global Warming , what do you do to curb it ?

[toto2]

Global Warming:
The US Contribution in Figures

* The United States constitutes 4 per cent of the world population
* It is responsible for a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions - an average of 40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide is released by each US citizen every year - the highest of any country in the world, and more than China, India and Japan combined
* Americans use 50 million tons of paper annually - consuming more than 850 million trees
* There are more than 200 million cars and light trucks on american roads
* According to the Federal Department of Transportation, they use over 200 million gallons of petrol a day
* Motor vehicles account for 56 per cent of all air pollution in The United States
* A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2002 concluded that people living in the most heavily polluted metropolitan areas have a 12 per cent increased risk of dying of lung cancer than people in the least polluted areas
* 32 of the 50 busiest US airports currently have plans to expand operations
* Every year US industries release at least 2.4 billion pounds of chemicals into the atmosphere
* Despite having just 2 per cent of known oil reserves, the US consumes 25 per cent of the world's oil production
* 16 per cent of world oil production goes into american cars alone.
* Approximately 160 millio"n people living in 32 US states live in regions with smog and soot levels considered dangerous to health
* The new clear air interstate rule aims to cut sulphur dioxide by 73 per cent and nitrogen oxide by 61 per cent in the next 10 years
* Around 50 million new cars roll off US assembly lines each year
* There are already more than 20 million four-wheel-drive vehicles on US roads
* More than 1.5 million gallons of oil were spilled into US waters in 2000 alone
* Only 1 per cent of american travel is on public transport, an eighth of that in the UK and an eighteenth of that in Japan
* As much as 5.99 tons of carbon dioxide is emitted per American per year, compared with 0.31 tons per Indian or 0.05 tons per Bangladeshi.
* The US had 16 major oil spills between 1976 and 1989, whereas France suffered six and the UK five
* The average american produces 864kg of municipal waste per year, almost three times the quantity of rubbish produced annually by an Italian"


What do I do ? I ride my bike to work every day in the summer ( 10Kl each way) and use public transport the rest of the year. I put recyclables ( My english !) in the green box. I give gifts in nice bags that can be reused, I try to buy local ( transport pollutes a lot !) and I try to avoid fast food outlet ( the generate tons of rubbish)

What do you do ?

 

[bcvillastwo]

..................................just like I did when they "experts" were telling me of the coming ice age in the mid 70's. Now the "experts" assert with all kinds of facts and figures that the there's a global warming crisis.

What other things have the "experts" warned us about over the years but have later been proven wrong by other "experts"? How about eggs are bad for you, then later well maybe they aren't so bad as we thought, and so on.

Nope, I'm not doing a thing and I don't intend to do anything because if the past is any indication of what might happen in the future then odds are the "experts" are going to be wrong on this one too.

 

[Chicago526]

..................................just like I did when they "experts" were telling me of the coming ice age in the mid 70's. Now the "experts" assert with all kinds of facts and figures that the there's a global warming crisis.

What other things have the "experts" warned us about over the years but have later been proven wrong by other "experts"? How about eggs are bad for you, then later well maybe they aren't so bad as we thought, and so on.

Nope, I'm not doing a thing and I don't intend to do anything because if the past is any indication of what might happen in the future then odds are the "experts" are going to be wrong on this one too.

Even if global warming isn't happening, do you really think all this air polution is a good thing? Plus most of the emissions are from gas powered motors (cars, trucks, and machinery) which use oil, and don't we want to lessen our dependance on foreign oil? The only way to really do that is to use less oil.

If you don't believe that GW is happening, there are still other good reasons to reduce the amount of gas we use.

 

[toto2]

I did not intend this thread to be a debate

I will just say that pollution has no redeeming qualities what so ever , and that scientis a very often right as well. If as a citizen somebody feel good about the haze overing over cities , feel good about thrash all over and feel good about asphlat covering everything , then good for them.

Global warming is fact , and it might not be as bad as so far as some scientist predict , but it is moving in this general direction.


PS: Eggs are still full of cholestherol , but have a lot of good thing in them as well. Scientist never said that you should go back to eating 2 eggs every morning ( that would be too fun ! I love eggs !)

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

I plan on doing nothing.

I prefer things 1/2 degree warmer.

Weather is cyclical. In the 70's, some were warning about the next ice age.

The USA, as countries go, is one of the better stewards of this planet, especially if you factor in how much goods and services we produce.

Nothing against conservation or recycling (and I do), but for "global warming," I will do nothing.

Add: Cutting down on our gas usage and automobiles is a good idea. I'm for better public transportation and more bicycle usage. Kudos to those who do.

 

[BunsenH]

toto2,

To answer your question.

I ride my bicycle to work 2-3 times a week. It's only 5 km round trip, but it's something.

I drive a small two-seater car about 5000 miles/year.

I do not have any air conditioning in my house (and it's 90°F this week).

A combination of ecological awareness and cheapness works well for me.

 

[toto2]

I am lucky , I can sleep in the basement when it get to hot ( 33 Celscius this weekend !)

So , no need for the air condititonning !

 

[Viking]

The USA, as countries go, is one of the better stewards of this planet, especially if you factor in how much goods and services we produce.

You don't leave out any chance to present yourself as the prototype of 'The Ugly American', do you ?

Most of the products you use are produced abroad or where do you think your trade deficit comes from ?

Fortunately more and more Americans see the light:
-Hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular
-Even Bush demanded from the car industry to put more effort into bringing clean diesel cars onto American roads.
-Most American cites have car pool lanes.
-etc

 

[Viking]

But to get back on topic:

-I drive a four-seater convertible which averages 27-30mpg
-I opted for a six-speed manual instead of an automatic for better efficiency
-Even though we don't have a general speedlimit I rarely drive faster than 90mph, my normal cruising speed being 80mph, which gets me 35mpg on long distances
-DW uses public transport
-we use only powersaving electrical appliances
-We do not use air conditioning in the house, and even in the car we use it rarely (That's what a convertible is for )
-We try to buy as much local products as possible
-Especially fruit and veggies we try to buy local: Why buying apples from New Zealand or South Africa in Germany
-We recycle
-We buy all beverages in re-usable deposited containers
-We always use public transport when shopping downtown

 

[toto2]

The USA, as countries go, is one of the better stewards of this planet, especially if you factor in how much goods and services we produce.

But when the percapita carbon monoxide production of the USA is more than China , India and japan together ( and china is producing A LOT of the goods purchased in the USA ( and I will add north America , we do have our job to do up-north !) , it does not look like to me like north americans are doing there part.

 

[wvrevy]

In answer to the original post: "Not enough" DW and I are talking about buying hybrids for both of our next cars, but other than that and recycling when the opportunity arises, I don't do nearly as much as I should.

And to those saying they don't "believe" in global warming, as it scientific fact were somehow up for debate, I would refer you to an article just today discussing this topic and how the "does it exist" argument has pretty much been dismissed:

The Debate is Over

 

[Viking]

But when the percapita carbon monoxide production of the USA is more than China , India and japan together ( and china is producing A LOT of the goods purchased in the USA ( and I will add north America , we do have our job to do up-north !) , it does not look like to me like north americans are doing there part.

The 290 million Americans probably weigh more than the 1.2 billion Chinese and so the per-capita-calculation is not entirely fair

 

[Viking]

In answer to the original post: "Not enough" DW and I are talking about buying hybrids for both of our next cars, but other than that and recycling when the opportunity arises, I don't do nearly as much as I should.

And to those saying they don't "believe" in global warming, as it scientific fact were somehow up for debate, I would refer you to an article just today discussing this topic and how the "does it exist" argument has pretty much been dismissed:

The Debate is Over

Nobody does enough - nowhere!!
But every little bit counts!!!

 

[Tigger_Magic]

What I do, I do not because I believe there is a threat of global warming (which I believe is a bunch of hooey), but because I choose to participate or it's convenient. Public transportation to work (usually) if it accommodates my schedule; recycling (because it's the right thing to do).

However, I drive and will continue to drive my gas-guzzling SUV as much as I can afford. I have no intention of buying a hybrid car -- at least until they work out all the problems with them, including stalling out at normal highway speeds (between 45 and 60 mph) -- YIKES!; buy what I want without giving much, if any, thought to where it came from -- my primary concern is what's the price.

So if I'm an "ugly American", so be it -- I've been called worse and survived!

 

[jrydberg]

The 290 million Americans probably weigh more than the 1.2 billion Chinese and so the per-capita-calculation is not entirely fair

Point, Viking!

 

[chadfromdallas]

What I do, I do not because I believe there is a threat of global warming (which I believe is a bunch of hooey),

Yea, those facts sure are hooey, eh?

 

[meandtheguys2]

I think that accurate information would contribute to people making choices that might better the planet. (in general) I find people cynical re. what should be done, because so many mistruths, exagerations and just wrong statements/theories have been pushed down our throats. Recycled material that isn't recyled, r12(?) taken off the market not due to the ozone, but to a patent that was running out... So much that we hear is propaganda. Honest information from reliable sourses would be necessary for us to do more than we are currently doing.

We attempt to be good stewards of our environment, and not buy what we don't need, rather than making a meager attempt to recycle it.

 

[inaminute]

Oh, yay! Another bash America/Americans thread disguised as one regarding the environment. Haven't seen one of these in a while. This ought to be fun.

FWIW, I think global warming is complete fiction. Just some theory keeping some group of scientists in government $$$.

 

[chadfromdallas]

Oh, yay! Another bash America/Americans thread disguised as one regarding the environment. Haven't seen one of these in a while. This ought to be fun.

FWIW, I think global warming is complete fiction. Just some theory keeping some group of scientists in government $$$.

Yea, because all the pollution we put into the air has no effects what so ever?

Bashing Americans is easy...we set ourselves up for it. We think we are the best thing since sliced bread....Our entire populous needs to be knocked down one or two notches...

 

[jrydberg]

Bashing Americans is easy...we set ourselves up for it. We think we are the best thing since sliced bread....Our entire populous needs to be knocked down one or two notches...

Except for me -- I *am* the best thing since sliced bread