Tuesday, January 1, 2019
City councils with few lights
While some city councils are advancing the lighting of Christmas lights, Ecologistas en Acción urges to reduce it for its environmental damage. They emphasize the Climate Change, with recent alarming data for Andalusia, and advise to follow the recommendations of the Councillor José Fiscal while launching proposals for administrations and civil society.
One more year, some city councils choose to bring forward the implementation of Christmas lighting, as well as increasing its dimensions, a trend followed by much of the public. Beyond what may like these ornaments, Ecologistas en Acción wants to draw attention to the energy waste involved in this type of ornamentation and the period in which it is placed, which it considers too broad. There are powerful reasons to consider the excess of lights as unsustainable and in need of a strong reduction. It is overwhelming to think of the amount of energy that can be consumed so superfluously throughout the developed world during those times. And although electricity bills are paid by each municipality (ultimately by the citizenry), the environmental bill in the form of climate change, acid rain, nuclear waste or pollution is paid by the whole planet. In this sense, Ecologistas en Acción urges public administrations, faced with the emergence of the problem of Climate Change, that, like the citizenry, are committed to reducing consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases.
According to the study Local Scenarios of Climate Change in Andalusia updated to the fifth Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), presented by the regional administration, it is clear that during this century it is estimated that temperatures will grow between 3.6-6.5 ºC, with an extremely hot and dry climate and a reduction in precipitation of 17%, results that would generate a sub-desert climate.
It should also take into account the statements of the Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning of the Junta de Andalucía, José Fiscal, when presenting the report in Huelva last November 7. The Minister stressed that those engaged in politics "have an obligation to take measures to minimize the phenomenon. The possible scenarios will depend on "how climate change evolves", where citizens play a key role. Among the measures that administrations can take is to "reduce all greenhouse effect emissions" and to do so drastically reduce energy consumption, "abandon fossil energies for renewable energies and produce less waste. It should not be forgotten that one of the main reasons why this lighting is carried out is to encourage consumption at Christmas time. This consumption is framed in a model in which there is an overexploitation of resources and an unsustainable generation of waste.
Ecologistas en Acción believes that the best gift that municipalities can make to their municipalities and global citizenship is to reduce this absolute waste of energy and not contribute to Climate Change. It is a waste of energy, a luxury that only enriched countries can afford as long as the majority of Humanity continues to live completely in the dark.
Therefore, Ecologistas en Acción encourages city councils and traders to:
Restrict Christmas lighting to strictly designated days.
Reduce lighting hours to midnight.
Use fewer lamps, even if they are LEDs.
Limit lighting to shopping streets in the centre, the cost of which should be borne partly by the merchants and not at the expense of the citizens.
6 Tips to Prepare for World Day of Action against Global Warming of 2018!
Happy New Year! I just had a discussion with a couple of my friends about climate change at our New Year's party. We talked about a number of things, but World Day of Action against Global Warming was one thing that my friend John brought up. He plans to talk about it more on his blog later this month.
Every 28 January, the World Day for Reducing Emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide) or the World Day of Action against Global Warming is celebrated. The UN declared this day to make decisions for the care of the planet and generate awareness among its inhabitants regarding climate change and reflect on the environmental impacts it has.
The World Day for Reducing CO2 Emissions is a day to constantly encourage the development and implementation of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage necessary initiatives such as conscious consumption or the use of renewable energy sources, actions aimed at reducing our carbon footprint.
The carbon footprint is a simple way of measuring the impact that a person generates -directly or indirectly- on the planet in their daily life. It is a count of the amount of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions calculated in units of carbon dioxide that are released into the atmosphere according to their daily activities.
On the pretext of World Day for Reducing CO2 Emissions, here are some actions you can take to reduce your carbon footprint.
Plastic bags take about 150 years to degrade. By now, we all know that one of the biggest enemies of the planet and ecosystems is plastic waste. When you go to the supermarket, you can use a backpack or fabric bags or that in addition to being reusable, are more resistant.
Feces and gases from cows and other animals considered red meat release more gases (methane) than all the world's transports put together. It is not necessary for a human being to eat so much red meat, he could actually have a well-balanced vegetarian diet to stay healthy.
If you decide to eat beef, the best thing for you and the planet is that the animal has been fed on grazing herbs, because this way fewer emissions are produced, which is better both for the animal and for you as a consumer.
If you have a car, you'd better maintain it on a regular basis, only in this way will it generate less greenhouse gas emissions. Also consider using it only if necessary. Learn to drive consciously, by accelerating slowly and smoothly, maintaining a constant speed and braking early will help you save up to one tonne of carbon dioxide in a year.
The three principles of every environmentalist: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Keep these precepts in mind before acquiring any object that could stay with you for only a few minutes and on the planet for hundreds or thousands of years. Before you throw something in the trash, consider if it could have another destination before ending its useful life cycle.
Although it's rare to find non-sparing spotlights in stores, always try to use eco-friendly spotlights, they save more than two-thirds the amount of energy the standards require, and you'll spend less on your bottom line. Just make sure the fluorescent bulbs you buy contain a low amount of mercury.
Every 28 January, the World Day for Reducing Emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide) or the World Day of Action against Global Warming is celebrated. The UN declared this day to make decisions for the care of the planet and generate awareness among its inhabitants regarding climate change and reflect on the environmental impacts it has.
The World Day for Reducing CO2 Emissions is a day to constantly encourage the development and implementation of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage necessary initiatives such as conscious consumption or the use of renewable energy sources, actions aimed at reducing our carbon footprint.
The carbon footprint is a simple way of measuring the impact that a person generates -directly or indirectly- on the planet in their daily life. It is a count of the amount of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions calculated in units of carbon dioxide that are released into the atmosphere according to their daily activities.
On the pretext of World Day for Reducing CO2 Emissions, here are some actions you can take to reduce your carbon footprint.
1. Consume local products
Consuming local products avoids large movements of goods and reduces the carbon footprint, generates fair trade and keeps the agricultural land of our locality active.2. Use cloth bags when you go to the supermarket
Plastic bags take about 150 years to degrade. By now, we all know that one of the biggest enemies of the planet and ecosystems is plastic waste. When you go to the supermarket, you can use a backpack or fabric bags or that in addition to being reusable, are more resistant.
3. Reduces meat intake
Feces and gases from cows and other animals considered red meat release more gases (methane) than all the world's transports put together. It is not necessary for a human being to eat so much red meat, he could actually have a well-balanced vegetarian diet to stay healthy.
If you decide to eat beef, the best thing for you and the planet is that the animal has been fed on grazing herbs, because this way fewer emissions are produced, which is better both for the animal and for you as a consumer.
4. Keep your car in good condition
If you have a car, you'd better maintain it on a regular basis, only in this way will it generate less greenhouse gas emissions. Also consider using it only if necessary. Learn to drive consciously, by accelerating slowly and smoothly, maintaining a constant speed and braking early will help you save up to one tonne of carbon dioxide in a year.
5. Remember the three R´s
The three principles of every environmentalist: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Keep these precepts in mind before acquiring any object that could stay with you for only a few minutes and on the planet for hundreds or thousands of years. Before you throw something in the trash, consider if it could have another destination before ending its useful life cycle.
6. Replace regular spotlights with savers
Although it's rare to find non-sparing spotlights in stores, always try to use eco-friendly spotlights, they save more than two-thirds the amount of energy the standards require, and you'll spend less on your bottom line. Just make sure the fluorescent bulbs you buy contain a low amount of mercury.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
8 Shocking Climate Change Denier Myths that MUST be Debunked
The problem of Climate Change entails certain misinterpretations that it is important to clarify, here we expose some of the most frequent myths about Climate Change:
1.- "The hole in the ozone layer is the cause of climate change". Although both problems are related to the atmosphere, climate change is not caused by the hole in the ozone layer. The cause of climate change is the greenhouse effect caused by the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) in human activities (electricity, heating, air conditioning, transport, packaging manufacture, etc.).
2.- "Climate change does not exist". A coordinated group of 2000 scientists from around the world (called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC) has been researching for more than 25 years, and says that climate change is a fact and that we must take action to stop it. People who deny the existence of climate change either do not have the necessary knowledge or have interests to deny its existence.
3.- "We cannot stop climate change". Climate change is a global environmental problem, the most important one facing humanity. But just because it is such a big problem does not mean that nothing can be done. In fact, we in our daily lives have the opportunity to avoid the emission of tons of CO2 and thus contribute to solving the problem. To do this it is essential to change our habits, as recommended on this website.
Certainly, we cannot equate the exhaust of a private car to the chimneys of a large thermal power station. However, if you reduce electricity consumption in your workplace, regulate your heating thermostat, use low consumption light bulbs, choose products with few containers in the purchase and recycle the waste you generate at home, you will avoid that thermal power station has to operate more hours. And above all, the people around you will see that it is easy to avoid climate change.
4.- "Stopping climate change would mean worsening our quality of life". Our quality of life is already being affected by the effects of climate change. Not only the environment but also the economic activities on which we depend, such as agriculture, livestock, tourism, etc., are at risk.
5.- "Climate Change is something that will only affect in the future". The changes needed to stop climate change can be planned in advance, while the consequences of climate change come without warning and violently, such as hurricanes, drought, and so on. It is therefore very important to take action now.
6.- "Nuclear energy is the solution to climate change". Although nuclear energy does not produce CO2 in its processes, the risk of accidents and the lack of a system to manage nuclear waste, make it not an alternative. In addition, nuclear fuel will also end up running out (like oil) and it takes a lot of time and money (10-12 years) to build a nuclear power plant. Enhancing nuclear energy also facilitates its military use, such as the creation of atomic bombs.
7.- "The greenhouse effect is an environmental problem." The greenhouse effect is not an environmental problem but a natural phenomenon that allows an average temperature of 15ºC throughout the planet. We have to know that without the greenhouse effect life as we know it would not exist. It is the increase or forcing of this greenhouse effect that causes harmful effects on the climate. Human activities (electricity generation, industrial production, household consumption, transport) increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These extra gases cause global warming, climate change.
8.- "The Climate Change supposes a very small increase of the temperature".
In the last century climate change has increased temperatures approximately:
- between half a degree and one degree on the whole planet
- one degree in Europe
- one and a half grades in Spain
These temperature changes may seem small, even more so when Spaniards can easily experience temperature variations of 20º C, or even more, between a hot midday and a cold night. However, since the last glaciation, when ice covered most of Europe, the average global temperature has only risen between 3 and 5ºC. Therefore, small variations in average temperatures can translate into large changes.
The Kyoto Protocol is the solution to climate change.
No, it was always considered that a reduction of 5% was very small, scientists were already talking about reducing it by 50-60% by half a century. But given that 90% of the world's energy is fossil, it was seen as an important first step in the right direction to which they would have to go.
1.- "The hole in the ozone layer is the cause of climate change". Although both problems are related to the atmosphere, climate change is not caused by the hole in the ozone layer. The cause of climate change is the greenhouse effect caused by the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) in human activities (electricity, heating, air conditioning, transport, packaging manufacture, etc.).
2.- "Climate change does not exist". A coordinated group of 2000 scientists from around the world (called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC) has been researching for more than 25 years, and says that climate change is a fact and that we must take action to stop it. People who deny the existence of climate change either do not have the necessary knowledge or have interests to deny its existence.
3.- "We cannot stop climate change". Climate change is a global environmental problem, the most important one facing humanity. But just because it is such a big problem does not mean that nothing can be done. In fact, we in our daily lives have the opportunity to avoid the emission of tons of CO2 and thus contribute to solving the problem. To do this it is essential to change our habits, as recommended on this website.
Certainly, we cannot equate the exhaust of a private car to the chimneys of a large thermal power station. However, if you reduce electricity consumption in your workplace, regulate your heating thermostat, use low consumption light bulbs, choose products with few containers in the purchase and recycle the waste you generate at home, you will avoid that thermal power station has to operate more hours. And above all, the people around you will see that it is easy to avoid climate change.
4.- "Stopping climate change would mean worsening our quality of life". Our quality of life is already being affected by the effects of climate change. Not only the environment but also the economic activities on which we depend, such as agriculture, livestock, tourism, etc., are at risk.
5.- "Climate Change is something that will only affect in the future". The changes needed to stop climate change can be planned in advance, while the consequences of climate change come without warning and violently, such as hurricanes, drought, and so on. It is therefore very important to take action now.
6.- "Nuclear energy is the solution to climate change". Although nuclear energy does not produce CO2 in its processes, the risk of accidents and the lack of a system to manage nuclear waste, make it not an alternative. In addition, nuclear fuel will also end up running out (like oil) and it takes a lot of time and money (10-12 years) to build a nuclear power plant. Enhancing nuclear energy also facilitates its military use, such as the creation of atomic bombs.
7.- "The greenhouse effect is an environmental problem." The greenhouse effect is not an environmental problem but a natural phenomenon that allows an average temperature of 15ºC throughout the planet. We have to know that without the greenhouse effect life as we know it would not exist. It is the increase or forcing of this greenhouse effect that causes harmful effects on the climate. Human activities (electricity generation, industrial production, household consumption, transport) increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These extra gases cause global warming, climate change.
8.- "The Climate Change supposes a very small increase of the temperature".
In the last century climate change has increased temperatures approximately:
- between half a degree and one degree on the whole planet
- one degree in Europe
- one and a half grades in Spain
These temperature changes may seem small, even more so when Spaniards can easily experience temperature variations of 20º C, or even more, between a hot midday and a cold night. However, since the last glaciation, when ice covered most of Europe, the average global temperature has only risen between 3 and 5ºC. Therefore, small variations in average temperatures can translate into large changes.
The Kyoto Protocol is the solution to climate change.
No, it was always considered that a reduction of 5% was very small, scientists were already talking about reducing it by 50-60% by half a century. But given that 90% of the world's energy is fossil, it was seen as an important first step in the right direction to which they would have to go.
Who Am I and Why Did I Start This Blog?
My name is Emily. I started this blog because I super into holistic living. I discovered my passion for living a sustainable, healthy lifestyle after my sister got diabetes. I don't want to end up like her!
You are going to find lots of posts on this blog that will help you on your quest to live a more sustainable lifestyle. I really hope you enjoy!
You are going to find lots of posts on this blog that will help you on your quest to live a more sustainable lifestyle. I really hope you enjoy!
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