Individual Consumers Can Help Slow Down Global Warming

Individual Consumers Can Help Slow Down Global Warming

  • Submitted By: dlw252
  • Date Submitted: 12/07/2009 6:39 AM
  • Category: Social Issues
  • Words: 895
  • Page: 4
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Professor Holmes
October 12, 2009
Individual Consumers Can Help Slow Down Global Warming
While there is much that needs to be done, an important part in global warming
may be right in our home. The term global warming is a specific case of the more
general term "climate change" (which can also refer to "global cooling," such as occurs
during ice ages). In principle, global warming is neutral as to the causes, but in common
usage, global warming generally implies a human influence. The Environmental
Defense is educating Americans about global warming and showing them what they can
do about it. We need to let people know that they make a real difference by making
simple changes in their daily lives. For many people making changes like these will save
them money at the gas pump and on their monthly utility bills. Global warming is the
observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans in
recent decades. Home energy accounts for 21 percent of America’s global warming
pollution (www.fightglobalwarming.com). When it comes to global warming, how and
what we drive are two of the most powerful choices. Even if we are already driving
efficiently and using less electricity, there’s more we can do.
Changing a light bulb is a way to help slow down global warming towards home
energy. Traditional incandescent bulbs have small heaters that use a little light and
waste a lot of energy making heat. A more efficient way to handle this is to get some
fluorescent lights. Energy-savings compact fluorescents now rival cozy, warm light of
traditional bulbs. They use a fraction of the electricity, which means lower electricity
bills. If every household replaced just three 60-watt incandescent bulbs with compact
fluorescent bulbs, the pollution saving would be like taking 3.5 million cars off the road
(www.fightglobalwarming.com At Home: Use Less Energy). Appliances also have a lot
to...

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