In the recent years, there have been drastic changes in global climate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted a rise of 2.5 to 10° Fahrenheit in the coming century. According to NASA, April 2018 was the third warmest month of April recorded. What can be the future impact of these changes and why should we be worried? Longer summers, shorter and warmer winters, floods, storms, tides to name a few. Talking about the cause, human activities remain the main culprit, activities that we barely pay attention to but their effect is massive and disastrous. So the question is, Can we prevent the varying climate trends? With stringent measures, yes we can! The priority is to curb all activities which produce more heat. Adopt following measures to bring changes in climate.
1. Go green!
Plant as many trees as possible. Trees remove Carbon dioxide which would, in turn, remove the excess greenhouse effect leading to global warming. Besides, remember the myriad effects of trees that we were taught about in school?
2. Plug out and turn off
We are not used to plugging out appliances after usage. What we forget is that appliances consume what is called phantom electricity when plugged. So form a habit of plugging out electrical appliances, including Xbox consoles, Cable boxes and most importantly, chargers.
3. Hold the door "closed"
The WWF Hong Kong in 2016 estimated as much as 51000 tonnes of unnecessary Carbon emissions because of missing refrigerator doors. With every minute that we leave our refrigerators devoid of a door, we are contributing to this 51000 ton.
4. Don’t illuminate daytime
Dr. Hawkes, visiting fellow at the Granthan Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College, London has said- "any reduction we make in our electricity use – for example, if everyone switched off lights that they weren’t using, or turned off electric heating earlier in the year – could have a bigger impact on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by power stations than previously thought."
5. Change your light sources
Instead of regular bulbs, used LED bulbs. Advantages of doing the same are- LEDs last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat. So, win-win!
6. Drive less and drive right
One of the greatest sources of massive harmful emissions includes those from our vehicles. Try not to use a car for short distances. This way we might as well get rid of another problem- traffic! Also, use electric or hybrid cars.
7. Say no to hot water
Incorporate small measures like using cold water for washing clothes or using shower heads which are of low flow type. Just with this, we will refrain from adding some 350 pounds carbon dioxide annually.
All these small measures would cost us anything but would result in changes which can give rise to better and more stable climate.
