Reducing our energy consumption is just one way we can help reduce CO2 emissions. Photo Credit: Stock.Xchng

Across the globe, scientists continue to find new evidence linking climate change patterns to human activities. Daily energy consumption releases large quantities of greenhouse gases, namely carbon dioxide (CO2), into the Earth's atmosphere, increasing temperatures globally. In classrooms, homes, offices and chat rooms around the world, people are increasingly asking: What can I do to protect the environment? Now, with a little imagination, a lot of determination and the click of a mouse, you can easily assess your "ecological footprint" and learn how to curb the effects your actions have on the environment.

At first thought, tackling environmental degradation, global warming, fossil-fuel dependencies and greenhouse gas emissions can seem to be an overwhelming task, especially from an individual perspective. However, protecting the environment begins with one person and can be as simple as reducing the amount of energy you consume through small, but significant, changes to your daily routine. Using compact fluorescent light bulbs and recycled paper, for instance, can help reduce our dependency on burning fossil fuels and clearing forests. Building awareness about environmental behavior at home informs global commitments to major energy reduction and has the capacity to help lower carbon dioxide emissions that affect current global warming trends.

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect

Carbon dioxide is an essential component of the Earth's atmosphere.¹ Simply put, this greenhouse gas heats the planet by absorbing infrared radiation from the Sun making the Earth warm and habitable. Human activity, such as the deforestation of tropical rainforests and the burning of fossil fuels, greatly increases the rate at which CO2 releases into the atmosphere causing the Earth's temperature to rise to potentially dangerous levels.² Since the atmosphere is unable to absorb unnaturally large emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, the gases begin to build up, trapping heat within the Earth's atmosphere. This imbalance leads to rising temperatures, a phenomenon more commonly known as global warming.³

Dramatic changes in temperature affect the earth's balance in a variety of ways - threatening plants, animals and human health.

According to the United Nations Development Program, "Carbon dioxide emissions account for the largest share of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases associated with global warming, and may therefore, be considered as an indicator of human pressure on the global climatic system."⁴ Scientists have linked the resulting climate change to rising sea levels, melting glaciers and increased storm severity. These dramatic changes affect the earth's balance in a variety of ways - threatening plants, animals and human health. As temperatures increase climate-sensitive diseases like malaria become more prevalent since the mosquitoes that carry the disease thrive in warm and rainy climates. Also, many plants and animals are being forced to migrate because they can no longer survive in their natural habitat. The polar bear population is an example of one particular group currently in danger due to global warming pressures.⁵

The practice of burning fossil fuels (primarily oil, coal and natural gas) is a major factor in increasing amounts of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere. Used to run planes, buildings, automobiles, power plants and factories across the globe, fossil fuels generate unnaturally high levels of carbon dioxide that cannot be released into space or absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. In fact, transportation accounts for 30% of world energy use and 95% of global oil consumption, of which 5% is used for planes. The United States accounts for one-fourth of all cars which contribute as much to climate change as all of Japan's economic activity.⁶

It is expected that by 2009, China, the world's largest coal consumer, will become the leading emitter of greenhouse gases. Already the leader in black carbon soot emissions (a result of burning crop residues), China is plagued by the health and development effects of this greenhouse gas and pollutant - over a million annual respiratory-related deaths, severe floods and droughts through the country, impeding crop growth, tainted rivers and melting glaciers. Fortunately for China, and the rest of the world, the global community is uniting in its search for renewable, clean energy sources that can effectively respond to the climate change crisis.

Offsetting CO2 Emissions

It is expected that by 2009, China will become the leading emitter of greenhouse gases.

Energy is required in almost every aspect of our lives with varying degrees of dependence and consumption based on our lifestyle choices and available resources. As individuals, our actions determine our ecological impacts based on the amount of energy we consume on a daily basis. The average American, for example, "generates about 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year from personal transportation, home energy use and from the energy used to produce all the products and services [consumed]."⁷ Reducing this impact, or "ecological footprint," begins with a personal commitment to consciously changing certain habits that rely heavily on oil, coal and natural gas consumption. By making the decision to consume less (and conserve more) energy, you, too, can take the first step in reducing your carbon dioxide emissions.

Individual Conservation

As an individual, one can adopt easy and effective conservation tactics such as turning off and unplugging any unused electrical appliances - plugged in appliances continue to use energy even when they are turned off - to reduce consumption patterns each day. Sound easy enough? There are dozens of equally simple and proven steps you can take to conserve energy like using less hot water, drying clothes on a clothesline, carpooling (or even opting for alternative forms of transportation like mass transit, biking or walking), and, of course, replacing your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs that use 60% less energy than regular bulbs.⁸

More dedicated conservationists can take offsetting a step further by making lifestyle choices ranging from buying a fuel-efficient car to completely neutralizing carbon emissions - a move that would require shifting from fossil fuel dependencies toward more renewable, clean energy sources at home.⁹ In many countries contacting your local gas and electric companies to learn about possible green energy programs available in your town will offer other offsetting options.

National Pressures

At the national level individuals can encourage their local and national officials to implement energy programs that rely on cleaner energy sources like solar or wind power. For inspirational examples, governments could look to Japan's technological advances in energy conservation - commercial fuel cells which convert natural gas into hydrogen - or to the European Union's recent pledge to offset climate change by agreeing to convert one-fifth of all energy used by the twenty-seven countries to renewable energy sources by the year 2020.

Many governments are committing to renewable, clean energy sources as a matter of national policy.

Many governments are committing to renewable, clean energy sources as a matter national policy. In the United Kingdom, solar panels are being installed in the first of a hundred schools with the intention of educating children and their parents about importance of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and energy costs. Singapore, for instance, has pledged US$230 million (S$350 million) over the course of five years to solar power and fuel-cell research technology; since the country is so close to equator, the research it produces on solar power has the potential of benefiting over a billion people living without electricity in South and Southeast Asia. Ghana also recently passed legislation ensuring that only energy efficient appliances would be made available to consumers.

International Cooperation

The Japanese and EU campaigns exemplify how committed individuals and green government policies can mitigate the dangers of climate change. Almost daily, headlines from around the world confirm that the climate crisis is a topic of major international discussion and a forum for collaboration between governments and other agencies. Most recently, China, Norway and the United Nations Development Program signed an agreement to help China assess and develop ways to respond to the effects of climate change by focusing on improving regional industries to help cut the country's greenhouse gas emissions. Brazil and Italy also decided to collaborate: Brazil, the world's second biggest ethanol producer, will be aiding the EU's pledge to convert to renewable energy sources by building four biodiesel plants. Kenya's Green Belt Movement has also joined forces with the UNEP to encourage reforestation as a means of generating a natural way to trap carbon dioxide emissions (carbon sinks).

More ideas:

There is a plethora of information online dedicated to helping individuals learn how to reduce their CO2 emissions while promoting change locally, nationally or internationally. The following four websites offer basic suggestions you can take at home, in the office or on your next travel adventure to help prevent climate change:

• Start by calculating¹⁰ your personal CO2 emissions at Conservation International. This extensive website lays out specific suggestions for every area of life, including tips for making changes at home, in the car, at the office and while traveling.¹¹
  
  
• Carbon Counter is an excellent resource for better understanding climate change, greenhouse effect and carbon offsetting. It also offers suggestions on how to consume like a conservationist, as well as how to fight climate change by making a few basic changes at home.¹²
  
  
• Climate Crisis, the website set up in conjunction with the popular movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," lists ten simple steps to help stop global warming with an estimate of how much CO2 each step will save. The site also offers suggestions of how to reduce your impact at home and on the move, as well as how to promote change locally, nationally and internationally.¹³
  
  
• Climate Wire, the climate change information service, is an excellent source for finding daily headlines on climate change issues worldwide.¹⁴

Take Action Now

We must take action if we are to protect our planet and all the species that inhabit it. In matters of climate control, making small changes to our daily routines is the first step to actively participating in energy conservation. Globally, we also have a commitment to encourage our governments to take a stand for reducing our collective carbon emissions by shifting our reliance away from fossil fuels and toward more renewable, clean energy sources. The Internet is an extremely informative resource that explains the dangers of global warming in detail and offers basic suggestions (and examples) of how to implement change locally, nationally and internationally.

Whether you decide to buy a hybrid car, reconfigure your thermostat, switch to recycled office supplies or replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, it is essential to learn the steps you can take to take to protect the environment. As individuals we can make lifestyle choices that reduce our personal energy consumptions, but the true test is how effectively we can unite and encourage our governments to respond to the global challenge of climate change through multilateral policies and programs that work to protect our planet.

---

Footnotes:

¹ According to Climate.org, a project of the Climate Institute, "Over the past two centuries the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has increased about 30 percent, from a pre-industrial level of about 270 parts per million to a current level of 370 parts per million. Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are already higher today than at any time in the past 150,000 years. And if the consumption of fossil fuels such as coal and oil continues into the next century at projected rates, the carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere would reach the 600-700 parts per million range by 2100."

² The increased levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions get trapped in the Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activity are causing temperatures to rise. According to Fightglobalwarming.com, "The result is that the globe has heated up by about one degree Fahrenheit over the past century, and it has heated up more intensely over the past two decades. If one degree doesn't sound like a lot, consider this: the difference in global average temperatures between modern times and the last ice age, when much of Canada and the northern U.S. were covered with thick ice sheets, was only about 9 degrees Fahrenheit. So in fact one degree is very significant, especially since the unnatural warming will continue as long as we keep putting extra greenhouse gases in the atmosphere."

³ For a discussion on the terminology, please see "Climate Change or Global Warming" at www.epa.gov

⁴ www.unep.org

⁵ According to climatecrisis.org, (section: The Science) "The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years. Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet about sea level. The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade. At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles." According to the World Health Organization, "…climate change was estimated to be responsible in 2000 for…6% of malaria in some middle-income countries."

⁶ www.worldwatch.org

⁷ www.climatecrisis.net

⁸ Suggestions taken from the "What You Can Do" section of www.climatecrisis.org

⁹ Solar, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas and wind are all sources of renewable power that not only help to reduce energy consumption, but also improve air quality and promote public health. Although advances have been made in commercializing these power sources to individual consumers, they are not yet readily available to everyone.

¹⁰ To calculate your carbon emissions, click on www.conservation.org

¹¹ For ideas on what you can do, click on www.conservation.org

¹² For ideas on what you can do, click on carboncounter.org

¹³ For ideas on what you can do, click on www.climatecrisis.org

¹⁴ www.climatewire.org




Contributed by Chantal Habibi-Paydar, a writer for Global Envision. Ms. Habibi-Paydar holds a bachelor's degree in Latin American Studies from UC Berkeley and a master's degree from La Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina where she studied as a Rotary World Peace Fellow. She will be working with an international faith-based humanitarian organization in East Africa beginning in August of 2007.

To read another Global Envision article about climate change, see Climate Change Solutions.



Return to top