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19:48:38
Today I ventured to the library to grab some new reads…I’ve been reading “Hot Topic” blog here in greenpeace blogs-so of course I grabbed up--
“50 simple Things You Can Do To Save the Earth”
By: John Javna, Sophis Javna & Jesse Javna
Our library had a little display still up from Earth Day..so I took a look & got a couple more books:
“How To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint” by JoAnna Yarrow
“Green This!” Volume one-greening your cleaning: by Deirdre Imus
Cool Green Stuff: By Dave Evans
I also got 2 videos: one is Frontline NOVA: Global Warming & a video about compost for your garden.
Should be quite interesting to read through & see what I learn 
21:41:20 Expanding your knowledge
After reading a book with my daughter, I thought I would highlight some points made in it. I'm sure you'll find a few you didn't know. ENJOY!
v Nags Head, Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, loses 12 feet (3.5 m) of beach a year.
v Rising sea levels caused by global warming have already affected two beautiful land areas. The islanders of Tuvalu in the South Pacific have had to make plans for their eventual evacuation. When their island disappears, residents will move to New Zealand. And in Shishmaref, Alaska, where an Inuit village has existed for 4,000 years, the land has eroded so much that the people are being forced to move.
v Did you know: Walrus dive as deep as 250 feet (76.2m) from the ocean’s surface to forage snails, crabs, clams, and mussels. Adults walrus may scoop up as many as 3,000 to 6,000 at one feeding.
v As warmer temperatures & stronger winds thin out the Antarctic ice, the eggs and chicks of penguins are in danger of being stranded if the ice they’re living on breaks off too soon and separates them from their mothers.
v Global warming is melting the sea ice, and the algae that normally live on the underside of the sea ice are disappearing because there is simply not enough area for them to breed in.
v The red squirrel is literally being pushed off the mountain—Mount Graham, to be specific, 7,000 feet (2,134m) above the desert of Arizona. The red squirrel’s only habitat is celled a sky island because it is an area isolated from other mountain forest regions. This means that plants & animals have been evolving there, untouched, since prehistoric times. But higher temperatures have changed this cool habitat, bringing insects that weaken & dry out trees, not to mention more deadly wildfires. All of which has brought the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel population down to about 100.
v Each winter, millions of monarch butterflies fly across the continent of North America to find shelter in the forests of Mexico. The forest acts like both an umbrella & a blanket, protecting the butterflies from too much rain, while maintaining the perfect climate—not too hot---not too cold for them to survive. If the forest are clear-cut, then these lovely butterflies will have nowhere to hide.
v Under the leadership of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the sate of California passed a landmark bill that made it the first state to limit global warming pollution. California has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020, and it also pledges to bring down levels to 80 % below 1990 levels by the year 2050. We hope that other states across the nation will follow this example.
v A compact fluorescent lightbulb is 75% more energy-efficient then a regular lightbulb.
v If every kid in American swapped one regular bulb for a compact fluorescent, we could prevent more then 30 billion pounds (13.6 billion kg) of greenhouse gas emissions & save enough energy to light more then 15 million homes for an entire year. It would be like taking 14 million cars off the road.
v Your Refrigerator: The typical home contributes 2X more global warming pollution then the average car. Because it is always running, the refrigerator is the single biggest energy-eating appliance in your house. To reduce your carbon footprint at home, urge your parents to buy appliances with a blue-or black and white ENERGY STAR sticker.
v Computer: using the screen saver feature on your computer actually uses more energy than letting your computer to into sleep mode. Check the control panel or settings on your computer to make your computer automatically go into sleep mode after a few minutes. That screen saver with the 3-D shape swirling around might be totally cool, but it’s better to cool off planet Earth!
v Saving or conserving what we don’t need or use is one of the many solutions to global warming: up to 10% of what your billed for on your electric bill is stuff you turn off but don’t unplug.
v To make 14 plastic bags, you’d need the same amount of petroleum that it would take to drive a car one mile (1.6km).
v Tote a canvas bag to the mall. For every store where you buy something, you save a plastic bag.
v In Ireland, customers are charged money for paper or plastic. Almost no one takes them now!
v Americans buy more then 25 billion single water bottles a year, and, believe ir or not, 2.5 million of them get thrown away every hour. BIOTA, a water company in Colorado makes it bottles out of corn. The bottles are completely biodegradable. That means that BIOTA water bottle decompose in 80days. A regular plastic bottle takes more then 1,000 YEARS to break down in a landfill. BIOTA also uses 30 to 50 percent les energy to make their bottles.
v Think about what you use, how you use it, and where it goes when you’re done.
v 15 Trees are cut down & used to make one ton (907kg) of high-end glossy paper used in cards, magazines & catalogs.
v The more trees we cut down tot make paper, the more C02 is released into the atmosphere and the fewer trees are left standing to absorb the new CO2 we’ve yet to produce.
v New York City has the largest fleet of hybrid buses in America. Now the city is converting its taxicabs into hybrids, too. Besides making passengers queasy from all the crazy driving, old NYC taxicabs get only 14 miles (22.5km)to the gallon. A hybrid taxi can get 36 (58km) to the gallon with one-third the greenhouse gas emissions!
v One less barrel of imported oil is needed for every 28.3 gallons (107 l) of ethanol used
v All together, wind machine in the US can produce enough electricity to power a city the size of Chicago.
v The Indy 500 is now using 100% fuel-grade ethanol to power its cars. An engine running on ethanol performs better than one that runs on regular gasoline, the track records have already been broken. And because this type of ethanol packs more energy per gallon then traditional race car fuel, these race cars can go faster and farther.
v 20% of the world’s electricity comes from waterpower.
v If we used just one-eighth of what the world produces in biomass each year, it would provide all the energy needs of every single person on the planet.
Live for Today, but Protect the Future: Former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland is credited with introducing the groundbreaking concept of “sustainable development” onto the world stage. The idea is that everyone---businesspeople, politicians, farmers, doctors, lawyers, environmentalist, parents & schoolchildren too—is responsible for creating a healthy & happy world today that will ensure the ability of future generations to meet their own needs for a healthy and happy tomorrow!
Source: The Down-To-Earth Guide to Global Warming: Laurie David & Cambria Gordon
09:46:33 As I try to stay active in sending letters to my Mayor, Congress, Companies etc... I sometimes get more then a generated email back-WOW! I always like those emails when it's actually answered & not just spit out from a computer.
Answered emails have taught me a few things.
1st-Like me-they probably pay more attention to personalized emails rather then generated emails. Which is why it's great to always personalize your letters you send out in some way...even if it's just a little change..it can help!
2nd-When you recieve back an email in response from a letter you sent-there is usually a link to a website. If it's a Politician...and especially if it's your state/local political leader-you should check it out.
I say this because as I've been sending letters & trying to help a little...I never really took the time to check out the websites of too many of our local/state Political leaders. But a response-not generated-I got back from Senator Casey made me click on his website.
I was very surprised to find a petition on his page. The few websites I've seen before were always so basic--so formally bland-in fact so boring that, even I who enjoys politics, didn't care to keep clicking.
But once I started to see what issues my local leaders were for or against..what issues they were fighting for & asking me to help fight for...I realized I could do a lot of good by signing up for their newsletters & keep track of what they are doing. Good or Bad!
I think we sometimes forget how much impact our local leaders can have on the "bigger guys"! And how creating a more personal relationship with your local leaders can make a world of difference.
After all that is what they are there for--to make a difference!
Through Senators Casey's website I learned about an issue that would effect our state big time. Senator Casey was trying to help PA but needed local support...I thought..Wow I wonder how many actually check out his page--I wonder just how many have no idea what he is fighting for--I wonder just how many have missed out on having their say in the matter because we never took action to help our local politicians fight!
They want to know what you think--they want to know what issues are important to you. If enough of us make a noise about an issue-they take notice!
So I urge you today to look up your local politicans. CHeck out their websites. Sign up for their newsletters-keep track of what they are doing or not doing for your communities! Contact them & let them know what issues are important to you. And when they are fighting for an issue you agree with-by all means---help support them!
Check this out: Don't know who your Mayor is? Go to: (I didn't even know this was a website until I read a book called The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming)
You Mayor is one of the key players in making changes to your community! So look them up/visit their website/and start taking action!
~Enjoy your weekend~
16:53:20 A Tiny Snail That Has Venom
(Helping others learn)
Did the title grab your attention--are you scared--does it live by you?
Well this tiny snail lives in the coral reefs of Southeast Asia...
It's called a cone snail.
And it needs your HELP!
This tiny crawler produces a venom so powerful, it can paralyze a small fish in seconds.
But did you it's also being used to help very sick people ease their pain?
That's right...doctors have taken the cone snail's poison & turned it into a valuable medicine that is helping many people.
Who knows how many other wonderful medicine miracles are hiding in the coral reefs....and they may never be discovered if we keep destroying this precious ecosystem under the sea!
The coral enjoys a symbiotic relationship with a certain algae called zooxanthellae (o' I'm glad I never had that word on a spelling test in school LOL)
Symbiotic means they both get something out of the deal.
Coral reef's give algae a safe, sunny home, and algae provides food for the coral.
Zooxanthellae also gives coral something else in this tidy arrangement--their brilliant colors!
Coral aren't that pretty on their own you know---it's the zooxanthellae that have bright red, orange, and brown pigments.
When water temperatures rise, the algae can't photosynthesize----the chemical reaction that converts sunlight & CO2 into sugars blocked.
The result is a buildup of chemicals that poison the zooxanthellae.
In an act of survival, either the coral spits out the zooxanthellae or the toxic stuff that has built up in the zooxanthellae triggers something in the coral that hurts both of them. Scientist are still trying to figure this out.
Either way, the coral is losing it's source of color & turning white.
Bleached coral becomes weaker & more vulnerable to disease, predators, and storms---not to mention becoming a pretty feeble hideout for the exotic fish (poor little guys).
Bleached coral can recover, but ONLY if cooler water temperatures return.
As if bleaching weren't bad enough, coral has something else to stress about: acidity.
If the ocean chemistry (which is alkaline) falls closer to acid by even a small amount, it can effect everything.
FACT:
Increased CO2 is making our oceans more acidic. Coral (and all shellfish) need a certain level of calcium in order to make their hard shells. But higher acidity tilts the delicate balance of calcium in the water, reducing the amount available to coral and shellfish to build their protective skeletons.
With some microscopic animals, it can even dissolve their shells!
Helping source: The Down-To-Earth Guide To Global Warming-Laurie David & Cambria Gordon
Pictures: Photobucket
22:15:20 Hi...
My name is Renee...
I just joined the blogging community.
I am excited to meet others who are interested in saving our planet & helping our environment.
I really like the section: Taking Action
This is a great tool I will be using a lot..as I hope you do as well.
Little by little I have been trying to be more "green"...the last 2 years we have replaced over 30 lightbulbs in our home etc...
My family is getting more involved & we are reading books from the local & school libraries to help us learn even more.
I recently changed over my blog site:
www.reneenay.multiply.com
to a more "green" blog
I am hoping this will spread the word a bit more & get other friends & family involved.
If you get some time-please feel free to check it out.
Most environmental blogs are public....if you want to get to know me better you can do so here or join my friend list there.
I look forward to meeting you, reading your blogs, getting to know you better & help you change & save our planet!
~Renee~
Hi :) I'm Renee...I'm happily married, a PROUD mom & an owner of 3 mini-dachshunds!
April 2008 (5)
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