Drive less, recycle more, plant a tree

Sanfordville cub reporter weighs in on global warming, By Colin J. Maguire Global warming is where greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which is one of the main greenhouse gases, warm the surface off the earth by naturally trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is good because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline and oil and clearing forests we are dramatically increasing the amount of green house gases in the earth’s atmosphere. And temperatures are rising. The cause of global warming is “Greenhouse” gases. These gases are not the gases in a greenhouse; they are just called that because they keep the earth warming like a greenhouse keeps plants warm. Although these gases keep our planet warm and hospitable, we are releasing more than the earth needs. The main source of global warming is burning fossil fuels by doing every day activities like driving a car. Fossil fuels are made of carbon compounds and when they are burn they mix with oxygen to make carbon dioxide. This is not the only greenhouse gas; there are others like nitrous oxide, methane, and sulfur hexafluoride. Some small things you do every day can spark a chain reaction - like doing homework. The teacher copies the homework, which uses ink and paper. Ink come from oil and the ink has to be transported to the school using fossil fuels. Paper is from trees which filter carbon dioxide out of the air. The lumberjacks use gasoline to fuel their chain saws to cut the trees, then the trees need to be transported to the paper factory using trucks that run on fossil fuels, and then from the paper factory goes the paper to the school using fossil fuels to transport it. There are many effects of global warming speeding up in a spiral cycle. This means, for example, when the ice caps melt they can’t reflect the energy, so the water absorbs it and when the water is warmer than the ice, the ice melts on a larger scale. The melting of the permafrost is another example. When the permafrost melts, the trees that were anchored in it fall over and die; they can’t filter the carbon dioxide out of the air and the temperatures rise and more permafrost melts. This is also true with Pine Beetles. When the winters started getting warmer, Pine Beetles could survive through them and they are reproducing and killing trees. The trees can’t filter carbon dioxide out of the air when they are dead so it gets warmer and the Pine Beetles can go farther north. Other effects of global warming are: The ice caps are melting and the oceans are rising rapidly; rising temperatures; the return of bacteria and disease; and mass reproduction of parasites. Scientists say that in the next 30 years, the consequences will be irreversible and we need to change the ways we live before it’s to late. Global warming is a serious matter and if we don’t act now we will face the dire consequences as mankind and all living things together as one will lose the ability for life on Earth. Ten simple things Together we need to reverse the process of global warming by each and every one of us doing something. There are many things you can do to help slow global warming to a stop; here are ten simple things: • Change your light bulbs. Changing a regular light bulb to a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150-300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. • Drive less, walk, bike, carpool, or use mass transit more often. For every mile you don’t drive you will save 1 pound of carbon dioxide. • Recycle more. Recycling half your household waste will save 2,400 pounds of carbon a year. • Check you tires. Keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by 3 percent. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon out of the atmosphere. • Use less hot water. It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low flow shower head (350 pounds of carbon dioxide save per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds of save per year). • Avoid products with a lot of packaging, you can save 1,200 of carbon dioxide per year if you cut your garbage by 10 percent. • Plant a tree. A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime. • Adjust your thermostat. Putting your thermostat down two degrees in the winter and up two degrees in the summer. You can save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with these simple adjustments. • Turn off electronic devices. Simply turning of your DVD player, television, computer and stereo when your not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Green energy Another way to lower your carbon emissions is to use “Green Energy” also known as “Native Energy” which is energy made from wind, water, sun and heat of the earth 200 feet under the ground Here are some green solution Web sites: • www.green-e.org • www.idtenergy.com/green • www.fightglobalwarming.com • www.climatecrisis.net Colin J. Maguire is a student at Sanfordville Elementary School and a cub reporter for The Warwick Advertiser.