Combating Global Warming: Simple Action Steps

I read something the other day that said most people don’t understand what global warming is. The phrase itself, “global warming,” has been used so much in so many different contexts over the past few decades that a lot of the meaning in those words has lost its punch.

In the spirit of bringing a little awareness back to our precious planet, I thought I would write a short article about global warming and include some simple action steps we can take to help combat it. I think it’s easy to get overwhelmed when thinking about it. I mean, how can our actions (meaning the actions of a few people) make any significant difference when it comes to the earth’s climate?

Although it may seem like as individuals we have an itty-bitty impact, together we can really make a big difference. More importantly than that though, for me personally, when I start going down that road of thinking where I convince myself that I can’t make a change, at that point, I lose hope. Once we don’t have hope, then we’ve truly given up. I don’t want that to happen to anyone. Let’s not be hopeless drones, let’s be bold and make a stand!

In the past, some people have argued that global warming doesn’t exist; however, the evidence is everywhere. There is no doubt now that the change is already taking place, and if we don’t modify our behavior, we will see more of this in the future. We will start to see the effects on our food supply, energy resources, water supply, health, etc…

If you don’t know what global warming is, I will describe it. This is an oversimplified and basic way to explain it, but you’ll get the idea. Greenhouse gases are gasses in our atmosphere that trap heat and light from the sun. Too much of this type of gas is detrimental to the environment and causes it to get too hot. Global warming is the phrase used to describe the impact on the earth that happens when people add too much of this type of gas into the air. The earth’s climate has changed before in history, but never this fast, never with this many negative consequences, and never before directly caused by people. In other words, we are destroying our planet slowly but surely.

To combat this change, we are going to have to start getting our energy from clean energy sources instead of from burning fossil fuels. We are also going to have to get a handle on our pollution. Ok, I realize right now you are thinking, “What can I do about that?” I get it, it’s overwhelming.

Cleaner Energy Sources

However, as individuals, there are some things that we can do to make a difference in our daily lives. Did you know that by using a hair dryer, heating up food in the microwave and using a dishwasher, we are adding more greenhouse gases into the air? If you would like a more sophisticated explanation about this topic, you might find this article on National Geographic called What Is Global Warming interesting. Also, here is a link to an MSNBC article from a few days ago about some new discoveries regarding wind and its effects on global warming. Below are a few fun charts that illustrate the impact of global warming and some simple action steps we all can take.