A Helpful Living

This blog is about issues, solutions and information pertaining to global warming, climate change and the Earth in general.

[ahelpfulliving-blog]

https://socratic.org/questions/what-is-the-role-of-greenhouse-gases-in-global-warming#

[ahelpfulliving-blog]

Immediate Changes

😤I’ll be frank with you, if we’re going to stop global warming we need to kick it into high gear and NOW.  There are regulations to be made, things to do and practices to kill.  There are many groups out there that are already working on this problem, but they need more support and I’m here to spread the word. So, what exactly needs to be done?😤 ⛽Reduce Fossil Fuel Use: But how do we do that? Many tips will be found on this blog but what you should really be doing is either use less energy, or use clean, renewable, alternative sources of energy.⛽ 🌳Plant Trees: I honestly don’t see why anyone would not want to do this, trees are freaking great and provide homes for animals, draw in CO2, provide food, shade and aesthetics. Protest deforestation and plant some in your very own backyard! 🌳 🚮Reduce Waste: Reduce, reuse and recycle! Waste creates methane and other greenhouse gases as well as requiring energy to make! Make sure whatever you’re buying can be recycled or composted and try to see if you’re throwing away less every week.🚮 💧Conserve Water: Fun fact, delivering water to you actually takes a lot of energy, so please stop wasting it. Fix any leaky faucets and shut the tap when you’re not using it!💧 😊There are large ways and there are small ways that you can reduce your carbon footprint, and it’s long past time we all did our part. Please make sure to follow these tips for a cleaner tomorrow!😊 http://homeguides.sfgate.com/top-ways-stop-global-warming-78809.html

[ahelpfulliving-blog]

New Technologies

🔬With all of these problems affecting our Earth, people naturally turn to finding solutions. Engineers around the globes come up with new ways of getting rid of pollution and greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, and these things usually require some… Out of the box methods. However, we need to get innovative if we want to really find something.🔬

🎈Spray It, Don’t Say It: Cans or balloons filled with sulfur dioxide. These would be spraying into Earth’s nearest atmosphere and the sulfur dioxide would bond with chemicals found there, reflecting some light back into space. Less light hitting the Earth means less heat! It’s a cheap idea, and seems good on paper, but some are worried about it working a little too well…🎈

🌞100% Coverage Sunscreen: How would you like an aluminum mesh screen in outer space? Now I know what you’re thinking: heck yes give it to me! Not only would this idea be rad as all hell, but it would prevent some infrared from reaching Earth. Sadly, this reality would be a last ditch effort and incredibly difficult to pull off.🌞

🌬️The New Filter: It’s the giant radiator you’ve always wanted! The one your ma told bedtime stories to you about, the one that sucks CO2 in, binds it with chemicals and is later stored! The very one you’ve been dreaming about! Only maybe not because we don’t know how to test it and it might make MORE CO2 than it takes out.🌬️

🌳Remember Those Fake Trees From The Lorax: Maybe that but actually doing something. These faux trees would take in more CO2 than the original model and store it. They wouldn’t need sunlight so they’d go just about anywhere! They’d need a lot of energy though, and that would mean a lot of CO2.🌳

🛳️A Pinch of Salt: A sailboat sailing the seas spraying salt swiftly. Is there anything sweeter? This would make more, and whiter clouds, which would reflect more sunlight. Less heat hitting the Earth. If there are any crazy weather effects, we could just turn the boats off. However, would it work?🛳️

🔩You Need More Iron In Your Diet: By putting small amounts of iron into the ocean, plankton populations would thrive. These would then eat up CO2! Pretty sick, huh? The only draw back is that booms in plankton population could destroy the ocean ecosystem, so we’ll hold back on that one.🔩

😈Not Brimstone: I’m going to be answering the biggest question on your mind. What is limestone? Why, it’s trapped CO2! Now wouldn’t it be neat if we could trap some more. Naturally, the process takes thousands of years, but scientists think we could do it in a much shorter period. By compressing it, heating it and mixing it with a mineral, we could make artificial limestone, harmless and a new building material. But where do we get that mineral? With a lot of mining and a lot of money. :(😈

🏗️Pump It: We’re pulling up a lot of oil and coal, but what are we putting down? Well, it could be CO2! This is the idea of the Clean Coal Movement, and people predict that 200,000 gigatons could be stored, whereas we’re only producing 28 annually! However, this would cost a lot and if it escaped… Well, it’d be lethal.🏗️

🤔In the face of global warming, we obviously have a lot of…interesting ideas. We’re all pulling together to fight this thing, we’re coming up with new ways to heal our planet. But nothing’s perfect yet, so what can you do? I’ll be honest when I say I’m not sure which idea is going to be a winner, but I know that if we all keep continuing down the path we’re on now, we’re all going to be a loser. You don’t have to be one of the people thinking of salty sailboats or sulfur spray, you can just be one of the people doing everything you can in your daily life to help save the planet Earth.🤔

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/12/04/8-extreme-solutions-to-global-warming.html

[ahelpfulliving-blog]

Political Change

🏰Okay, making small changes in the home is all well and good, but now you’ve done that. You’re taking down your own CO2 emmissions and other pollutants, now what about everyone else? What about your city? Let me ask you, when you walk outside, go to work, ride to school, would you describe your city as green? Both metaphorically and physically. If not, it might be time to talk to your local government. Info on how your city is tackling global warming can usually be found on its website, so this is a good place to see what has been done so far. If you have any suggestions, feel free to contact your local authorities and say what’s on your mind. Here are some helpful suggestions to really help knock the problem out.🏰 🏗️Renewable Energy: Everyday on your morning commute, you’re likely to see a new building pop up or a construction site. They seem to come overnight and it’s never quite clear what the building is for. Cities are absolutley chock full of buildings, destroying habitats and adding more pollution. The least we can do is make sure they’re powered by 100% renewable energy, like solar panels.🏗️ ⛽Divest from Fossil Fuels: There are over 500 institutes that have already done so. Show big companies that ruin our Earth that we won’t stand for it by having your city sell investments in such places and put that money to something better and greener!⛽ ⚡Energy Efficiency: If you’re city isn’t promoting energy efficient practices in all its buisnesses and buildings, this might be one of the things to concern yourself about. By having a wide variety of places using less energy, your city could have a much smaller CO2 output. Less energy means less greenhouse gases!⚡ 🚌Public Transport: Make sure your city is promoting and making smarter modes of transportation for the masses. With less people out in their cars, not only would traffic improve, but less greenhouse gases would be emitted.  Some cities like Bogota have even bought all electric buses, that create zero emissions!🚌 🌞Mitigation and Adaptation: Last but not least, your city needs to adapt to our changing and worsening environment.  By beginning to install green roofs and solar roofs your home town can really be doing its part, for citizens and the Earth.  Green roofs and solar roofs take a previously unused area and turn it for the environment. Green roofs, or living roofs, are roofs filled with vegetation. They not only absorb air pollution, but last longer than conventional roofs, help insulate your home better and decrease water runoff. Green streets are another addition to your city, these help control stormwater to reduce pollution, get rid of CO2 and cool the surrounding area! This means you’ll even have a lower heating bill.🌞 🌹Do you see how beautiful your city could be? If you’d like to see any of these changes in your town and for your planet, I suggest picking up a phone and contacting your local government. Gather a group of people to join you and really make a change for our climate!🌹 https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/five-ways-cities-are-acting-climate http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/green-rooftop.htm

[ahelpfulliving-blog]

Gallons of Change

👍One of the most basic things you should be doing to help the planet is saving water! By saving water you also save energy so there’s that. By saving energy AND water you’re ALSO saving money, so I can’t see a single downside too following these instructions!👍

🥛Waiting for a shower or a tap to heat? While you let that water run, make sure you’ve got a bucket or a cup underneath to collect! Use the water to feed your plants!🥛

👄Please make sure to turn off the tap while you’re brushing your teeth. To be honest, I didn’t know people didn’t do that. 👄 🖐️If you’re one of those people that scrub your hands for awhile while washing them, turn off the tap in that interval. These little things really add up!🖐️

🚽Consider not flushing if you only peed. I get it if you don’t do this one.🚽

🔧Fix all leaks in your house! Any way you do it is fine, DIY or plumber! Also check your water bill for huge spikes, as this could be indicative of a leak!🔧

🍝Everyone likes pasta, but the water you use to boil it usually gets dumped. Instead store it, let it cool, and water your garden.🍝

🚗Head to the car wash! Washing your car at home takes more water and most of those nasty chemicals get washed into our storm drains.🚗

🛀People can’t exactly agree on how long a shower should be, so as long as you’re trying to shorten your time, you would still be saving water. Shorter showers save both water and energy. A low flow shower head does the same. 20-25% of water usage from the average home actually comes from showering. It’s no surprise, everyone loves a nice hot shower to wake them up or to unwind after a long day.  Newer models provide adequate water volume while still using less water, a technique that saves not only water and energy, but actually also lowers CO2 emissions! Even consider skipping a shower now and then.🛀

🚿Make sure all of your faucets have aerators on them. A faucet aerator is a small mesh cover that can be screwed onto your faucet to increase water volume and therefore lower water usage by adding air. There are many different kinds of aerators, with the “water saving” models having a flow rate of 1.5 gpm (gallons per minute). This uses 30% less than a standard faucet and are cheap to boot. Low flow toilets, and water sense rated dishwashers and washing machines are also a good way to cut your water bill.🚿

🍽️Don´t run the dishwasher at half full. Don´t run the washing machine at half full. Full loads mean less water wasted.🍽️

🌧️Rain harvesting! Use a rain barrel to collect rainwater for gardening purposes from a place that doesn´t actually need the rain.🌧️

🍶By sinking a half filled jug of water into the bottom of your toilet tank, you´ll be using less water.🍶

🌄Water your lawn in the early morning. Less will evaporate so less will be needed.🌄

🚰Fill up the sink when doing dishes instead of constantly having the tap running.🚰

⚡Use less electricity. Power plants require gallons of water to cool! I have an entire article on how to do this.⚡

🐕Wash your dog outdoors. While you hose him off, the lawn will get some too. Make sure whatever soap youŕe using isn´t harmful to plants however.🐕

There are a lot of little ways to help save water, and if you do all, or even just half, of them imagine the impact you could make!

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/20-ways-to-conserve-water-at-home.html

https://www.aol.com/article/2011/06/20/12-household-appliances-you-should-unplug-to-save-money/19971554/

http://www.poolesplumbing.com/plumbing-tips/what-are-the-benefits-of-using-a-low-flow-shower-head/

https://www.plumbingsupply.com/about-faucet-aerators.html

https://www.sandiego.gov/water/conservation/rainwater

[ahelpfulliving-blog]

Why Save Water?

🤔Whenever I think about saving water, the first thing that comes into mind for me is drinking less. I immediately dismiss this as absurd and vaguely worrying. But if not this, what does saving water mean? Most importantly are we actually going to ever run out? This is a big blue marble and guess what makes it blue!? So I naturally did some research into this topic and my entire view was changed.  So, I now have an actual list of reasons it’s only logical to conserve the water supply.🤔

❄️Less than 1% of water on Earth can actually be used by people. The rest is either salt or permanently frozen.❄️

🌞Conserving water will actually weaken the effects of droughts and water shortages. The supply of water we have is constant, yes, but the water cycle doesn’t actually always deliver water back to the same place it came from or in the same condition.🌞

💸By saving water you will be guarding against rising costs and political conflicts. If you’re in an area with little water or a limited supply, there are bound to be a lot of conflicts regarding who gets what.💸

🌎Helps the environment. Reducing water leads to a reduction in greenhouse gases. Water needs to be treated and processed once more before it comes back to you.🌎

🏠Saving water helps build a safe and beautiful community! Lots of places in your community like firefighters, hospitals, gas stations, street cleaners, health clubs, gyms and restaurants all need a lot of money to provide services to the community.🏠

❤️Saving water is a finite resource so it stands to reason that we all need to do our part to share and preserve the love!❤️

https://www.thebalance.com/conservation-efforts-why-should-we-save-water-3157877

[ahelpfulliving-blog]

Unplug and Save

😣So in the fight against climate change what are we supposed to do? We’re busy, we don’t have money, and what is there actually to do, we’re not scientists!😣

😑These are ridiculous cop outs that sound perfectly valid inside the bubble of our own heads. The truth is there’s a lot of things we can easily do every day in the smallest ways, and the easiest? Unplug. You’ve probably heard it before and you’ve thought about it, but maybe you’ve never thought to make a habit of it. You need a reason to make a habit out of it, you need info and to even know that it’s making a difference.😑

🔌Here’s the truth, even when something’s off, it’s still drawing power. The average American has around 40 electrical appliances in their house, but how many do we actually take the time to unplug? It’s estimated that $1,900 of your money is spent on energy a year, 5-10% of that being from appliances that are on 24 hours a day. The appliances that are usually always plugged in are also the ones that don’t take up the most energy. One or two watts maybe, but at the end of the year that all really adds up.🔌

💻Computers and televisions tend to take up more energy, so make sure to unplug those each night.💻

⚡Don’t want to always have to unplug everything? Look into a powerstrip, so with one hit of a button, everything’s off.⚡

📡Turn off the WiFi on devices that don’t need it at that moment. The Nintendo Wii will suck up 10 watts with WiFi, when turned off only 1.3 watts is used.📡

🌡️Lowering your thermostat by literally just one degree will lower your heating bill an entire 10%.🌡️

🚿People can’t exactly agree on how long a shower should be, so as long as you’re trying to shorten your time, you would still be saving water. Shorter showers save both water and energy. A low flow shower head does the same. 20-25% of water usage from the average home actually comes from showering. It’s no surprise, everyone loves a nice hot shower to wake them up or to unwind after a long day.  Newer models provide adequate water volume while still using less water, a technique that saves not only water and energy, but actually also lowers CO2 emissions!🚿

💡Switch to energy efficient lightbulbs. Types include halogen incandescents, compact fluorescents (CFLs) and light emitting diodes (LEDs). While these do cost more initially, over the life of the bulb they cost less to operate. Luckily, the bulbs last 3-25 times more than a standard bulb. The bulbs use 25-80% less energy too, and when you take into account all the bulbs in your house, all that money really adds up.💡

💧Make sure all of your faucets have aerators on them. A faucet aerator is a small mesh cover that can be screwed onto your faucet to increase water volume and therefore lower water usage by adding air. There are many different kinds of aerators, with the “water saving” models having a flow rate of 1.5 gpm (gallons per minute). This uses 30% less than a standard faucet and are cheap to boot.💧

🏠And last but not least, properly insulate your house. Tightening windows would save you $150 annually in heating. Want a cheaper alternative to buying energy efficient windows? Insulation by the means of transparent films around doorways and windows in the winter months will help as well.🏠

https://www.aol.com/article/2011/06/20/12-household-appliances-you-should-unplug-to-save-money/19971554/

http://www.poolesplumbing.com/plumbing-tips/what-are-the-benefits-of-using-a-low-flow-shower-head/

https://www.plumbingsupply.com/about-faucet-aerators.html

[ahelpfulliving-blog]

Why Save Energy?

🤔Throughout our years of life we’ve probably been told that we need to save energy. We immediately agree wholeheartedly. But how many of us actually grasp the why? Why do we need to do that? What would that help? I could write you a long list of ways (which I will) but would you actually take action without a reason? This blog is about both solving and UNDERSTANDING the problem. So here’s a long list of reasons you should be saving energy.🤔

👋We are going to run out. Oil reserves are declining everyday and scientists predict that, yes, eventually we will run out. The largest sources of oil are found in regions of political turmoil making them unsafe. This means that we’re kind of in a tight spot, as many countries have an over dependence on oil.👋

💵Saves you money. This reason can apply to even those who believe nothing else. In articles following, you’re going to hear me mention a lot of ways that going green can save you money.💵

🤢A healthier option. Pollution from energy sources cause lung problems like cancer and asthma from the air pollution.🤢

☀️Helps global warming. The less fuel used to produce energy is less greenhouse gases released.☀️

💧Saves water. Everyone needs water, and that water does need to be clean and pollution free for us to use it.💧

🤕We have a social responsibility. Americans depend too heavily on coal as an energy source. Miners put their lives on the line everyday to ensure that we have a supply of it everyday.🤕

🌳Helps habitat destruction. Fossil fuels used to produce energy come from somewhere, and that somewhere is most likely home to plants and animals of a variety of species.🌳

💲Steady pricing. When we start to use less energy, prices will be maintained, making your budget a lot more predictable.💲

💾We need to preserve fossil fuels. People are coming up with, refining and building alternative energy sources every day, but until we actually have one widely implemented and set up, we need to hold onto this depleting resource.💾

⛽Transportation. Until the aforementioned energy source is established, we’re going to need something to fuel our modes of transportation.⛽

😉Saving energy might not seem like the most important thing right now, but we all need to learn to think in the long term. Preserving energy is a smart move all around, so let’s all do what we can for this planet and each other!😉

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/WhyConserveEnergy.php www.conserve-energy-future.com/WhyConserveEnergy.php

[ahelpfulliving-blog]

So Where Did It Come From

🔬So, how did our planet get to be this way anyhow? 2,000 years ago, everything was fine and dandy, but we feel like we’re only just now hearing about all this.  To be honest, one of the biggest highs in pollution actually occurred in the late 1700s.factories were being built and there were no regulations on where you could dump and how much output you could have.  In 1958 people actually started checking on the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, and since then we’ve just been getting more and more information.🔬 🔔But where in this day and age, is the pollution coming from? Why, from point and nonpoint sources!🔔 💭Point sources are from an identifiable source. Nonpoint sources are from many places or a widespread area.💭 Point sources include: 🌧️Discharge from wastewater treatment plants🌧️ 🏬Waste from industries🏬 🚧Combined sewer outfalls🚧 Nonpoint sources are: ⛑️Sediments from construction, forest operations and agricultural areas⛑️ 🚽Bacteria and microorganisms from failing septic tanks and pet waste🚽 ⛳Nutrients and pesticides from agricultural lands, golf courses, athletic fields and your very own yard⛳ ❄️Oil, grease and antifreeze which are washed off the streets by rain❄️ 🛢️Toxic chemicals from cleaners that weren’t correctly disposed of🛢️ 🚯And litter, my personal least favorite🚯 💨Air pollution is another big problem that we have, as it has been linked with many different kinds of lung problems including asthma. 💨 Air pollution comes from: ✈️Mobile sources, planes, trains and automobiles✈️ 🏗️Stationary sources, that’s power plants, oil refineries, industries and factories🏗️ 🔥Area sources are agricultural lands, cities and wood burning🔥 🌋And natural sources which is wind blown dust, wildfires and volcanoes🌋 🌎As you can see pollution comes from all around us and we usually contribute in more ways than one. We’re slowly poisoning the earth and that’s not fair to anyone. Humans won’t be the only ones affected, though we certainly will be, but we’re clearly the ones who contribute the most. We all need to make a change, and we need to do it fast!🌎 http://soils.ifas.ufl.edu/campuswaterquality/sources/ https://www.nature.nps.gov/air/aqbasics/sources.cfm

[ahelpfulliving-blog]

A Helpful Living: Climate Change

The Basics

Q: What is climate change and why should I care?

A: Well, to start, climate is defined as the typical weather in an area. This includes the temperature, rain or snow, humidity, wind and seasons of the place. Climate is very important to an area, as it is a key factor in shaping the ecosystem and an organism’s habitat (plants, animals and humans) depend on it. However, due to rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, the atmosphere is trapping heat and warming the earth, melting ice, raising the sea level and causing fires, droughts, storms, rainfall and floods. Scientists believe this trend will continue throughout the years and even increase. The earth is experiencing this change faster than anything in the last 2,000 years.  This is bad for everyone around the globe as these changes can affect food production, the availability of water and pose health risks.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/whatis.htm

Q: What is global warming?

A:  Global warming occurs alongside the greenhouse effect. It occurs when certain gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap heat. The surface of the planet is therefore warmed. The gases let light in, but heat can’t escape, like the glass walls of a greenhouse, hence the name.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-overview/

Q: OK, but what’s the difference?

A:  Global warming only refers to Earth’s rising surface temperature while climate change is that and the effects of it. You could say that global warming is a symptom of climate change.

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/whats-difference-between-global-warming-and-climate-change

Q: What are greenhouse gases?

A:  Well, the top four are Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), and Fluorinated gases.  CO2 makes up 76%, Methane makes up 16% and Nitrous oxide makes up 6%, while Fluorinated gases make up 2%.  They are able to trap heat in the atmosphere and make the surface warmer. They allow sunlight to pass through, where it is absorbed on the surface of the Earth, but it’s supposed to bounce back to space as heat. Sadly, some of this energy is being intercepted and absorbed by the aforementioned greenhouse gases.  Their structure allows them to absorb some of the escaping heat and re-emit it to Earth. This causes a rise in temperatures.

http://whatsyourimpact.org/greenhouse-gases

Q: Where do greenhouse gases come from?

A:  Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, comes mostly from humans. 82% of greenhouse gases emitted from people are CO2. They are emissions from burning fossil fuels, solid waste, trees and other chemical reactions. Methane comes from landfills, coal mines, oil and natural gas operations, as well as agriculture, making up 9% of emissions from people. Nitrous oxide is from nitrogen fertilizers, burning fossil fuels and other industrial and waste management processes, weighing in at 6%. Fluorinated gases come from a vareity of industrial processes. They’re typically emitted in smaller quantities but are referred to as the most potent greenhouse gases. They make up 3% of emissions made by humans.

https://www.ameslab.gov/esha/where-greenhouse-gases-come

http://whatsyourimpact.org/greenhouse-gases/fluorinated-gas-emissions

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases

Q: So, why don’t people believe in global warming?

A: The number one reason the average person doesn’t believe in global warming is that they feel the weather is indicating otherwise.

http://www.businessinsider.com/public-religion-report-climate-change-2014-11

Q: What information is needed to make people not only believe in climate change, but become capable of rational deliberation on this topic?

A:  Studies actually show that countries with high CO2 emissions are the least worried about climate change. However a total of 79% of people say that climate change is either already affecting them or will in the next few years. So, why do some still feel that climate change isn’t a problem or even that it doesn’t exist? The answer eludes me but the only thing we can do is spread awareness.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/18/what-the-world-thinks-about-climate-change-in-7-charts/

Q: Is it too late to stop this?

A:  Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, we’d not feel the effects for decades or centuries, as there is a time lag between what we do and when we will feel the effects. Mitigation (reducing the flow of greenhouse gases) and adaptation (learning to live in a different way) is the approach we need to use to respond to climate change. However, scientists are afraid of reaching that crucial “tipping point”.

https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/

Effects of Climate Change:

Q: What do rising sea levels mean?

A: This means that over the past century, readings tell us that the Global Mean Sea Level has risen from 4 inches to 8. The annual rate is now .13 inches a year which is double the average rate than has shown up in the past 80 years.  Global warming has caused the oceans to absorb about 80 percent of the additional heat caused by it.  When water heats up it expands, which explains the sea level rise. Glaciers and ice caps are also melting, for glaciers this means that there is a greater than average summer melting, something that normally happens during the warmer months.  Even a small increase in the sea level can mean disaster for coastal communities and habitats, including destructive erosion, wetland flooding, aquifer and agricultural soil contamination and loss of habitat. More powerful storm surges can occur and hundreds of millions of people around the world will become more vulnerable to flooding.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/sea-level-rise/

Q: What does climate change mean for animals?

A: As their habitats disappear due to deforestation, rising waters and melting ice caps, animals grow thin and have to adjust to new lifestyles accordingly.

Q: What kind of extreme weather can we see from climate change?

A: Some people try to deny climate change or global warming, because they don’t think the weather is changing or that it’s just natural.  This isn’t true, since 1992, 6,600 major climate disasters have happened worldwide causing more than $1.6 trillion dollars in damages and killing 600,000 people. Not all of it can be blamed on climate change, I’ll give them that, but extreme weather has been increasing over the years. In the period of 1983-1992, the average number of climate related disasters was 147 and during the past decade it has lifted to 306.

https://weather.com/science/environment/news/earth-climate-change-effects