Carbon Nation

I went and saw Carbon Nation last night through the SIFF. It is a documentary about global warming. What was nice about it was that it offered up solutions to our environmental issues, it didn't just paint a gloom and doom picture. One person interviewed in the film was asked if he thought the environmental issues we face are the fault of humans. His answer was, "Who cares. All I care about is clean water and clean air. It's that simple." It's true, it doesn't matter if we are the cause, what matters is that it's up to us to fix it. Some small things you can do from the film (I'm already doing some and am implementing more after seeing the film):

Energy Efficiency

• Weatherize your house – if there’s a draft, there’s a leak.
• When your roof needs repairs, paint it white at the same time.
• Unplug DVD players, coffee makers, phone chargers – anything not in use.
• 5-minute showers are much better than baths.
• Raise your kid’s allowance if they help reduce utility bills.

Clean Energy

• Buy your utility’s green energy option.
• Solar Hot Water Heaters = huge CO2 reductions.
• Wind - can your home or office use a small turbine?
• Geothermal – can you install a home geothermal heat pump?
• Seek out community purchasing groups to buy & install solar panels in bulk,
• like lbog.org.

Land Use

• Meatless Mondays – eat meat one day less a week.
• Eat local food, efficiently delivered.
• Use only Forest Stewardship wood products.
• Use a push lawn mower.

Leadership

• Elect clean energy public servants.
• Demand tough energy efficiency building standards.
• Take mass transit at least once a week.
• Video conference instead of travel.
• Invest in companies promoting clean energy.
• If you’re a student, become an engineer.
• Share all this great info with your family, friends and co-workers.