| Global Warming Part 2: Are You Carbon-Neutral? |
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| Written by Suzann Kale | |
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We as individuals can make a difference. Take the Carbon-Neutral Quiz.
Our goal as individuals is to combat global warming by taking action to reduce man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse gasses trap heat in the earth's atmosphere. Some of these gasses are naturally occurring, like water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.1 We need them, in their natural balance, in order to survive.
 The other greenhouse gasses - the ones that will fry us - are mostly man-made. They include
What we want to do in this article is learn how to become more "carbon-neutral" ourselves. Being carbon-neutral simply means doing something that off-sets some of the excess greenhouse gasses. The more individuals who are carbon-neutral, the more we can reduce these greenhouse gasses. Some of the ways we heal the earth include cutting back on driving by using carpools or public transportation. The average driver right now puts 5 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year.4 And cutting back on flying, especially internationally, which spews out tons of unwanted carbon dioxide.
You've heard it before, and many of us are doing it - but use less air conditioning in the summer and less heating in the winter. Just a little bit will help - I'm not talking about freezing or sweltering in our homes.
Oddly enough, what we eat affects greenhouse gasses as well, due to the chemicals and waste products used in agriculture. A vegan (strict vegetarian) is more carbon-neutral than a meat-eating person.5
I'll have more ideas for you shortly, when Part 3 comes out. In the meantime, yes - we as individuals can make a difference. We're not helpless, even though it may seem so at times. Up and at it, people. Change can be good.
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Nov. 21, 2006
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