You love your Earth, Right?

Posted on October 15th, 2009. Written by Arron.

As part of Blog Action Day 2009, we’re stepping away from talking about the App Store, application reviews and technology in general really, to unite with others to talk about an ever growing global issue.

Today, October 15th 2009, 8,368 Blogs. In 147 Countries. Totaling 11,874,017 Readers. Will surrender their usual topic of discussion, for one. In a global effort, to begin change.

Climate Change. It’s the one main issue which we should all be acting on, yet most of us are not. You have to ask the question, why? Is it because most of us don’t understand it fully? Or is it the sheer fact we believe it doesn’t affect us directly? With tonnes of industrial fumes entering the atmosphere each year, the earth’s condition is worsening.

Did you know – that 2 BILLION metric tons of carbon dioxide are emitted from volcanoes each calendar year?

Well, perhaps we can’t do anything about that, but what about us? What can we do?
The answer? We can do more than we’re doing now.

There are already hundreds upon thousands of movements across the world who are fighting to get the global leaders to do something about this ever growing issue. It’s not a case of sitting back, if we do that, the earth will get hotter – causing unprecedented change in worldwide climates. But, it’s not just about world leaders. It’s about you, reading this now. You, yourself, can do something starting now.

What can I do?

Move Closer to Work—Transportation is the second leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. (burning a single gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of CO2). But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Consume Less—The easiest way to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions is simply to buy less stuff. Whether by forgoing an automobile or employing a reusable grocery sack, cutting back on consumption results in fewer fossil fuels being burned to extract, produce and ship products around the globe.

Eat Smart, Go Vegetarian?—Corn grown in the U.S. requires barrels of oil for the fertilizer to grow it and the diesel fuel to harvest and transport it. Some grocery stores stock organic produce that do not require such fertilizers, but it is often shipped from halfway across the globe. And meat, whether beef, chicken or pork, requires pounds of feed to produce a pound of protein.

Unplug—Believe it or not, U.S. citizens spend more money on electricity to power devices when off than when on. Televisions, stereo equipment, computers, battery chargers and a host of other gadgets and appliances consume more energy when seemingly switched off, so unplug them instead.

One Child—There are at least 6.6 billion people living today, a number that is predicted by the United Nations to grow to at least nine billion by mid-century. The U.N. Environmental Program estimates that it requires 54 acres to sustain an average human being today—food, clothing and other resources extracted from the planet. Continuing such population growth seems unsustainable.

- Extracts taken from Scientific American

What can our governments around the world do?

Infrastructure Upgrades—Buildings worldwide contribute around one third of all greenhouse gas emissions (43 percent in the U.S. alone), even though investing in thicker insulation and other cost-effective, temperature-regulating steps can save money in the long run. Electric grids are at capacity or overloaded, but power demands continue to rise. And bad roads can lower the fuel economy of even the most efficient vehicle. Investing in new infrastructure, or radically upgrading existing highways and transmission lines, would help cut greenhouse gas emissions and drive economic growth in developing countries.

Stop Cutting Down Trees—Every year, 33 million acres of forests are cut down. Timber harvesting in the tropics alone contributes 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere. That represents 20 percent of human-made greenhouse gas emissions and a source that could be avoided relatively easily.

Forego Fossil Fuels—The first challenge is eliminating the burning of coal, oil and, eventually, natural gas. This is perhaps the most daunting challenge as denizens of richer nations literally eat, wear, work, play and even sleep on the products made from such fossilized sunshine. And citizens of developing nations want and arguably deserve the same comforts, which are largely thanks to the energy stored in such fuels.

Future Fuels—Replacing fossil fuels may prove the great challenge of the 21st century. Many contenders exist, ranging from ethanol derived from crops to hydrogen electrolyzed out of water, but all of them have some drawbacks, too, and none are immediately available at the scale needed.

Experiment Earth—Climate change represents humanity’s first planetwide experiment. But, if all else fails, it may not be the last. So-called geoengineering, radical interventions to either block sunlight or reduce greenhouse gases, is a potential last resort for addressing the challenge of climate change.

Google on the Issue

Al Gore and Google are getting in on the action, too. In fact, they actually built a site in which you can learn about what can and will happen, if we don’t manage to affect Climate Change. It’s called Climate change in Google Earth – and it’s a highly recommended watch.

Facts and Charts Guy?

Maybe you’re one of these people who don’t prefer to read essay posts like this one, and instead just want to stare at the facts. The causes, conditions, and final consequences? If you want it straight up, bold and direct, you can read all about Climate Change and Global Warming facts in Pewclimate’s ‘Global Warming Facts and Figures.’

Finally, I just want to say I feel really strong about this issue. It’s a current one, and people across the world (including our governments) are probably still to realize that.

I know what you’re thinking though – What is this blog post going do to combat the effects of climate change? The answer? On it’s own? nothing. But today, I’m not alone on talking about the issue. In fact, I don’t even care if you skip to this paragraph just to read about how I really, truly feel about the issue.

But, if you do ONE thing today, make it this.

See those share buttons below? If you can share this post with just one or two people, and I can get a few of you to do that, this post will have done it’s job.

Climate Change is real, it is happening right now. Right you – and it’s time to make change.