5 Things You Can Do Against Global Warming Today!

The tricky thing with global warming is that, when you read about hurricanes, thunderstorms and melting glaciers, you tend to feel that, there is not much you can do about it, therefore you follow the easiest way: ignore the problem and hope for the best. On the other hand, if you switch from the broader picture to the level of your everyday life you will find a whole bunch of things you can do, without involving any real effort on your side. And, to tell you the truth, these small things matter a whole lot more, than you could ever imagine. So, without further do, I’ll show you five things, you can do against global warming before the end of the day.

1. Air conditioning. We all know that, air conditioning sucks, in the way it destroys the environment. Still, we all hate sweating, especially when not on the beach or tennis court. So what you can do is find a compromise. Why don’t you set your air condition system to 1-2 degrees higher temperature than it is set right now. You wouldn’t guess how much that means concerning the energy consumption, but, as Mr. White said in Madonna-speech: A lot. And anyway, when it’s 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit) out there, even 25 will make you feel cool enough, you won’t need 18 for that. Do the same in your car!
2. Your computer. For god’s sake, shut your computer down at the end of the day! I was always amazed to read (and my experiences are the same) that, around 80% of people won’t shut their computers down for the night. Not even for the weekend. I mean, why the hell not? Do they expect to save on the boot-up time, or what? Come on, your computer will boot up while you drink your coffee, no matter what kind of computer that is. It doesn’t need to be running all weekend for that!
3. Think twice before hitting Ctrl+P! Printing pages you want to read is okay, since nobody likes to read much on the screen of a monitor. But printing every page you come across is way beyond necessary, and, unfortunately, quite a lot of people still do it. Before printing a page think it over whether you really need it to be printed. And, as for this post, please bookmark it instead of printing it!
4. Drive less! I know, your given conditions may vary in wide range, but if you are anything like me, working and living in a busy city, you can always consider using public transportation at least sometimes, when you are not in a hurry. If you still must drive, consider driving somebody. The more persons sit in your car, the fewer cars you’ll need.
5. Switch off a light! I work in a huge office building. As far as I guess, around 500-600 people work here. The building has 5 stories, countless offices and corridors. And for the night, lights on every corridor and stairway are switched on. Security says it is because of the security cameras, Still, I don’t understand. Values (computers, documents and anything that could possibly be stolen) are in the offices not on corridors and stairways! I assume it is a huge waste of energy. So please, at least in your office, when you leave it: switch the lights off!

I’m sure you have more ideas or experiences. Please, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or drop me an email!

Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness list by Ernst & Young

United States is leading each list of Ernst & Young’srecentlypublished Attractiveness survey for the second quarter of2007,concerning the surveyed countries’ use of renewableenergysources.India, the UK and Spain are following the US on eachofthe AllRenewable Index, the Long-term Wind Index and the Near-termWind Indexlists. The report also contains a discussion on supply-chaingluts inthe alternative energy market.

"Givencurrent rates of industry growth of 20% to 30% and manufacturers’ focuson profitability, supply chain constraints are likely to continue inthe medium term notwithstanding new future entrants from China, SouthKorea,India,and possibly Japan," Ernst & Young experts note.

Theglobal highlight lists include top 25 countries of each index, and thereport also covers recent happenings in the sector like Offshore Issuesand Wind Power in Norway.

You can download the entire report from here.

Ernst & Young publishes surveys on the use of renewable energy sources since 1993.