There is an urgent need for action to prevent the most damaging
effects of climate change. Temperatures around the North Pole
have already risen by four degrees. Ice covering over the
Arctic Ocean has thinned by 40%. Global temperatures are now
rising at three times the rate of increases in the early 1900s.
In February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
reported with 90% certainty that human activity is causing
climate change.
Likewise, concerns about rising energy prices also continue
to grow. The mission of ICCR's Global Warming Working Group
is to educate companies about the environmental and economic
threats posed by greenhouse gas emissions from their products
and operations, and to increase shareholder value by urging
companies to proactively address the challenge of global warming.
In 2007 alone, the Group filed 50 shareholder resolutions
calling for action on global warming with American companies.
If human activity is the cause of climate change, then human
activity can also be the solution. Below are a number of things
you can do to make an impact:
Switch to Green Power. Currently, 34 states and
the District of Columbia offer alternatives for customers
who want to purchase green power. For a complete list of
green power options, visit the US
Department of Energy’s Web site.
Change
a Light Bulb. Wherever practical, replace regular
light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.
Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with
a CFL will save you $30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs
also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds
less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat. If every
U.S. family replaced one regular light bulb with a CFL,
it would eliminate 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases,
the same as taking 7.5 million cars off the road.
Go Solar. With states offering residential renewable
energy incentives as high as $20,000 (and the federal government
offering a $2,000 incentive through 2007), solar energy
is more accessible than ever before, not to mention an excellent
long-term investment. Get our Co-op America Quarterly, The
Promise of the Solar Future, to learn more. (PDF)
Green Your Transportation. Carpool, vanpool, take
a bus, ride a train, or step on the subway. Better yet walk
or ride a bike. Using mass transit, fuel-efficient vehicles,
and your own energy to get around is a wonderful way to
take control of your impact on climate change. Americans
could save 1.5 million barrels of fuel a day if fuel economy
were improved by 5 mpg. If you have to drive or you’re
flying, consider purchasing carbon offsets for your trip.
Get our Guide to Sustainable Transportation. (PDF)
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Resource extraction, manufacturing,
and waste disposal are all energy-intensive processes. Cutting
down on the waste stream cuts down on all of these processes,
which cuts energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Reduce
the amount you consume to begin with. Reuse everything you
can, from magazines to packaging to yard waste. Recycle
paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, battery, textiles, and
electronics. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy
to power a TV for three hours, and recycling one glass bottle
saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.
Check
out the EPA's "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" guide.
Eat Locally. From farm to dinner plate, food grown
in the US travels 1500 miles on average. Distances are substantially
longer for foods imported from elsewhere in the world. Add
on the energy used for packaging and refrigeration, and
your food can carry hefty carbon emissions. When you visit
a farmers market, subscribe to a CSA, or buy local produce
at your grocer you are saving thousands of miles. Just think
what you save when you purchase handcrafted goods and gifts
from local producers.
Eat Less Meat, Or None At All. Raising animals
for meat is a major contributor to the leading causes of
global warming. It requires massive amounts of energy, water,
and land during all stages of production. More than one-third
of all fossil fuels produced in the United States are used
to raise animals for food. It takes about 16 pounds of grain
to produce just 1 pound of meat – grain which could
be eaten directly by humans. According to scientists at
the Smithsonian Institute, the equivalent of seven football
fields of land is bulldozed every minute to create more
room for farmed animals, releasing tons of carbon dioxide.
Cows are also a huge source of greenhouse gases – in
this case, methane. Reducing the amount of animal products
in your diet has a huge impact. Learn more from Vegetarian
101.
Use Less Water. Using less water reduces the need
for energy to both treat and heat that water. The average
American household expends about 14 percent of its energy
usage on heating water. That adds up to nearly 4 percent
of the country's total energy use and emits about 260 million
tons of CO2 [Source: NRDC]. Take shorter showers, install
low-flow shower heads and low-volume toilets, and see this
guide for 97 more tips,
Use Your Investor Power. If you invest in power
companies that continue to rely on coal, voice your concerns
with unsustainable technologies and ask them to disclose
their role in creating climate risks, assert that you prefer
to invest your dollar in cleaner technologies. If you invest
in mutual funds, tell the company that you expect them to
vote for sustainability on climate risk resolutions.
Use the "Off" Switch. Save electricity
and reduce global warming by turning off lights when you
leave a room, and using only as much light as you need.
And remember to turn off your television, video player,
stereo and computer when you're not using them. It's also
a good idea to turn off the water when you're not using
it. While brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing
your car, turn off the water until you actually need it
for rinsing. You'll reduce your water bill and help to conserve
a vital resource.
