Why should you consider ways to conserve or save electricity?

The first point is electricity is an outcome from other energy sources. To put this into perspective, during 2006 in the US, about 49% of electricity was generated from burning coal, nuclear about 19%, whereas geothermal, solar, wind and biomass each contribute about 1% or less.

This explains my second point which is a majority of the electricity generated in the US during 2006 came from non-renewable energy sources.

We can expect this to change over time, perhaps more rapidly. This is my third point in the sense the innovations which led to our situation today will likely carry forward with even more evolution. With increased focus by everyone with applying energy saving tips, development and adoption of new technologies the next 100 years should be interesting.

In the meantime, my suggestion is to look for ways to conserve or save electricity in your household. I believe you will find that when you conserve electricity in your home will not necessarily change your lifestyle or comfort level.

BEST WAY TO CONSERVE ENERGY-USE ENERGY SAVING LIGHT BULBS TO CONSSERVE ELECTRICITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the best ways to conserve energy in your home is installing energy star qualified energy saving light bulbs, replacing those old incandescent bulbs. This is by far one of the easy if not best ways to save energy in the home. By doing so you will surely cut conserve electricity and cut your bills. Are you still not convinced on why we should use energy saver light bulbs to conserve energy in the home?

The most significant point is first to see where you are spending and therefore potential for saving energy. In the average house electricity costs for lighting normally amount to about 12% of your annual energy costs. This gives an indication that there is some opportunity here for energy conservation. So your first step could be to take a look at your monthly electricity bill and do a quick calculation.

So what are these energy saver light bulbs?

They are known as compact fluorescent lamps (CFL’s) and combine the energy efficiency of florescent lighting that has been used in the commercial sector for decades. The only difference is now instead of long fluorescent tubes, you have energy saving light bulbs that fit into common lamp fixtures in your home. This makes the change one of the more easy ways to conserve energy.

What’s in it for you?

For starters energy saving CFL light bulbs consume about 75% less electricity than normal incandescent light bulbs. That is a considerable energy savings potential which explains why they are considered to be one of the main ways to conserve energy in the house. Did you know that incandescent light bulbs have been around sicne the very early days of electricity? maybe you may want to read up on the history of electricity and related timelines.
Additionally, the lifespan of these low energy light bulbs is up to 10 times longer than your normal bulbs. With that in mind, when you replace incandescent bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs, the overall energy savings (your electricity) is compounded over about 10 years.

Teaching Kids to Conserve

The EPA is educating children about energy-efficiency, and what they can do to help save our environment.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is teaming up with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and parent-teacher organizations to train the next generation of eco-conscious citizens. Through the EPA’s Change the World, Start with Energy Star campaign, the groups will focus on teaching kids about global warming.As part of the program, kids and their families will learn how to save energy by taking the Energy Star pledge, which includes switching to energy-efficient lighting, fully insulating homes, replacing energy hogs with more energy-efficient appliances and other home energy saving tips. Already, more than 2 million Americans have taken the pledge. According to Energy Star, if every American household followed suit, we would save $18 billion in annual energy costs.
Continue reading about the campaign at Energy Star's Change the World webpage.

It's not too late to act! To save the planet in Climate Change.

If we act now, if we address emissions now, we can avoid the worst case scenarios in the future. The main goal for the world must be to cut down the emission of gas that pollutes the atmosphere and destroys the climate.

1. We need to reduce emissions
If we are to give the world a chance of staying below 2°C, we’ll need to reduce global emissions to at least 80 % below 1990 levels by 2050. Global emissions will need to peak around 2015 and then to start falling sharply.
We can probably only afford to put about another 1,000 billion tones of CO2 into the atmosphere between the years 2000 and 2050. That’s only around 20 year’s worth at current emissions rates from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and other CO2 producing activities. In addition, we’ll need to embark forcefully on taking CO2 out of the atmosphere.

2. We need to develop green technology and rethink our lifestyles
Clean technology has to be at the heart of any solution to climate change. If we are to provide the world’s growing population with energy while reducing emissions by 80%, we need to transform how we generate and use energy,That requires efficient technologies combined with changing our lifestyles and redesigning our living environment.

We already have most of the technologies that will be required. These include wind energy, solar power, tidal, wave and geothermal energy, future vehicles, electrification of public transport, biofuels, carbon and methane capture and storage. Advances in energy efficiency and new less carbon and energy intensive materials also hold huge potential.
The key is to develop all these new technologies, make them cheaper, and make them available around the world. Transition to a low carbon economy can be a launching pad for new jobs and industries, new markets and a more efficient, productive and greener economy – locally, nationally, and globally

3. We need to conserve nature, our safety net
About half of CO2 emissions from human activity are swiftly absorbed by the two major natural reservoirs of carbon on the planet’s surface: forests and oceans. So preserving these carbon sinks is vital to slowing the pace of climate change. Biodiversity can do for the planet what a healthy immune system can do for an individual: it can help us be more productive and adaptable to change but, if not protected, its loss can make us more vulnerable.

There are two key areas where nature-based solutions can help:
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD). Deforestation represents about one fifth of current greenhouse gases emissions. Better management of the world’s forests can have immediate and significant impacts on carbon storage. REDD is about developed countries providing financial compensation to developing countries that are willing and able to reduce emissions from deforestation. It can be a cost effective and rapidly deployable solution in the transition to a low carbon future, alongside other emissions reduction methods. REDD can further help conserve biodiversity and produce better managed forests that deliver benefits for people.
Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). It involves making use of the biological and other resources of naturally occuring ecosystems to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. Examples include ‘natural infrastructure’ such as wetlands for protection from flooding: properly managed coastal mangroves are a readily, efficient and low-cost alternative to sea walls in protecting coastal communities against storms. Sustainable ecosystem management can also help secure people’s livelihoods. For example, managing agricultural lands using local knowledge of specific crop and livestock varieties can help secure food supply.

4. We need to adapt to some climate change
One of the main problems with CO2 is the length of time it remains in the atmosphere; it can take around 100 years for it to disperse. Therefore, even if we stopped CO2 emissions immediately, the effects of what we've already done would still influence our weather for years to come. That is why we do also need to adapt to some climate change.The level of change depends on the amount of global warming gases we continue to use, which in turn is related to population growth, the use of new technologies and our lifestyle or how much energy we use.By reducing this amount, global warming will be more limited and there will be less impact on our planet and our lives.A gradual and slower change to our climate is easier to adapt to as well – we should have more time to prepare our houses for changes to the weather, wildlife should have more time to migrate, and the changes to our agricultural practices should be less sudden.

Nomadic Penan leader and son, Sarawak rainforest in Malaysia.

Ancient forests are in crisis throughout the world. Home to millions and a haven for nature's diversity of plants and animals, the last remnants of un-touched forest are facing extinction.
Ancient forests maintain the balance of life on Earth. They house around two-thirds of the world's land-based species of plants and animals. The remaining tracts of forests influence day-to-day weather and they also help keep the climate stable over time by storing massive amounts of carbon. Logging and burning forests releases that carbon to the atmosphere and creates global warming and climate change. Major international climate negotiations will decide whether we can keep global warming at less that 2ºC average temperature rise, the safe level recommended by the United Nations. To do this, we have to stop deforestation right now.

‘Forests for Climate’ is a way to get international funding to protect remaining tropical forests and help stop climate change for all the Earth’s people.

Problem
Logging and burning of tropical forests creates about 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than that emitted from all the cars, planes, and trains in the world. But countries in South America, Africa and the Pacific do not have enough of their own money to protect these large tracts of tropical forests. The forests keep the climate in balance.

Solution
The Forests for Climate is a proposal that keeps forests safe and encourages developed countries to really cut CO2 at home. Forests for Climate lets developed countries meet overall targets and provides fair and accountable way to fund global forest protection.

We need to stay below 2°C

We are actually very close to tipping points in the world’s climate system. Once a tipping point has been reached a feedback process takes over and it would be nearly impossible to slow it down. Scientists believe that such tipping points could be for example the physical break up of landbound Greenland, the massive release of methane trapped in the permafrost, the die-back of the Amazon rainforest from heat, drought, and fires. the slowing down of the Northern Atlantic circulation etc.

To avoid these tipping points that will cause dangerous and irreversible climate change, the IPCC says that the rise in global average temperature should not be more than 2°C (3.4°F) warmer than it was in pre-industrial times (around 1800).It has already been shown that a rise of 2°C would bring with it a set of devastating impacts to coral reefs, Arctic systems and local communities. The Earth cannot afford to go above this....and this means rapidly cutting greenhouse gas emissions far below current levels. We must start reducing emissions now and stay on a low emissions track to avoid loading the atmosphere with too much CO2. In scientific terms this means staying well below a CO2 concentration level of 450ppm (parts per million) in the atmosphere.

Climate change - An Overview

Climate change is with us. Sea levels are rising, ice is melting, temperatures are increasing, and the consequences are major This is not “just” about polar bears and pandas anymore, it’s about us humans and our survival. We need to act now and 2009 needs to be remembered as the year the world found an answer to climate change.



What is climate change?

We know the world is warming, global average temperature has increased by 0.74°C during the past century, with most of that since 1970.Human-made CO2 is responsible for the vast majority of the warming. Concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are now almost 40 per cent above those of 200 years ago and emissions to the atmosphere have been rising by more than 2 per cent a year since 2000. This extra greenhouse gas stems overwhelmingly from humans burning fossil fuels and destroying forests, both of which contain carbon, which gets released as CO2 in the atmosphere.

Climate change will increasingly cause storms, droughts, floods and fires and have severe impacts on food production, water availability and ecosystems such as forests and wetlands. A major concern is how rapidly climate change will magnify existing environmental stresses and contribute to food insecurity, conflict over resources, and loss of livelihood for millions of people.

Certain regions will be worse affected than others. Global warming is expected to be greatest over land and at high northern latitudes. The Arctic, Sub Saharan Africa, small islands and the big river deltas of Asia will be most seriously affected. These regions house some of the poorest populations on earth, who are the least well equipped to deal with the consequences of climate change.