Everyday Measures to Prevent Global Warming

Global warming is the increase in temperature of the earth's atmosphere caused by greenhouse gases being emitted into the air. Global warming is becoming a massive threat to our world. As of Canada, 722 megatons of greenhouse gases are being released every year (Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2017). This can be a very difficult situation to fix, but individuals of Canada are doing their best to combat global warming.

Walking to work, to educate people on how to cope with global warming are some ways to minimize it. Food/shopping, home energy, and cars/transportation are other ways that individuals can do to help decrease global warming. Food and shopping are essential in everyday lives. Thus, making this an easy way for Canadians to reduce global warming.

Things like, composting, using smaller cooking appliances, with the exception of a fridge, and investing in energy-efficient gadgets all can reduce global warming. Composting is a thing that not a lot of people do or think of doing, but this is a very effective method to help cope with global warming. Compost is a rich soil made from scraps of leftover foods, mainly vegetables, that is utilized predominantly for planting. More than 95% of food waste is deposited into landfills, that release methane into the atmosphere which then contributes to global warming. Furthermore, in 2014 more than 35 million tons of food waste was disposed of (US EPA, 2013). In addition, it is said that one ton of food waste in a landfill creates 0. 25 tons of methane (Composting and Climate Change, n. d). This means that if at least half of the population switches to composting, then the amount of methane emitted into the atmosphere will be reduced by a lot.

Another way that Canadians can contribute to reducing global warming while cooking food is by using smaller kitchen appliances. Using a big oven can radiate a lot of heat thus emitting gases into the air. At the same time, a small stove would do the same job as the big oven, while radiating fewer gases. Likewise, people can try using non-electrical kitchen gadgets to reduce the amount of electricity used. Using electricity means more fossil fuels and nuclear power being burned to generate electricity. One would think that using a smaller fridge would be a better idea. In fact, using a smaller fridge takes up more energy than a regular family size fridge. It is said that a mini fridge would take up 5.5kWh/day, while a regular family size fridge takes 1.5kWh/day (Energy, S., 2011). This means that a mini fridge almost uses four times as much energy than a family size fridge.

Lastly, Canadians can invest in energy-efficient gadgets. These energy-efficient things are fast and easy to set up and to buy. Furthermore, they can be beneficial for one's life, the environment, and the economy. Energy-efficient gadgets can benefit the environment because of lower emissions to the atmosphere. A study that was done at Rockefeller Foundation in 2012, discovered that over a decade, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 10% just by saving energy (Bornstein, D., 2015). Energy-efficient appliances can also benefit the economy, which will increase one’s living standards.

Hence, food and shopping that are important in all lives can still make a change to global warming. Canadians can help this extensive issue even when they are at home. Home energy is appliances that consume electricity in order for it to work. Things like lights to a portable fan, use electricity. Although an individual may need all these things, there are ways to reduce the amount of energy used, at the same time using the things that the individual needs. One way is by changing the energy source to solar power. Another way is to unplug appliances that are not being used, and finally, switching to energy-efficient heating systems.

Solar power is a renewable energy source that converts sunlight into electricity through solar panels also known as photovoltaics (PV). It cuts electricity bills because sunlight is free a free energy source. Once you pay for the installation of the solar panels, the electricity bills will decrease. Furthermore, solar electricity cuts carbon footprint, as a result of not releasing harmful gases into the atmosphere. It is said that an average home that utilizes solar energy could save around 1. 5 to 2 tons of greenhouse emissions per year (Solar panels, n. d.). Some other way to lower global warming through one’s home is by unplugging appliances that are not being utilized. Such things like lamps, to phone chargers. By unplugging things such as these, it saves energy, therefore, reducing pollution, and at the same time-saving money (Unplugging unused appliances saves money, environment, n. d.).

Finally, switching to energy-efficient heating systems helps cope global warming. Energy Star, a type of energy-efficient company “helped save enough energy to avoid carbon dioxide emissions that are equivalent to 33 million cars and saved nearly $18 billion on utility bills in 2010 (Bornstein, D., 2015). In this way, individuals of Canada can do something even when they are at home.

Cars and transportation play an immense role in global warming. Although it emits the most greenhouse gases, there are ways to decrease this problem when using cars and transportation. Using cleaner fuels such as biofuels and renewable fuels, using public transit, and carpooling are ways that diminish global warming. Not a lot of people think about using cleaner fuels. Cleaner fuels such as biofuels and renewable fuels are said to create 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, compared to gasoline (Better Biofuels., n. d.). Fuels that are made of corn is a type of biofuel that could be used instead of gasoline. According to ecodes. org, it was said that by 2030, it is predicted that greenhouse gas emissions from transportation will be 80 percent higher than current altitudes (Administrator, n. d.). Therefore, using biofuels to combat this problem will be ideal.

Public transit is actually better to use than cars, knowing that “Public transit saves an estimated 1. 4 billion gallons of gas annually, which translates into about 14 million tons of CO2, according to the American Public Transportation Association.” (TIME., 2007). This means that using public transit like buses will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. In addition to this, the federal transit administration of the US says that “public transportation produces significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile than private vehicles”. So instead of using cars very often, public transit is one of the options, the other option is to carpool. Carpooling is when a group of people takes one car instead of two or more. According to global warming solutions, reducing the number of cars on the road helps eliminate traffic and harmful emissions that cause global warming to occur (Global Warming Solutions, n. d). What is Your Impact also states, “Fewer cars on the roads mean fewer emissions are released into the atmosphere, which helps reduce global warming”. (Drive Less, 2014)

All in all, using cleaner fuels, public transportation, and carpooling help depreciate global warming. Global warming is destroying the earth’s environment, the oxygen that citizens breathe, melting glaciers, etc. Food and shopping, home energy, and cars/transportation are physical things that individuals of Canada are doing daily to reduce global warming. Stopping global warming cannot be done by one person, but multiple people working together.