Can we truly decrease our greenhouse gases by just doing ordinary things every day? What is the evidence?

Question

Can we truly decrease our greenhouse gases by just doing ordinary things every day? What is the evidence?

Answer 1

well, actually, there is no evidence, we have to try it and find out and see!!

Answer 2

I think it would. There is over six billion of us here. So if we each do our own little bit it will add up and help.

Sorry i dont have any evidence, just my opinion.

Answer 3

Well, i think it's just common sense, since there are over six billion of us on the planet, every little thing each of us do would accumulate into bigger things...

And it sure beats not doing anything to reduce our contribution to greenhouse gases...

Answer 4

You can reduce your emissions by *not* doing things more easily than by *doing* things. The impact, and the evidence, depends on what you currently do: Eat grain-fed meat? Fly frequently? Throw away aluminum? Live in a poorly insulated building? Drive a 2500 kg auto just to pick up a 0.5 kg donut every morning?  These are the biggies.

The evidence is a combination of measurements of atmospheric concentrations of GHGs, measurements of emissions of GHGs by common processes, and measurements of energy use. For example, the amount of energy to create one aluminum can from bauxite ore is the same as that used by a 60W light for 4 hours. Recycling 6 aluminum cans instead of throwing them away is equivalent to saving a gallon of gasoline.

If you want to understand the evidence for anthropogenic climate change, read all 12000 pages of the latest IPCC report.

Answer 5

Of course you can.

Turn off the car and the emmissions stop.  It's that simple.

So are you making any real impact?  That's a better question.

It's like people who think their vote won't count because they are just one person.  It's a COLLECTIVE that makes the impact.

Another thing to consider is how much of the Greenhouse Gases are manmade?  How much is contributed by large Forest Fires and Volcanic Eruptions.

And of course there are tradeoffs.  There is a big push to use the new long lasting Flourescent Bulb lighting.  They save power which means less coal burned to generate the equivalent amount of light.  The downside is the bulbs contain mercury so they create another health hazard on their own (Especially if you break one - you don't want to vacuum the broken mess up and distribute it though the air in your home).

Don't use paper towels?  But is that better than buying cloth towels, and laundry soap, and heating the water, and running the dryer?

What do you do?

You do what you think is right and hope for the best.  You can only educate yourself so much.

Answer 6

The laundry dryer, the oven and any heater, also the car emmission.  Changing light bulb is another way, but the emission function of heat are far less than the the items above.  If you could dry your clothes outside rather by dryer.  Using gas instead of electric oven.  Alot of people in country could not using fire wood to get warmth.  If you have some free money and time, plz plant some trees as possible as you can in any land.  For what you do is linking to our earth.  Afterall, there is only one earth.  And all the engergy sources are limited.  So use less electricity and use more by natural.  I guess we should learn from Armish...hahaha..but true.

Answer 7

I have no idea...but i have heard of that before sorry i couldnt help.

Answer 8

global warming is a myth made up by al gore

Answer 9

It's true that a small effort by many people would cause a reduction in emissions (for instance recycling an aluminum can takes one tenth the energy required to make one from scratch)  but when you look at the numbers that come from industrial plants and the like, billions of tons of CO2, the total impact of grassroots conservation is minimal.  The real benefit is in getting people to be aware of the environment and to take an active stance in protecting it.  But will you single handedly save the planet by s******g in a florescent light bulb?  Sorry, I don't think so.