climate change: five simple steps you can take now.

today is blog action day, an annual event sponsored by change.org where bloggers post about the same issue on the same day to discuss something of "global importance." this year, it's climate change.

we all know it's happening and it's easy to find the proof. that said, sometimes scientists are even paid by lobbyists to hide it.

but i often feel like, "well, what can i do though?"

here are five simple ideas:

1. be a vegetarian. "university of chicago researchers estimate that each meat-eating american produces 1.5 tons more greenhouse gases through their food choice than do their vegetarian peers. it would also take far less land to grow the crops necessary to feed humans than livestock, allowing more room for planting trees."¹
2. park your car. "carpooling, using transit, walking, bicycling, or telecommuting - just one day a week for a year - can save typical commuters about 1,200 miles on their vehicles and reduce their co2 emissions by over half a ton per year."²
3. compost. "sending food to landfill is a loser...it creates methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than co2."³ i've been worm composting since 2005 and it is extremely easy and helps your garden grow. read my post about it.
4. eat locally. "if you shop at a supermarket, the food you buy may travel in a plane from the other side of the world, burning fossil fuels the entire trip. shop at...local farmers markets"⁴ instead. i took the eat local challenge before - why not join in the challenge that takes place this month?
5. switch it off. "turn off electronic devices when not in use. simply turning off your tv, vcr, computer and other electronic devices can save each household thousand of pounds of carbon dioxide each year."⁵

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1 biello, david. "10 solutions for climate change." scientific american. 2007. scientificamerican.com. 15 oct. 2009 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=10-solutions-for-climate-change&page=3
2 "10 simple steps to reducing climate change." united states department of transportation - federal highway administration. april 2009. fhwa.dot.gov. 15 oct. 2009 http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climate/tensteps.htm
3 "let the grubs break down your grub." bbc. 30 April 2008. bbc.co.uk. 15 oct. 2009 http://www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/actions/composting.shtml.
4 "climate change: what you can do." the nature conservancy. nature.org. 15 oct. 2009 http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/activities/art19630.html
5 "what can i do to help prevent climate change?" earth 911. 2 april 2007. earth911.com. 15 oct. 2009 http://earth911.com/blog/2007/04/02/what-can-i-do-to-help-prevent-climate-change/