Dr. David Suzuki, a Canadian scientist, writer, broadcaster, speaker, environmentalist, has a useful website www.davidsuzuki.org. You can find information about Solving Global Warming, Protecting Human Health, Conserving Our Oceans, Promoting Global Conservation, and Building A Sustainable Economy. There are books, reports, links, tips.
Shrinking ice, fewer bears, no skiing, no Gretzkys
People often talk about climate change in the future tense. But global warming is happening now.Consider what’s happening in the Arctic, where scientists find a quarter of the ice is gone, maybe never to return. Polar bears are threatened because without ice, they can’t survive. Some female bears can’t achieve the mass they need to make baby bears.
In the west, bigger, hotter forest fires destroy millions of trees, burning so intensely that the forests can’t come back. People who fight those fires say as much as half the western forests in the United States could be lost forever.
And there are signs closer to home, too. Canada’s cold, we think, so maybe an extra degree or two wouldn’t be so bad. Complaining about the cold and knowing how to have fun when it’s frosty are both part of who we are as Canadians. Add a couple of degrees to winter temperatures and you can forget skiing. Backyard rinks like the kind Wayne Gretzky learned to skate on will be just a memory. Winter sports are another reason to shrink your carbon footprint.
What to do and how to do it
A great way to save energy at home is to find out where you use it the most. An energy audit can show you how much power your home uses now and where you can maximize savings.Look for the Energy Star logo when you’re replacing electrical appliances, and ask for them when you’re shopping. Imagine a fridge that uses less energy that a 75-watt light bulb — that’s how efficient the newest models are. And speaking of light bulbs, more dark in winter means more lights. Switching to compact fluorescents from incandescent bulbs will make a big difference. The CFLs last longer and use 75 to 80 percent less electricity. If 110 million households replaced just one 60-watt incandescent bulb with a CFL, the energy saved would power a city of 1.5 million people. Take two minutes today to make the switch.
But there’s more to saving energy than replacing lights. If you combined all the heat leaks in the average home, there would be a hole the size of a basketball in the wall (yes, even yours).
To help make it easier for you to plug those holes, we produced a brief “how to” video demonstrating the installation of weather stripping around windows and doorframes.
Do you have creative ways to save energy? Share your stories <!– // Hide var showtext = “by emailing us”; var mailpart1 = “naturechallenge”; var mailpart2 = “davidsuzuki.org”; document.write(“” + showtext + “”) //–> by emailing us.
