Going Green is easy. It is our commitment to Going Green that is hard. There are so many tips and suggestions online now that climate change and global warming are getting attention from all around the world. Here in the U.S. it seems like the issue of global warming is polarized between the Democrats and the Republicans. We aren't fighting per se about whether or not global warming is happening, we are fighting about what is causing it - er who is to blame?
I ask: "Who Cares?" I suppose it matters what is the source, but does it really? Gas prices are getting higher. Okay, so the argument is car exhaust causes global warming on one side of the fence and on the other it doesn't. Okay, whoopie - do you enjoy rising gas prices? Are they going to come down? Nope!
China and India are getting into the game with gas and are going to love it as much as the U.S. World demand for gasoline isn't going down in our lifetimes. So instead of fighting about the source, how about working together to reduce our dependency on it? This would reduce our need for it, thus keeping more money in our economy, and it might just satisfy those who argue for it as a cause for as not that it is happening, but rather - what is the cause.
What is causing Global Warming?
This is a very hard question to answer as, just like just about every other scientific study out there, you can get your results to skew in any direction that you want to prove. No matter what you believe the cause of global warming to be is there any doubt that it is happening? Have you seen the changes in the Polar Ice cap pictures taken over the past 20 years? Ice doesn't just melt that has been around for 1000's of years so what is happening to it? Global warming that is what is happening.
Reducing Global Warming Is Not Hard It Is A Commitment
Again, getting back to going green around the home. It is not hard, it is a commitment to do so. If you are considering buying a home, or are already a homeowner there are so many things you can do to make a difference in minimizing your impact on global warming and energy usage. If you own a home you could install solar hot water heater, or solar paneled sidewalk lights among other items.
One such change you can make no matter whether you are buying a home or not is purchasing Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs. CFL's - use about 70-75% less energy and can last up to 10 times longer than regular incandescent light bulbs. They also can save you more than $30 in electricity costs over the life time of the bulb. They also produce about 75% less heat output than regular bulbs which can impact your AC bill.
You Mean No More Status Quo?
The problem that most people have with buying CFL's is that they are an interruption to how we normally light our homes. We buy cheap throw away lights that burn for a few months. When they burn out, we replace them with another cheap light and pitch the old light in the trash can. There is no hassles with recycling, no careful cleanups if they break. However using CFL's in the home is inconvenient.
Alternatives More Expensive To Start - Payoff In Long Run
For starters, CFL's are more expensive than regular light bulbs. With the initial cost being more expensive buying them on a tight budget might be a hard decision to make. You will need to have a long term vision in mind so that you can see the future benefits of saving money over time. CFL's also need to be disposed of in a special way because they do have some mercury in them. Here are some guidelines to cleaning up mercury spills in your home from the U.S. EPA Environmental Protection Agency.
Home Depot Is Making It Easy To Recycle CFL's - Why?
You can now take old CFL's to Home Depot to recycle. As of June 2008, Home Depot has initiated a program in the U.S. that it will dispose of any unbroken CFL's properly if you bring them in to their return desk. This program has been running in Canada since 12/2007.
I think it is appropriate to ask the question, "why would a company like Home Depot start a recycling program for CFL's?" Why they would start one is because CFL's make a difference and an important product in reducing our overall national energy consumption. This isn't a big step for anyone person to take, but if everyone switched out one of their most used incandescent light bulbs in their home for one CFL, we could power the 3 million homes in Arizona for a year with the saved electricity. That's a pretty wild concept, but that should demonstrate how impactful making little changes can be.
Article by Dale Stouffer. Dale has a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of New Orleans and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning from the University of California, Davis.
