Yesterday we took a look at some new research that says America is Unprepared for Climate Change. In that post I pointed out that if you believe in global warming, if you don’t believe in global warming, if you think make-believe elves started the global warming issue, it really doesn’t matter. While I do personally believe in climate change problems, I also believe that the things humans can do to prevent global warming are basic things they should be doing anyway for their personal health and their family’s health.

So no, in my opinion it really doesn’t matter if global warming is real or not because there are other reasons to go green. Now that said, in case you’d like a good argument for why you should take action against global warming in particular I’ve got a video for you to check out.

I actually think that this theory is the best I’ve seen about global warming. He admits you can’t know the truth about global warming, but he also has some general conclusions that make sense - at least in a basic risk management vs. debate way:

His sort of conclusions are below (although he notes these are not absolutes and that you should also consider other reasons to go green):

1. We don’t believe in global warming, we do nothing to stop it, it never comes, and we’re all just fine.
2. We don’t believe in global warming, we do nothing to stop it, it does come, and we’re all screwed.
3. We believe in global warming, we try to stop it, it does come, but we’re better off because we tried to halt it.
4. We believe in global warming, we try to stop it, we’re wrong, it never comes, but it’s mainly what, some time wasted and a cleaner planet to boot. NOT a big deal.

Oh and on a side note, while some think that just “tree hugging hippies” believe that global warming is a threat, it’s not true. Plenty of folks and organizations believe that global warming is a real issue, such as…

• The EPA’s advice about climate change prevention
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration believes there’s a major problem.
• NASA
• The United Nations
• IPCC Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis
• The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
• A multitude of earth scientists
• And more…

Also read, Is Global Warming Real? 5 Proofs That Urge Action.

According to a report out this year, the National Research Council claims that US agencies and political leaders are not getting the right information or guidance needed to prevent further climate change or even to deal with the current climate change issues.

According to the piece highlighting this news, featured at Common Dreams, “A record number of Americans - some 41% - now believe the danger of climate change has been exaggerated in the mainstream media, a new Gallup poll found. In contrast, only 28% thought the media had downplayed the dangers of global warming... The rise of climate change doubters was among Republican and non-affiliated voters - but not Democrats - and was confined to those above the age of 30.”

Should we be worried - is climate change real?

I get hate emails all the time saying I’m crazy for promoting things like avoiding climate change and halting global warming from people who say it’s one, a waste of time, and two, that there’s no way global warming is real. Many of the people emailing me about this say things like, “Global warming is a myth.”

Global warming could be a total myth but…

The thing that irks me about climate change is that it’s almost a moot point. People are so focused on climate change, global warming, and other titles given to this problem, that they’re ignoring the bigger picture. I’m not up for fighting folks who think global warming is a lie. I don’t really care what people think. The bigger picture is that whether or not global warming is true or false, it doesn’t affect the reasons why people should still go green. The things we can do as humans that may prevent global warming are just plain good for human health and happiness, no matter what you believe.

For example, why not conserve resources (like oil) that we know will run out eventually? Why not have cleaner air so we can be healthy? Why would we want crazy junk like pesticides in our food? Why drive everywhere when you could bike or walk, get some exercise, and be healthier?

The green steps we can take to prevent global warming are not good for preventing the maybe situation of global warming; these steps are healthy and smart.

Green steps that halt global warming and that have other benefits:

• Lower carbon emissions and stay healthy by walking, biking, car-pooling, or skating some of the time instead of driving.
• Save money and resources by turning off electronics when not in use.
• Build green, or live in a green-built home that will use less energy and emit less greenhouse gases. This will save you money and green homes are healthier for you and your family.
• Clean with non-toxic cleaners that one, won’t pollute the air, water, and soil and two, won’t pollute your body.

This issues that affect global warming don’t just affect the planet. They affect human health and your budget. If you don’t believe in global warming, so what? You should still believe in your own well-being.

If you are on board, see more ways to prevent global warming.

Coming up later, I’ll post the best argument for global warming prevention that I’ve personally heard.

[image via stock.xchng]

We all know that one famous frog who said, “It’s not easy being green.” But was he right in an eco-sense? I’ve got pals and family who say it’s too hard to go green all the flipping time. Am I the only one who thinks it’s easy? Easyish anyhow.

Going green might be hard if you go gung ho, try to build a solar/wind powered/off grid home, pledge to buy only organics and cook purely from scratch, make all your own cosmetics and cleaning supplies, convert to a hybrid car or only ride your bike 100% of the time, and homeschool the kids so they get a real eco-education. However, this is not realistic green.

Realistic green means what to you? To me it means making smarter, not harder choices and spending less not more money. To me realistic green doesn’t mean making grand green gestures but does mean that many small steps when branched together create larger changes in the long run.

Going green - not so hard as you might think. Certainly not as hard as I hear. There’s a learning curve for sure, but that’s why it’s important to start slow, learn as you go, and to try and not to let other people dictate what shade of green you’re comfortable with.

I’ve been living green for a good long while and blogging at another green blog, Tree Hugging Family for almost two years now. Those two components when mixed with the people I know and the emails I get from readers means I’ve pretty much heard all the excuses there are as to why someone feels they can’t go green. “Because it’s too hard” is only one excuse I hear. Following are all the major excuses I’ve heard and some reasons why these excuses are not only wrong, but make little sense. If you’ve been feeling like green is too hard or feeling like you just can’t get going with green living the following posts should help you over the hump:

All the excuses:

1. I don’t matter
2. Global warming is a crock
3. Going green is too expensive
4. I’m not a damn hippie
5. I don’t have time
6. I have no idea where to start

Have you heard any other excuses lately? Let me know which excuses you think are valid or total bunk in the comments.

[image via stock.xchng]

In the current frenzy to be cool  “going green” in homes, schools and communities, are we teaching youngsters (and adults) global warming lies?  Schools are “green” this year and youngsters report in class discussions how their parents are practicing or not practicing energy and earth saving tactics.  (Big Brother?)

Image: sxc.hu

Do we have the correct data or simply what politicians and those making money from the big industry of environmental and global warming wants us to know?  Are scientists, who present data that disproves the theory of global warming (and this group is growing), discredited and even lose their jobs because they’re not “politically correct” in their beliefs?

Holly Fretwell, a natural resources management expert, has a well researched and documented book out there, The Sky’s Not Falling! Why It’s OK to Chill About Global Warming, that presents a common sense view, with facts, on this topic, without the scare tactics the politicians and environmental businesses are using.  She also includes “fun facts” for the youngsters reading the book.

(Holly’s most recent book - Who is Minding the Federal Estate?: Political Management of America’s Public Lands.)

That was the question from the kids today and boy did we have an interesting discussion. It all started when they heard me read out an email, yes, I’m one of those people that tend to read outloud to themselves when they think no one is listening.

IMG: Sxchu

Email:

Vast Wilkins ice shelf disconnects from Antarctic

Washington—The reported shattering of the ice bridge connecting the Wilkins ice shelf to Antarctica was a complete contrast to progress on global action, Greenpeace said today as negotiations on a new climate deal go into their second week in Bonn. (1)

“The breakup of this ice shelf is in vivid contrast to the glacial pace of the international climate negotiations, where governments are trying to avoid acting responsibly - and bickering about who’s at fault,” said Carroll Muffett, Greenpeace USA Deputy Campaigns Director.

It does go on but it was the words “breakup and ice shelf” course then the kids wanted to know what ice shelf was getting ready to break off and I explained it was the one connected to Antartica. Boy did that go over well. haha. NOT. One child wanted me to pull up several other articles to see if it had done it yet, another asked if I could find pictures or live camera shots, the third begged the world not to end. Ummm, I think they’ve seen too much “Day After Tomorrow.”

But it was neat, each one showed somewhat of an understanding and I expect two to go to school tomorrow asking their teacher and librarian to help them find more info. My son wanted to know if it did collapse could it effect the weather. My daughter was interested if it could make another country since it would be floating by itself and of course they wanted to know about the animals that live on and near the shelf.

By the way, I did let BabyGirl know that no, even if the shelf falls it does not mean an end of the world. But it does mean the atmosphere has become too hot and it has melted the ice. Have you talked to your children about Global warming or the ice shelf possibly collapsing? Keep in mind that while I did not intentionally bring this up to my kids, it was a learning experience and because of it I do plan on looking more info up and letting them know more about it. If you’d like to add something I’d love to read the comments and maybe teach my children some more.

According to a weird piece at The Times Online, global warming is now such a threat that out only salvation may be geo-engineering.

The plan, “Geo-engineering on a planetary scale” is unique and consists creating artificial trees that can absorb carbon dioxide, or reflect sunlight away from the Earth. It’s troublesome that it’s come to this in my opinion, but if we don’t take care of the planet, this may be our only option.

According to the Times article, “the Royal Society, Britain’s national academy of science, is preparing a report on the feasibility of geo-engineering” among other artificial plans. Some of these ideas include…

• Manually extracting carbon from the atmosphere - but that might be too slow so the other option would be somehow reduce the amount of sunlight that reaches the planet. .
• Another idea is to make clouds brighter which totally sounds like some spaceman movie to me, but supposedly it’s an option. If this could happen, brighter clouds would reflect more sunlight.
• Fake trees are also in the works. Plantations of fast-growing trees would be turned into “biochar”. “Plants grow by extracting CO2 from the air and converting it to wood, so the idea would be to turn the wood into charcoal, using giant ovens. Then it would be buried so the carbon could never be released back into the air.“

The flip side, of course is that other experts feel that geo-engineer-ing risks might make people even more lazy about environmental issues, and people overall would be less concerned with creating a true carbon-neutral economy.

I’m gonna second that notion. If fake trees, and tricking clouds is so necessary than obviously we’re not doing enough, and can you image teaching our kids this? “Hey kids, no worries about the earth, we can fake it!” Great.

What do you think?

By the way, if you’re interested in learning more about global warming, read the following; Is Global Warming True? Does the Truth Even Matter?

[image via stock.xchng]

I came across these electric boot warmers recently, and it took me a bit to figure out what they do…they dry your wet and freezing boots.

Great gadget. The only problem is that here in the eastern portion of the U.S., the temperature hasn’t been cold enough outside to cool off a beer…never, mind freeze one’s toes.

Why is the weather so spooky this winter?

Maybe there is something to this global warming thing… just ask the poor Polar Bears if they need boot warmers!

Polar bear image: Time.com