Global warming is the most pressing environmental challenge our worldwide community will face in the upcoming years. Success in avoiding this crisis will require action on many levels, from individual to international. Here are ten effective ways you can be involved.

1. Start where you are. The first step to reducing your carbon output is to calculate how much you are currently producing. Visit www.carbonfootprint.com to calculate your impact. Learn how to read your utility bills so you know what you’re using. Contact PG&E for a home energy audit. Calculate your gas mileage and car usage. Buy or borrow a Kill- A-Watt meter to measure how much energy your appliances
use. Take time to take stock of your actions and how they affect our climate.

2. Make the switch to CFL. If every household in America switched five regular light bulbs for five compact fluorescent bulbs, it would be the equivalent of taking one million cars off the highways for a full year. With five bulbs, you can save 500 lbs of CO2 and $100 per year in electric bills.

3. Chill out. In your home, turn your thermostat down two degrees in winter, up two degrees in summer and keep your water heater set to 120 F. You can save 2550 lbs of CO2 and $130 per year.

4. Wrap up your home. Weatherize your home with weather stripping along your doors and windows. Insulate your water heater, walls and ceilings. With these steps you can save up to 4700 lbs of CO2 and $560 per year.

5. Tune-up your ride. Pay close attention to your transportation habits. In the US, transportation accounts for 1/3 of all CO2 emissions and 2/3 of all oil use. Drive less. Tuneup your car to maximize fuel efficiency. Buy a hybrid. Carpool. The average driver could save 16,000 lbs of CO2 and $3,750 per year in fuel costs driving a hybrid.

6.Go local. When food and products are shipped from afar, they require far more energy to get to your home. Rely on local farmers, farmer’s markets, CSA’s and family-owned stores for your food and home products. If your local shops don’t carry the green products you value, ask them why not.

7.Consider your diet. Intensive meat farming is bad for the climate. The amount of energy required for one serving of meat is 12 times that of grains. Cattle produce methane and rainforest is cleared for grazing land. Chemical additives, herbicides and pesticides used in intensive agriculture also require energy and resources to make. Think about having a more organic, vegetarian diet. If you choose to eat meat, buy sustainable, local, free range beef and poultry.

8.Become an advocate. Learn the science of global warming and become an informed community member. Discuss the issue with your friends and convince neighbors to explore ways of reducing their carbon output. Learn the best responses to global warming skeptics (http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics).

9.Get political. Get involved with political efforts that aim to address the issues of climate change. To get the message out beyond your friends, family and school/university/workplace, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can save you a lot of legwork in terms of research, coordination and lobbying your local officials. Some groups campaigning against climate change are Greenpeace, National Resource Defense Council, Environmental Defense and World Wildlife Fund.

10. Offset the rest. You don’t have to achieve zero carbon emissions immediately. As you make steps to protect the climate, you can offset your remaining carbon output by contributing to organizations that actively work to reduce CO2 emissions. Visit www.fightglobalwarming.org to get information on some credible options.

• Over 10,000 hours of use, a single CFL bulb saves:
  
• • 750 kilowatt-hours
  
• • $5 in bulb costs
  
• • $75 in electricity costs
  
• • 1200 lbs of CO2
  
• • 750 lbs of coal
  
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