By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS - A U.N. expert on Friday called the growing practice of converting food crops into biofuel "a crime against humanity," saying it is creating food shortages and price jumps that cause millions of poor people to go hungry.
Jean Ziegler, who has been the United Nations' independent expert on the right to food since the position was established in 2000, called for a five-year moratorium on biofuel production to halt what he called a growing "catastrophe" for the poor.
Scientific research is progressing very quickly, he said, "and in five years it will be possible to make biofuel and biodiesel from agricultural waste" rather than wheat, corn, sugar cane and other food crops.
Using biofuel instead of gasoline in cars is generally considered to cut carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to global warming, although some scientists say greenhouse gases released during the production of biofuel could offset those gains.
The use of crops for biofuel has being pursued especially in Brazil and the United States.
Last March, President Bush and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed an agreement committing their countries to boosting ethanol production. They said increasing use of alternative fuels would lead to more jobs, a cleaner environment and greater independence from the whims of the oil market.
Ziegler called their motives legitimate, but said that "the effect of transforming hundreds and hundreds of thousands of tons of maize, of wheat, of beans, of palm oil, into agricultural fuel is absolutely catastrophic for the hungry people."
The world price of wheat doubled in one year and the price of corn quadrupled, leaving poor countries, especially in Africa, unable to pay for the imported food needed to feed their people, he said. And poor people in those countries are unable to pay the soaring prices for the food that does come in, he added.
"So it's a crime against humanity" to devote agricultural land to biofuel production, Ziegler said a news conference. "What has to be stopped is ... the growing catastrophe of the massacre (by) hunger in the world," he said.
As an example, he said, it takes 510 pounds of corn to produce 13 gallons of ethanol. That much corn could feed a child in Zambia or Mexico for a year, he said.
Benjamin Chang, a spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said the Bush administration didn't consider biofuel development a threat to the poor.
"It's clear we have a commitment to the development of biofuels," he said. "It's also clear that we are committed to combatting poverty and supporting economic development around the world as the leading contributor of overseas development assistance in the world."
Ziegler, a sociology professor at the University of Geneva and the University of the Sorbonne in Paris, presented a report Thursday to the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee saying a five-year moratorium on biofuel production would allow time for new technologies for using agricultural byproducts instead of food itself.
Researchers are looking at crop residues such as corn cobs, rice husks and banana leaves, he said. "The cultivation of Jatropha Curcas, a shrub that produces large oil-bearing seeds, appears to offer a good solution as it can be grown in arid lands that are not normally suitable for food crops," he said.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Decoding the Human Eye
Test bed: A 512-electrode array (gold circle), modeled after detectors used to capture particles in high-energy physics, is helping to decipher the neural code of the retina. The findings will aid in the design of future retinal prostheses.
Credit: Alan Litke
Superdense arrays of silicon electrodes will bring scientists closer to an artificial retina that approximates normal vision.
By Emily Singer
Artificial retinas are already in human clinical trials at the University of Southern California, where they have helped blind patients distinguish walls from doorways and even watch soccer games, albeit as blurs of motion. But approximating normal vision--and possibly enabling people to read--will require devices that can deliver electrical current with much greater control and precision. A new chip densely packed with electrodes, developed by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), is the first step in that direction.
Currently being used in research, the chip can stimulate and record from individual cells in retinal samples. The technology will provide insight into how the retina codes information and how to mimic that coding--lessons that will be crucial in developing the next generation of retinal implants. Further down the road, some version of the technology might be used to send visual information down the optic nerve.
"The retina is a very sophisticated visual-information-processing device," says Alan Litke, a physicist at UCSC who is applying his expertise to neurobiology. "To have a human patient someday approach normal visual functioning, such as reading, you need to have a very accurate level of control."
The retina is a thin layer of cells at the back of the eye; photoreceptor cells in the retina detect light and send signals to the retinal ganglion cells, which then transmit the signals to the brain through the optic nerve. In macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, two leading causes of blindness, photoreceptor cells are damaged, but the remaining retinal ganglion cells are left largely intact. Artificial retinas, which rely on an external camera to capture visual information, consist of a processor that translates that information into an electrical code intelligible to the nerve cells of the eye, and a chip dotted with tiny electrodes that transmit the electrical signals to the retinal ganglion cells.
Litke and his collaborators modeled their chip after the silicon microchip detectors that line supercolliders to capture signs of elusive, high-energy, subatomic particles, such as the Higgs boson. Using common integrated-circuit fabrication techniques, the researchers custom-built more than 500 electrodes and amplifiers onto a small glass strip. "There are other commercial, multi-electrode recording systems available, but the team at UCSC has really pushed the technology forward by coming up with a system with the capability to record many more neural responses," says Matt McMahon, a scientist at Second Sight, the company based in Sylmar, CA, that's developing the retinal prostheses used in the USC study. Second Sight is using Litke's device to inform the design of future prostheses. The company's first-generation device had 16 electrodes, the second-generation device currently in human trials has 60, and a 200-electrode version is under development.
With the UCSC device, scientists can precisely control individual retinal ganglion cells, a capability that will be key in next-generation implants. One of the reasons the prostheses currently in human testing have limited resolution is that they stimulate hundreds of cells simultaneously. (The diameter of the electrodes is an order of magnitude larger than that of most cells.) The five-micrometer-diameter electrodes in Litke's chip are on par with the size of retinal ganglion cells, allowing them to stimulate individual cells. The researchers previously showed that they could simultaneously control multiple cells with a 60-electrode version of the chip, and they are developing a version with 512 electrodes.
Now that scientists have created a technology with such a precise level of control, they are using it to study the language of the retina--a language they hope prostheses will ultimately be able to speak. While the retina is often likened to a camera, it is in reality much more complicated. Light signals are captured and processed in the retina; the sequence of electrical bursts sent to the retinal ganglion cells encodes higher-order information, such as an edge or movement in the visual field. Current prostheses use a simplified code and thus lose information, just as Morse code loses the nuanced intonations of the spoken word and the facial expressions of the speaker. "What are the patterns that really emulate what the healthy retina would be doing?" asks Alexander Sher, an assistant researcher at UCSC who is collaborating with Litke. "If you get to the point where you can stimulate individual cells, and you know how individual cells encode information, you can simulate that exactly, or nearly exactly."
Scientists at Second Sight say that the lessons learned from these studies will be crucial to the development of next-generation prostheses. But turning the UCSC researchers' device into an implant fit for the human eye will be challenging. "A lot of technical considerations are preventing us from jumping to really tiny electrodes," says McMahon. "That will require further developments in electronics and packaging and software."
Researchers Knock Out HIV
This thin-section transmission electron micrograph depicted the ultrastructural details of two "human immunodeficiency virus" (HIV) virus particles, or virions. (Credit: CDC/Dr. A. Harrison; Dr. P. Feorino)
ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2007) — With the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The so-called ‘combination therapy’ prevents HIV from mutating and spreading, allowing patients to rebuild their immune system to the same levels as the rest of the population.
To date, it represents the most significant treatment for patients suffering from HIV.
Professor Jens Lundgren from the University of Copenhagen, together with other members of the research group EuroSIDA, have conducted a study, which demonstrates that the immune system of all HIV-infected patients can be restored and normalised. The only stipulation is that patients begin and continue to follow their course of treatment.
HIV attacks the body’s ability to counteract viruses
Viruses are small organisms that have no independent metabolism. Consequently, when they enter the body they attack living cells and adopt their metabolism. The influenza virus occupies cells in the nose, throat and lungs; the mumps attaches itself to the salivary glands of the ear; while the Polio virus plays on the intestinal tract, blood and salivary glands. In all these instances, our immune system attacks and eliminates the invading virus.
HIV is so deadly because the virus attaches itself to a crucial part of the immune system itself: to the so-called CD4+T lymphocytes, which are white blood corpuscles that help the immune system to fight infections. The Hi-virus forms and invades new CD4+T-lymphocytes. Slowly but surely, the number of healthy CD4+T lymphocytes in the blood fall, while HIV relentlessly weakens the body’s ability to defend itself from infection. Finally, the immune system erodes to such an extent that the infected patient is diagnosed with AIDS. The Hi-virus mutates constantly as it forms and this is why, scientists face a constant battle to find a cure or a vaccine.
Combination therapy knocks out HIV
Combination therapy prevents the virus from forming and mutating in human beings. When the virus is halted in its progress, the number of healthy CD4+T cells begins to rise and patients, who would otherwise die from HIV, can now survive. The immune system is rejuvenated and is apparently able to normalise itself, providing that the combination therapy is maintained. The moment the immune system begins to improve, the HIV-infected patient can no longer be said to be suffering from an HIV infection or disease, already declining in strength.
Findings from the study are published in the medical journal The Lancet - Vol. 370, Issue 9585, 4 August 2007, Pages 407-413
Adapted from materials provided by University Of Copenhagen.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2007) — With the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The so-called ‘combination therapy’ prevents HIV from mutating and spreading, allowing patients to rebuild their immune system to the same levels as the rest of the population.
To date, it represents the most significant treatment for patients suffering from HIV.
Professor Jens Lundgren from the University of Copenhagen, together with other members of the research group EuroSIDA, have conducted a study, which demonstrates that the immune system of all HIV-infected patients can be restored and normalised. The only stipulation is that patients begin and continue to follow their course of treatment.
HIV attacks the body’s ability to counteract viruses
Viruses are small organisms that have no independent metabolism. Consequently, when they enter the body they attack living cells and adopt their metabolism. The influenza virus occupies cells in the nose, throat and lungs; the mumps attaches itself to the salivary glands of the ear; while the Polio virus plays on the intestinal tract, blood and salivary glands. In all these instances, our immune system attacks and eliminates the invading virus.
HIV is so deadly because the virus attaches itself to a crucial part of the immune system itself: to the so-called CD4+T lymphocytes, which are white blood corpuscles that help the immune system to fight infections. The Hi-virus forms and invades new CD4+T-lymphocytes. Slowly but surely, the number of healthy CD4+T lymphocytes in the blood fall, while HIV relentlessly weakens the body’s ability to defend itself from infection. Finally, the immune system erodes to such an extent that the infected patient is diagnosed with AIDS. The Hi-virus mutates constantly as it forms and this is why, scientists face a constant battle to find a cure or a vaccine.
Combination therapy knocks out HIV
Combination therapy prevents the virus from forming and mutating in human beings. When the virus is halted in its progress, the number of healthy CD4+T cells begins to rise and patients, who would otherwise die from HIV, can now survive. The immune system is rejuvenated and is apparently able to normalise itself, providing that the combination therapy is maintained. The moment the immune system begins to improve, the HIV-infected patient can no longer be said to be suffering from an HIV infection or disease, already declining in strength.
Findings from the study are published in the medical journal The Lancet - Vol. 370, Issue 9585, 4 August 2007, Pages 407-413
Adapted from materials provided by University Of Copenhagen.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Global warming
Great Challenge Ahead
Global warming isn't opinion. It's a scientific reality. And the science tells us that human activity has made enormous impacts to our planet that affect our well-being and even our survival as a species.
The world's leading science journals report that glaciers are melting ten times faster than previously thought, that atmospheric greenhouse gases have reached levels not seen for millions of years, and that species are vanishing as a result of climate change. They also report of extreme weather events, long-term droughts, and rising sea levels.
Fortunately, the science also tells us how we can begin to make significant repairs to try and reverse those impacts, but only through immediate action. That's why we urge you to join us. The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is virtual but its purpose is real. By spreading the word and sharing this with others, our collective power will force governments, corporations, and politicians everywhere to pay attention.
Global Warming?
The Earth as an ecosystem is changing, attributable in great part to the effects of globalization and man. More carbon dioxide is now in the atmosphere than has been in the past 650,000 years. This carbon stays in the atmosphere, acts like a warm blanket, and holds in the heat — hence the name 'global warming.'
The reason we exist on this planet is because the earth naturally traps just enough heat in the atmosphere to keep the temperature within a very narrow range - this creates the conditions that give us breathable air, clean water, and the weather we depend on to survive. Human beings have begun to tip that balance. We've overloaded the atmosphere with heat-trapping gasses from our cars and factories and power plants. This has disturbed the habitats of several plants and animals. Animals have already started responding to this global change and there is a global trend of them moving towards the polar region
If we don't start fixing the problem now, we're in for devastating changes to our environment. We will experience extreme temperatures, rises in sea levels, and storms of unimaginable destructive fury. Recently, alarming events that are consistent with scientific predictions about the effects of climate change have become more and more commonplace.
Environmental Destruction
The massive ice sheets in the Arctic are melting at alarming rates. This is causing the oceans to rise. That's how big these ice sheets are! Most of the world's population lives on or near the coasts. Rising ocean levels, an estimated six feet over the next 100 years or sooner, will cause massive devastation and economic catastrophe to population centers worldwide.
The United States, with only four percent of the world's population, is responsible for 22% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. A rapid transition to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources will combat global warming, protect human health, create new jobs, protect habitat and wildlife, and ensure a secure, affordable energy future.
Health Risks
Malaria. Dengue Fever. Encephalitis. These names are not usually heard in emergency rooms and doctors' offices in the United States. But if we don't act to curb global warming, they will be. As temperatures rise, disease-carrying mosquitoes and rodents spread, infecting people in their wake. Doctors at the Harvard Medical School have linked recent U.S. outbreaks of dengue fever, malaria, hantavirus and other diseases directly to climate change.
Catastrophic Weather
Super powerful hurricanes, fueled by warmer ocean temperatures are the "smoking gun" of global warming. Since 1970, the number of category 4 and 5 events has jumped sharply. Human activities are adding an alarming amount of pollution to the earth's atmosphere causing catastrophic shifts in weather patterns. These shifts are causing severe heat, floods and worse.
Five Things We Can All Do
Join StopGlobalWarming.org. Together our voices will be heard!
Spread the word, share the learning. Send this link to family, friends, and colleagues. Share why this is so important.
Change begins at home. (See the list home-related Action Items)
Put the heat on your elected officials.
The power of the pocketbook.
There are many simple things you can do in your daily life — what you eat, what you drive, how you build your home — that can have an effect on your immediate surrounding, and on places as far away as Antactica. Here is a list of few things that you can do to make a difference.
Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Replace 3 frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 per year. Take the Energy Star pledge.
Inflate Your Tires
Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated. Check them monthly. Save 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $840 per year.
Change Your Air Filter
Check your car's air filter monthly. Save 800 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $130 per year.
Fill the Dishwasher
Run your dishwasher only with a full load. Save 100 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.
Use Recycled Paper
Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
Adjust Your Thermostat
Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98 per year.
Check Your Waterheater
Keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F. Save 550 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $30 per year.
Change the AC Filter
Clean or replace dirty air conditioner filters as recommended. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150 per year.
Take Shorter Showers
Showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $99 per year.
Install a Low-Flow Showerhead
Using less water in the shower means less energy to heat the water. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150.
Buy Products Locally
Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.
Buy Energy Certificates
Help spur the renewable energy market and cut global warming pollution by buying wind certificates and green tags.
Buy Minimally Packaged Goods
Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%. Save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide and $1,000 per year.
Buy a Hybrid Car
The average driver could save 16,000 lbs. of CO2 and $3,750 per year driving a hybrid
Buy a Fuel Efficient Car
Getting a few extra miles per gallon makes a big difference. Save thousands of lbs. of CO2 and a lot of money per year.
Carpool When You Can
Own a big vehicle? Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.
Don't Idle in Your Car
Idling wastes money and gas, and generates pollution and global warming causing emissions. Except when in traffic, turn your engine off if you must wait for more than 30 seconds.
Reduce Garbage
Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and glass. Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
Plant a Tree
Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
Insulate Your Water Heater
Keep your water heater insulated could save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.
Replace Old Appliances
Inefficient appliances waste energy. Save hundreds of lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.
Weatherize Your Home
Caulk and weather strip your doorways and windows. Save 1,700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $274 per year.
Use a Push Mower
Use your muscles instead of fossil fuels and get some exercise. Save 80 lbs of carbon dioxide per year.
Unplug Un-Used Electronics
Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $256 per year.
Put on a Sweater
Instead of turning up the heat in your home, wear more clothes Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $250 per year.
Insulate Your Home
Make sure your walls and ceilings are insulated. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $245 per year.
Air Dry Your Clothes
Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer. Save 700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $75 per year.
Switch to a Tankless Water Heater
Your water will be heated as you use it rather than keeping a tank of hot water. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $390 per year.
Switch to Double Pane Windows
Double pane windows keep more heat inside your home so you use less energy. Save 10,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $436 per year.
Buy Organic Food
The chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require energy to produce.
Bring Cloth Bags to the Market
Using your own cloth bag instead of plastic or paper bags reduces waste and requires no additional energy.
Buy The Bracelet
Made from 100% scrap leather by Roots — 100% of net proceeds go the Stop Global Warming Fund.
Turn off Your Computer
Shut off your computer when not in use, and save 200 lbs of C02. Conserve energy by using your computer's "sleep mode" instead of a screensaver.
Take Action at School!
Throughout history, students have been the driving force in social change. Now more than ever is the time for students across the country to become global warming activists and join the movement.
On this page you will find tips for stopping global warming that your class or school can do today. You don't have to do everything, but we all need to do something! Get started in your school and keep us posted with results.
Get Your Class Virtually Marching!
Have all of your students sign up and challenge them to get as many people as they know (family, friends, churches, etc) to sign up with them. Make it a challenge in your school. Joining the Virtual March is the first step to joining the movement.
Read the Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming
The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming is a comprehensive resource to help young readers (ages 8 and up) understand the science of global warming and how we can work together to stop it. Click here to learn more.
Recycle
Make sure your class has recycling bins for paper and plastics. Have your class do a field trip to follow where the recycling ends up. Does your school do double-sided printing?
Cut Back on Paper
Encourage administrators to only purchase post consumer recycled paper products (including toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, etc.) at your school. Set a goal to increase it. Make a rule that all multi-page documents are run double-sided. Keep looking for ways to eliminate paper.
Educate Your Parents
Take the issue of global warming to PTA meetings to educate the parents on the urgency of this issue.
Use Timers
Have your school set lights and air conditioners on efficiency timers.
Take Action at Home
Give your students the take action sheet on our site to take home and implement with their parents. Make it a contest to see which student can encourage the most change in their home.
No Waste at School Meals and Events
Reduce use of juice boxes, water bottles, plastic bags, etc. in your cafeteria, in your lunch box and at school parties.
Plant Trees
Have a tree planting day at your school. Plant trees that are local to your area that will reduce carbon dioxide and create clean air to breathe.
Conduct a School Energy Audit
Have your utility company come do an energy audit on the school.
Replace Oil Burning Furnaces
Find out what year your school's oil burning furnace was put in. If it is over 5 years old, a new one would substantially reduce carbon emissions. Plan a fundraiser to help pay for it.
Spread the News
Find a news article on our site about global warming and email it to five people.
Start a Club
Start a global warming club at your school and set goals to curb your school's energy use.
Research and Report
Choose global warming as a topic for your next science, English, or social studies report.
Speak Out
Run for student government on a global warming platform. Challenge another school to match what you are doing to curb global warming emissions.
Reward the Use of Hybrids
Institute "Good Citizen" premium parking spaces for teachers, parents and students that drive hybrid cars.
Audit Student's Energy Use
Have all students conduct their own personal energy audit to figure out their daily carbon footprint and set goals to reduce it. Celebrate the student who reduces their emissions the most at the end of the school year.
Review Office/School's Purchases
Look into the food, waste and packaging purchases of your cafeteria.
Global warming isn't opinion. It's a scientific reality. And the science tells us that human activity has made enormous impacts to our planet that affect our well-being and even our survival as a species.
The world's leading science journals report that glaciers are melting ten times faster than previously thought, that atmospheric greenhouse gases have reached levels not seen for millions of years, and that species are vanishing as a result of climate change. They also report of extreme weather events, long-term droughts, and rising sea levels.
Fortunately, the science also tells us how we can begin to make significant repairs to try and reverse those impacts, but only through immediate action. That's why we urge you to join us. The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is virtual but its purpose is real. By spreading the word and sharing this with others, our collective power will force governments, corporations, and politicians everywhere to pay attention.
Global Warming?
The Earth as an ecosystem is changing, attributable in great part to the effects of globalization and man. More carbon dioxide is now in the atmosphere than has been in the past 650,000 years. This carbon stays in the atmosphere, acts like a warm blanket, and holds in the heat — hence the name 'global warming.'
The reason we exist on this planet is because the earth naturally traps just enough heat in the atmosphere to keep the temperature within a very narrow range - this creates the conditions that give us breathable air, clean water, and the weather we depend on to survive. Human beings have begun to tip that balance. We've overloaded the atmosphere with heat-trapping gasses from our cars and factories and power plants. This has disturbed the habitats of several plants and animals. Animals have already started responding to this global change and there is a global trend of them moving towards the polar region
If we don't start fixing the problem now, we're in for devastating changes to our environment. We will experience extreme temperatures, rises in sea levels, and storms of unimaginable destructive fury. Recently, alarming events that are consistent with scientific predictions about the effects of climate change have become more and more commonplace.
Environmental Destruction
The massive ice sheets in the Arctic are melting at alarming rates. This is causing the oceans to rise. That's how big these ice sheets are! Most of the world's population lives on or near the coasts. Rising ocean levels, an estimated six feet over the next 100 years or sooner, will cause massive devastation and economic catastrophe to population centers worldwide.
The United States, with only four percent of the world's population, is responsible for 22% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. A rapid transition to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources will combat global warming, protect human health, create new jobs, protect habitat and wildlife, and ensure a secure, affordable energy future.
Health Risks
Malaria. Dengue Fever. Encephalitis. These names are not usually heard in emergency rooms and doctors' offices in the United States. But if we don't act to curb global warming, they will be. As temperatures rise, disease-carrying mosquitoes and rodents spread, infecting people in their wake. Doctors at the Harvard Medical School have linked recent U.S. outbreaks of dengue fever, malaria, hantavirus and other diseases directly to climate change.
Catastrophic Weather
Super powerful hurricanes, fueled by warmer ocean temperatures are the "smoking gun" of global warming. Since 1970, the number of category 4 and 5 events has jumped sharply. Human activities are adding an alarming amount of pollution to the earth's atmosphere causing catastrophic shifts in weather patterns. These shifts are causing severe heat, floods and worse.
Five Things We Can All Do
Join StopGlobalWarming.org. Together our voices will be heard!
Spread the word, share the learning. Send this link to family, friends, and colleagues. Share why this is so important.
Change begins at home. (See the list home-related Action Items)
Put the heat on your elected officials.
The power of the pocketbook.
There are many simple things you can do in your daily life — what you eat, what you drive, how you build your home — that can have an effect on your immediate surrounding, and on places as far away as Antactica. Here is a list of few things that you can do to make a difference.
Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Replace 3 frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 per year. Take the Energy Star pledge.
Inflate Your Tires
Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated. Check them monthly. Save 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $840 per year.
Change Your Air Filter
Check your car's air filter monthly. Save 800 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $130 per year.
Fill the Dishwasher
Run your dishwasher only with a full load. Save 100 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.
Use Recycled Paper
Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
Adjust Your Thermostat
Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98 per year.
Check Your Waterheater
Keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F. Save 550 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $30 per year.
Change the AC Filter
Clean or replace dirty air conditioner filters as recommended. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150 per year.
Take Shorter Showers
Showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $99 per year.
Install a Low-Flow Showerhead
Using less water in the shower means less energy to heat the water. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150.
Buy Products Locally
Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.
Buy Energy Certificates
Help spur the renewable energy market and cut global warming pollution by buying wind certificates and green tags.
Buy Minimally Packaged Goods
Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%. Save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide and $1,000 per year.
Buy a Hybrid Car
The average driver could save 16,000 lbs. of CO2 and $3,750 per year driving a hybrid
Buy a Fuel Efficient Car
Getting a few extra miles per gallon makes a big difference. Save thousands of lbs. of CO2 and a lot of money per year.
Carpool When You Can
Own a big vehicle? Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.
Don't Idle in Your Car
Idling wastes money and gas, and generates pollution and global warming causing emissions. Except when in traffic, turn your engine off if you must wait for more than 30 seconds.
Reduce Garbage
Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and glass. Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
Plant a Tree
Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
Insulate Your Water Heater
Keep your water heater insulated could save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.
Replace Old Appliances
Inefficient appliances waste energy. Save hundreds of lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.
Weatherize Your Home
Caulk and weather strip your doorways and windows. Save 1,700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $274 per year.
Use a Push Mower
Use your muscles instead of fossil fuels and get some exercise. Save 80 lbs of carbon dioxide per year.
Unplug Un-Used Electronics
Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $256 per year.
Put on a Sweater
Instead of turning up the heat in your home, wear more clothes Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $250 per year.
Insulate Your Home
Make sure your walls and ceilings are insulated. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $245 per year.
Air Dry Your Clothes
Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer. Save 700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $75 per year.
Switch to a Tankless Water Heater
Your water will be heated as you use it rather than keeping a tank of hot water. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $390 per year.
Switch to Double Pane Windows
Double pane windows keep more heat inside your home so you use less energy. Save 10,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $436 per year.
Buy Organic Food
The chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require energy to produce.
Bring Cloth Bags to the Market
Using your own cloth bag instead of plastic or paper bags reduces waste and requires no additional energy.
Buy The Bracelet
Made from 100% scrap leather by Roots — 100% of net proceeds go the Stop Global Warming Fund.
Turn off Your Computer
Shut off your computer when not in use, and save 200 lbs of C02. Conserve energy by using your computer's "sleep mode" instead of a screensaver.
Take Action at School!
Throughout history, students have been the driving force in social change. Now more than ever is the time for students across the country to become global warming activists and join the movement.
On this page you will find tips for stopping global warming that your class or school can do today. You don't have to do everything, but we all need to do something! Get started in your school and keep us posted with results.
Get Your Class Virtually Marching!
Have all of your students sign up and challenge them to get as many people as they know (family, friends, churches, etc) to sign up with them. Make it a challenge in your school. Joining the Virtual March is the first step to joining the movement.
Read the Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming
The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming is a comprehensive resource to help young readers (ages 8 and up) understand the science of global warming and how we can work together to stop it. Click here to learn more.
Recycle
Make sure your class has recycling bins for paper and plastics. Have your class do a field trip to follow where the recycling ends up. Does your school do double-sided printing?
Cut Back on Paper
Encourage administrators to only purchase post consumer recycled paper products (including toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, etc.) at your school. Set a goal to increase it. Make a rule that all multi-page documents are run double-sided. Keep looking for ways to eliminate paper.
Educate Your Parents
Take the issue of global warming to PTA meetings to educate the parents on the urgency of this issue.
Use Timers
Have your school set lights and air conditioners on efficiency timers.
Take Action at Home
Give your students the take action sheet on our site to take home and implement with their parents. Make it a contest to see which student can encourage the most change in their home.
No Waste at School Meals and Events
Reduce use of juice boxes, water bottles, plastic bags, etc. in your cafeteria, in your lunch box and at school parties.
Plant Trees
Have a tree planting day at your school. Plant trees that are local to your area that will reduce carbon dioxide and create clean air to breathe.
Conduct a School Energy Audit
Have your utility company come do an energy audit on the school.
Replace Oil Burning Furnaces
Find out what year your school's oil burning furnace was put in. If it is over 5 years old, a new one would substantially reduce carbon emissions. Plan a fundraiser to help pay for it.
Spread the News
Find a news article on our site about global warming and email it to five people.
Start a Club
Start a global warming club at your school and set goals to curb your school's energy use.
Research and Report
Choose global warming as a topic for your next science, English, or social studies report.
Speak Out
Run for student government on a global warming platform. Challenge another school to match what you are doing to curb global warming emissions.
Reward the Use of Hybrids
Institute "Good Citizen" premium parking spaces for teachers, parents and students that drive hybrid cars.
Audit Student's Energy Use
Have all students conduct their own personal energy audit to figure out their daily carbon footprint and set goals to reduce it. Celebrate the student who reduces their emissions the most at the end of the school year.
Review Office/School's Purchases
Look into the food, waste and packaging purchases of your cafeteria.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)