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What is Green Living?
Green living describes a lifestyle intended to ensure that one's impact on the environment is as minimal (or as positive) as possible.
The Problem from Wikipedia
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation.
Global average air temperature near the Earth's surface rose 0.74 ± 0.18 ° C (1.3 ± 0.32 ° F ) during the past century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes, "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations," which leads to warming of the surface and lower atmosphere by increasing the greenhouse effect. Natural phenomena such as solar variation combined with volcanoes have probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950, but a small cooling effect since 1950. These basic conclusions have been endorsed by at least 30 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries The American Association of Petroleum Geologists is the only scientific society that rejects these conclusions, and a few individual scientists also disagree with parts of them.
Climate models referenced by the IPCC project that global surface temperatures are likely to increase by 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) between 1990 and 2100. The range of values reflects the use of differing scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions and results of models with differences in climate sensitivity . Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a millennium even if greenhouse gas levels are stabilized. This reflects the large heat capacity of the oceans.
An increase in global temperatures can in turn cause other changes, including sea level rise, and changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation resulting in floods and drought. There may also be changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, though it is difficult to connect specific events to global warming. Other effects may include changes in agricultural yields, glacier retreat, reduced summer streamflows, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors.
The Solution - Take Action! from fightglobalwarming.com
Turn off unnecessary lights
Keep your windows closed tight
Run the dishwasher ONLY when full
Wash clothes in warm or cold water, not hot
Adjust your thermostat - lower in winter, higher in summer
Recycle paper, plastic, glass, metal
Walk, bike, carpool, use mass transit when possible
Buy energy efficient light bulbs
Choose recyclable products over disposable
Check your car's tire pressure regularly
For more information, visit
Environmental Defense - http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/index.cfm?source=banner_search
10 Ways to Go Green - The WorldWatch Institute http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3915
Tips for green living www.greenpeace.ca/e/resource/green/
Green Building from Wikipedia
Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use and harvest energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal -- the complete building life cycle.
For more information, visit:
http://www.greenbuilding.com/
http://globalgreen.org/greenurbanism/
Page last modified:
April 17, 2009
