10 ways to stop global warming

Take on climate change at home this Earth Day. 5 tips to get you started : Life Kit Much of the energy used in buildings comes from burning fossil fuels — so if you want to slow down climate change, your home is one of the first places to look. Here's how to use less energy and even transition to renewable energy sources at home. For instance, there's that energy-control device called a thermostat. "I would start off with heating and cooling my space smartly," Srivastava says. That could mean relying more on natural ventilation to cool your home in summer while turning the thermostat down during the night in winter and staying cozy with more blankets instead. If you don't fight the seasons quite so aggressively, your heater and air conditioner won't have to work so hard. Another simple fix: Seal the cracks and holes around the house that allow air to blow through. You may have to learn about caulking and weatherstripping, but you can pick up all you need to know at your local hardware store. If you pay your own utilities, you often can buy clean electricity. Kaz Fantone for NPR hide caption toggle caption Kaz Fantone for NPR Bigger moves to cut energy use often involve major appliances such as furnaces and water heaters, and that's an obstacle for people who don't actually own that equipment. It's a real hurdle, but even renters and condo owners have some options. For instance, if you're paying your own utilities, you often can buy clean electricity. In many states, includ...

We are the first generation to know we’re destroying the world, and we could be the last that can do anything about it. Speaking up is one of the most powerful things you can do especially if it’s to the right people. We’ve been promised a better world – but our leaders are not on track to deliver. We need decisive action now. We’ll use your support to hold the UK Government to account on its promises. Your voice is powerful. Together, we can show we need urgent action on climate and nature. It’s not just about speaking to the people in charge. Talk to your friends, neighbours and colleagues and get them to make positive changes too. Speak up, speak to everyone, and make your voice heard. One of the best things you can do is to keep yourself informed – the more you know the better. It leaves you better equipped to have those conversations with your friends and family and the people you want to influence. Get yourself clued up on the facts, stay up to date with recent news on the state of our natural world and work out what you can do. We have the world at our fingertips, so learn from influential people, keep up with the news and research organisations that are working to make our planet a better place. Everyone in the UK over the age of 18 can vote for their MP. This is an opportunity to vote for someone who is representative of you and your views and will make the environment a top priority. Being politically engaged is not limited to voting and it certainly isn’t limite...

Climate change is one of the most urgent issues of our day. Several recent studies show that acting quickly and decisively to address this challenge and shift our economy to clean energy will bring significant benefits to the United States—while also helping us avoid some of the worst consequences of unchecked global warming. Congress has begun the historic process of enacting legislation to reduce global warming emissions and transition the United States to a clean energy economy. To be most effective, such legislation should • put the nation on a path to cutting emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050 and require significant reductions in the near term as well • be comprehensive, combining a cap on carbon emissions with crucial policies that help us shift to more efficient and cleaner forms of energy and transportation • protect tropical forests and fund adaptation to climate change Below are 10 reasons for strong action to promote clean energy and curb climate change. 1. Helping avoid the runaway costs of climate change Every region in the United States is already experiencing the costly effects of climate change—including coastal areas threatened by rising sea levels and more intense hurricanes; Midwest farmlands facing more crop-damaging heat waves, pests, and flooding; and communities in the West and Southwest experiencing drought and wildfires. Action to sharply reduce our global warming emissions can greatly curtail the costs of climate change, especially over the...

Burning fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, oil, and gasoline raises the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and carbon dioxide is a major contributor to the Global climate change is certainly one of the top environmental issues today. You can help to reduce the demand for fossil fuels, which in turn reduces global warming, by using energy more wisely. Here are 10 simple actions you can take to help reduce global warming. Getty Images/sturti Adding insulation to your walls and attic, and installing weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows can lower your heating costs by 15 percent or more, by reducing the amount of energy you need to heat and cool your home. Turn down the heat while you're sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Setting your thermostat just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of Adam Hester / Getty Images Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are practical forms of exercise. Explore your community mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school. Even vacations can provide opportunities to reduce your carbon footprint. When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images When it's time to buy ...

When NPR interviewed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in February about her Green New Deal, she said that her goal was bigger than just passing some new laws. "What I hope we're able to do is rediscover the power of public imagination," she said. Well, we're unleashing our imagination and exploring a dream, a possible future in which we're bringing global warming to a halt. It's a world in which greenhouse emissions have ended. So — what does this world look like? Solar panels fill a field in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France. Panoramic Images/Getty Images Mass Electrification (Batteries Hold The Power) (Editor's note: Each story has two sections, the first reflecting the present and the second imagining the world of 2050.) 2019: I went looking for people who've mapped out this world without greenhouse emissions. I found them in Silicon Valley. "Maybe you'd like some coffee?" Kiliccote says. Her coffee machine is powered by solar panels on the roof. So is her laptop and her Wi-Fi. "Everything runs on electricity in this house," she says. This is the foundation of a zero-carbon world: Electricity that comes from clean sources, mainly the sun and the wind, cheap and increasingly abundant. Today, it powers this house; tomorrow, it could drive the world. Last year, Kiliccote quit her job at Stanford University and launched a startup company, "In order to have impact, timely impact, I figured that I need to leave research and focus on impactful things that I want to do. And fast,...