Earth Day!

So I LOVE this earth and seeing how today is Earth day I decided to do a post on the most precious thing we have in this world...MOTHER EARTH!

Global warming is happening people...wake up and take a look around! Al Gores movie An Inconvenient Truth is AMAZING and scary all at the same time. I encourage all of you to watch it and see what you can do to save an preserve our earth that does so much for us!

On his webpage he writes:

GLOBAL WARMING IS:

Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising.
The vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, it’s already happening and that it is the result of our activities and not a natural occurrence. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable. We’re already seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing.

Here are some statistics that I found on Global Warming:

1.On average, eleven of the past twelve years (1995–2006) rank among the twelve warmest years on record since 1850, and the increase in average temperature is expected to accelerate in the coming decades.

2.In many western states, global warming is expected to contribute to a considerable reduction in average snowpack and earlier, more rapid spring snowmelt, which will lead to more wintertime flooding and decreased summertime water supply in major river basins

3.Global warming is causing sea levels around the world to rise at an unprecedented rate due to a combination of thermal expansion of the oceans and rapidly melting glaciers and polar ice caps. The average sea level is expected to rise 7–23 inches before the end of this century, and perhaps as much as 31 inches over that time if the rate of ice melt from Greenland and Antarctica increases as some models predict.

4.Global warming will contribute to more severe infestations and habitat damage from both native and exotic insect pests, including black vine weevil, gypsy moth, bagworm and mountain pine beetle. Drought-stricken plants are also more susceptible to diseases.

5. The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years.

6.Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level

If global warming continues we can we can expect catastrophic consequences such as:

1.Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years -- to 300,000 people a year.

2.Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide

3.Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.

4.Droughts and wildfires will occur more often

5.The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050!!!!

6.More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050

IT IS AMAZING TO ME what we do that causes our earth so much harm. There are soooooo many things you can do in your daily life to help make the earth a better place for you and for your children. Here are some things you can do in your own life to BE A LITTLE MORE GREEN...I challange all of you my friends to choose AT LEAST TWO things and begin making this earth cleaner and healthier for all!

WAYS TO GO GREEN!

1. Change a light: Changing one light bulb in your house with a compact fluorescent bulb will save 150 pnds of carbon dioxide a year (all our bulbs are fluorescent)

2.Drive less...thats easy walk more, take a bus, carpool. For every mile you DONT drive you save 1 pnd of CD. (This one is hard and I am working on it!)

3.RECYCLE MORE: You can save 2,400 pnds of CD per year by recyling only 1/2 of your household waste! ( This one is easy guys...rinse out cans and bottle and put them in the recycle bin...takes 30 seconds)

4.Use less HOT water. It takes alot of energy to heat water, wash clothes on cold or warm water and save 500 pnds a year.

5.Cut down garbage by 10% and save 1,200 pnds a year.

6.Adjust your thermostat 2 DEG and save 2,000 pnds a year!(SUPER EASY!)

7.Plant a tree: In a trees lifetime it will obsorb 1 TON of cd!

8.Turn off electric devises when not being used. Unplug whatever is not being used. The toaster, the blender, the microwave, the computer, cell phone charger...all of these drain energy just by being pluged in and not used. By doing this can save thousands of pnds a year.

9.Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.

10.Use less paper towels and paper plates...your cutting down trees that we need to save the earth.( I am horrible at this one...paper is so much easier for me...yet horrible for the planet...working on this though. I use WAY less paper towels)

11. NO MORE PLASTIC BAGS OR PAPER. Buy the reusable bags. I got some at Costco...they are HUGE and they were 3 for $3.69! I bought 3 packages. And you want to know WHY this one is a biggie...let me tell ya! Plastic bags take 1,000 years to decompose in a land fill! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? And we throw away at least 100 billion bags a year! GET REUSABLE BAGS PLEASE!

12. NO MORE PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES...americans go through 1 billion plastic water bottles a week. 76% arent recycled!

13.STOP JUNK mail and pre aproved credit cards from comming to your house and cutting down trees go to:

dmachoice.org/mps

All these are reasonable and pretty simple to do! I LOVE THIS EARTH and I want it to stay around for a while!