Comments on: Personal Global Warming Solutions

By: Sandra Wearne

Sandra Wearne — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 01:05:05 +0000

Here are some of the things I have done:
1.) built and regularly use a large composting bin and stepped up my recycling and reuse thereby reducing my landfill waste to 10% of my total waste.
2.) reprogrammed the thermostat
3.) moved into an office at home and no longer drive to work.
4.) set up an email alert mailing list among my friends to inform them about green issues.
5.) purchased the Al Gore movie and am lending it to anyone who will watch it.
6.) made sure to hold off on car trips until I have 3-6 errands in the same direction.
7.) started mailing deposits to the bank instead of driving them. (This required scanning but not printing them in first so I had a record of the check in case it got lost).
8.) been teaching the kids about global warming and turning off lights and conserving water and energy.
9.) been using my south facing solarium as a heat collector in winter, spring, and fall during day light hours to help heat the house and I close it off in the evening to avoid heat loss. In summer, i do the reverse.
10.) planted ground cover instead of grass, as it needs no mowing, no watering, and no chemicals and I plan to collect seedlings from my silver maples this spring, transplant them into pots, and give them away to friends to plant in their yards.
11.) planted evergreens and shade trees, set out water and food for squirrels and birds, and registered my back yard as a certified wildlife habitat.
12.) replaced the windows in my house with triple pane glass with a insulating coating to reduce heat penetration in summer.
13.) washed all clothes with cold water only for the last 10 years.
14.) talked to friends and acquaintances about the seriousness of global warming
15.) contacted my congressional representative and stated that doing something about global warming is my highest priority and should be hers as well.
16.) bought things in bulk and things with less packaging.
17.) cut down on the amount of household chemicals I use.
18.) gotten 1 dozen 55 gal drums that used to be used by Cocoa Cola to store their syrup and converted them into containers to store rainwater I collect from my gutters and use in my garden. Since I live on a gentle hill, I can use gravity to get the water from the drums to my flowers.
19.) collect coffee grinds from local coffee shops and mix them into the soil around my azaleas and rhododendrons to lower the Ph in the highly alkaline soils.
20.) stopped burning or giving to brush pickup all leaves, twigs, and branches in my yard and instead compost them or break them up by hand and use as mulch.
21.) buy locally-produced food in season as much as possible.
22.) reduced my intact of meat especially beef, and instead substituted vegetables, being careful to balance amino acids so that I have the needed proteins.
23.) collect and print on both the front and back side of every piece of paper instead of only the front side.
24.) read through this site for more ideas.

By: Sandra Wearne

Sandra Wearne — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 01:05:00 +0000

By: Adam Brown

Adam Brown — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 18:38:26 +0000

Switced very light in home to a compact fluorescent. I recycle all that I can, and eat much less meat than I used to. All faucets and showerhead are low-flow in my home. Just removed plastic insulation on windows to conserve heating my home. My source of energy is now coming from a grid of renewable resources through my current energy company(consumer energy-Michigan). The program is is called Green Generation, and is wonderful. I bike or take the bus to campus WMU(go Broncos!) Our entire fleet of buses in Kalamazoo, Michigan soon to be running on Biodiesel! Educating others about the effect of global climate change, passing “AN Inconvenient Truth” Around(thanks Al!) Working on my B.S. in Environmental Studies and Earth Science at Western Michigan Universitiy!

By: Adam Brown

Adam Brown — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 18:38:00 +0000

By: Josh Nelson

Josh Nelson — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 16:52:14 +0000

Thanks for all of the great suggestions and ideas so far. Keep it up!

By: Josh Nelson

Josh Nelson — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 16:52:00 +0000

Thanks for all of the great suggestions and ideas so far. Keep it up!

By: Matt Johansen

Matt Johansen — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:05:17 +0000

I have been working with several local environmental groups to try and get the mayor of my city to sign on to the Cool Cities campaign that the Sierra Club is sponsoring. After I changed my lightbulbs, installed a energy efficient product called the 24/7 utility shield in my attic, and several other small things- I wanted to do something bigger that involved my community. I encourage everyone who has done their part already and wants to do more to check it out. http://www.coolcities.us- join together with your community to make our cities clean and free from pollution!

By: Matt Johansen

Matt Johansen — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:05:00 +0000

By: Yolanda Rosales

Yolanda Rosales — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:50:18 +0000

My boyfriend and I, along with the help of 13 of our loyal friends completed a 1,000 Ponderosa Pine TREE planting project on our land! It took us two whole weekends but it’s done and we feel so fantastic. We also hosted “An Inconvenient Truth” party in congunction with the Nation Wide showing….20 people came to it and we had great feedback.
We keep all lights off when not in use and recycle everything we can! Let’s keep it up!

By: Yolanda Rosales

Yolanda Rosales — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:50:00 +0000