chelsea green guide to climate change preview

GREEN GUIDESC

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CLIMATEC H A N G E

SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Jon Cl i f t & Amanda Cuthbert

Clift & Cuthbert

$7.95 USD

DID YOU KNOW . . .

Total energy use in the U.S. has increased by 150% since 1970

Most households can easily and significantly reduce their energy use without any decrease in comfort

If we all do our part, we can prevent global warming from running out of control

Climate change is now widely recognized as the greatest problem facing

all of humanity, and scientific assessments can often make the situation

seem hopeless. But there are many things you can do to reduce your

energy usage and your impact on the environment—many of which not

only save you money but make your home more comfortable. Follow the

authors’ advice, then share the good news with your neighbors: from

hot water to food to transportation, the solutions to climate change are

real and begin with you.

Chelsea Green PublishingWhite River Junction, Vermont

802-295-6300

www.chelseagreen.com

Series cover design by PracherDesignsTitle adaptation by Peter Holm

ISBN 978-1-60358-106-6

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Media Inquires contact: Taylor Haynes at: [email protected]

For more information go to: http://www.chelseagreen

.com/bookstore/item/ climate_change: paperback

ChelseaGreen.com • 802.295.6300

April 200904

Pub Date: April 2009$7.95 US, $9.95 CAN • PB978160358106643/4 x 61/2 • 96 pages • Color photosEnvironment• Green tips of the day found

on chelseagreen.com

Jon Clift has a master’s degree in sustainable environmental management. He works as afreelance environmental consultant and lives in Salcombe, South Devon. Amanda Cuthbertworks as a freelance writer and lives in Devon. Together, they have authored many ChelseaGreen Guides: Greening Your Office; Water: Use Less–Save More; and Energy: UseLess–Save More.

You know that the ice caps are melting, the seasons are changing, sea levels are rising, stormsare on the increase, but what can you do about it? Plenty!

This book puts the power back into your hands in the face of the doom and gloom of climatechange. You don’t have to wait for someone else to sort it out; rather than worry and feelhelpless, you can get up and do something.

Climate Change: Simple Things You Can Do to Make a Difference is packed with ideas foraction, from simple everyday things that cost nothing to bigger projects that involve moretime and money. For example:

Get on your bike • Buy local food • Turn off your TV • Insulate your attic • Recycle andcompost • Take the train • Turn down the heat • Install solar panels

Do your part and protect the planet for today and tomorrow.

CLIMATE CHANGESimple Things You Can Do to Make a DifferenceJon Clift and Amanda Cuthbert

The 7th in the Chelsea GREEN Guide series

A pocket guide for personal action that will combat global warming.

•••Other books of interest•••

9781933392738$7.95 • PB

9781933392998 $7.95 • PB

9781933392981$7.95 • PB

9781933392721$7.95 • PB

9781933392752 $7.95 • PB

9781933392745$7.95 • PB

The Chelsea Green Guides 6-Pack Set9781603580342 • $44.95

GREEN FACT:Many people in the world existon three gallons of water a dayor less. We can use that amountin one flush of the toilet.—From Chelsea Green Guide, Water

ChelseaGreen.com • 802.295.6300

April 200904

Pub Date: April 2009$7.95 US, $9.95 CAN • PB978160358106643/4 x 61/2 • 96 pages • Color photosEnvironment• Green tips of the day found

on chelseagreen.com

Jon Clift has a master’s degree in sustainable environmental management. He works as afreelance environmental consultant and lives in Salcombe, South Devon. Amanda Cuthbertworks as a freelance writer and lives in Devon. Together, they have authored many ChelseaGreen Guides: Greening Your Office; Water: Use Less–Save More; and Energy: UseLess–Save More.

You know that the ice caps are melting, the seasons are changing, sea levels are rising, stormsare on the increase, but what can you do about it? Plenty!

This book puts the power back into your hands in the face of the doom and gloom of climatechange. You don’t have to wait for someone else to sort it out; rather than worry and feelhelpless, you can get up and do something.

Climate Change: Simple Things You Can Do to Make a Difference is packed with ideas foraction, from simple everyday things that cost nothing to bigger projects that involve moretime and money. For example:

Get on your bike • Buy local food • Turn off your TV • Insulate your attic • Recycle andcompost • Take the train • Turn down the heat • Install solar panels

Do your part and protect the planet for today and tomorrow.

CLIMATE CHANGESimple Things You Can Do to Make a DifferenceJon Clift and Amanda Cuthbert

The 7th in the Chelsea GREEN Guide series

A pocket guide for personal action that will combat global warming.

•••Other books of interest•••

9781933392738$7.95 • PB

9781933392998 $7.95 • PB

9781933392981$7.95 • PB

9781933392721$7.95 • PB

9781933392752 $7.95 • PB

9781933392745$7.95 • PB

The Chelsea Green Guides 6-Pack Set9781603580342 • $44.95

GREEN FACT:Many people in the world existon three gallons of water a dayor less. We can use that amountin one flush of the toilet.—From Chelsea Green Guide, Water

CLIMATE CHANGESimple things you can do

to make a difference

Climate Change final pgs 1/21/09 2:36 PM Page 1

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ClimateChangeSimple things you can do


Chelsea Green Publishing CompanyWhite River Junction, Vermont


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JON CLIFT & AMANDA CUTHBERT

ClimateChangeSimple things you can do


Chelsea Green Publishing CompanyWhite River Junction, Vermont


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First published in 2008 by Green Books, Foxhole, Dartington, Totnes, DevonTQ9 6EB, UK (www.greenbooks.co.uk)

Copyright © 2008 Green Books

All rights reserved

First Chelsea Green printing February, 2009

Printed in Canada

Text printed on 100-percent postconsumer-waste recycled paper

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 09 10 11 12 13

DISCLAIMER: The advice in this book is believed to be correct at the time ofprinting, but the authors and publishers accept no liability for actions inspiredby this book.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataClift, Jon.

Climate change : simple things you can do to make a difference / Jon Clift &Amanda Cuthbert.

p. cm.ISBN 978-1-60358-106-6

1. Climatic changes. I. Cuthbert, Amanda. II. Title.

QC981.C5C55 2008640--dc22

2008053491

Chelsea Green Publishing CompanyP.O. Box 428White River Junction, VT 05001(802) 295-6300www.chelseagreen.com


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CONTENTS

Introduction 7

Home heating 15

Hot water 19

Lighting 23

Cooking 27

Keeping things cool 33

Washing dishes 37

Washing and drying clothes 41

Electrical appliances and electronic gadgets 45

Trash 49

Travel 59

Shopping 63

Water 67

Gardening 73

Renewable energy and your home 79

Resources 87


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Introduction


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INTRODUCTION

What is climate change?

“Climate change” is the changing of the world’s climate as aresult of what we, the humans on this planet, are doing.

It’s a massive problem, and in many people’s eyes the singlebiggest problem ever to face humankind; because if we carryon behaving as we’re doing now, we face large rises in globaltemperatures and also in sea levels, which will have disas-trous consequences.

There’s plenty we can all do to slow it down. Yes, it is a mas-sive challenge, and a topic that’s surrounded by loads ofgloom and doom, but fortunately we still have time.

This is not one of those scare stories that pop up now andagain in the papers — this is real. So much so that ever since1988 the United Nations has had a team of about 3,000 scien-tists from all over the world monitoring what is happening,researching what to do about it, and advising the world’s gov-ernments.

“Climate change”and “global warming”both refer to the samething, although “climate change” is a better descriptionbecause the warming up of the earth changes our whole cli-mate, including how much it rains, the strength of the wind,


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when and how much it snows, and the frequency andstrength of storms.

What causes it?

The main cause of climate change is carbon dioxide, a gasthat is produced whenever we burn fossil fuels like oil (in theform of gasoline or diesel), natural gas, or coal. We use thesefuels to give us the energy that we need every day. Powerplants burn fuel to make electricity for our homes. We burnfossil fuels to move our cars, buses, trains, and planes, towarm our houses, to manufacture our goods — the list is vir-tually endless.

When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide (CO2) goes intothe atmosphere where, as we burn more and more fossil fuelsto feed our ever-increasing demand for energy, the amountof CO2 gas increases. CO2 has always been in the atmosphere,trapping just enough heat for life on earth. Now the excess ofCO2 has upset this delicate balance, and not enough heat canescape back into space.

Consequently the temperature of our world is slowly butsurely rising, and will continue to do so unless we do some-thing about it.

8 l C l i m a t e C h a n g e

According to the Energy Information Agency (EIA),our homes produce 21% of the total of U.S. CO2 emis-sions, behind the transportation (33%) and industri-al (28%) sectors and ahead of the commercial (18%)sector.


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What proof is there?

We have all been experiencing more extremes of weatherrecently. Ever since the world’s scientists realized that theworld was warming, they have been monitoring what hasbeen going on, and the proof is now staring us in the face:

• The average surface temperature of the earth, togetherwith air and sea temperatures, is rising. We can see thisbecause glaciers are retreating, and in some cases disap-pearing altogether.

• The ice caps at the North and South Poles are melting.

• Snow and ice, which for millennia has covered large areasof frozen land, is now rapidly melting.

• Eleven of the last twelve years have been the warmestyears ever since records were kept.

• Storms and floods are increasing in intensity and ferocity,with disastrous consequences. Weather patterns are muchless predictable than they used to be.

• Flowers are blooming earlier, and some migratory birdshave stopped flying toward the tropics in the wintertime.

How will climate change affect me?

The world’s scientists predict that, unless we dramaticallyreduce our CO2 emissions, the temperature of the earth willspiral out of control. This is not going to happen overnight,

I n t r o d u c t i o n l 9


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but things could change far more rapidly than many peopleexpect. The pleasant notion that our winters will just becomemilder and our summers a little warmer is, unfortunately, notwhat is in the cards.

Summer temperatures will continue to rise, becoming life-threatening at times. Seriously heavy rainfall and conse-quently extensive flooding is also expected. Flooding andstorm damage will also become more frequent in coastalcommunities, as sea levels rise and storms increase inferocity.

In the longer term, as the ice sheets continue to melt, wecould face large sea-level rises. The ice sheets melting onGreenland alone will probably raise sea levels anywhere from19 to 23 feet, with obvious huge repercussions for many citiesand areas by or near the coast.

Water supplies will be under duress, with water shortagesbecoming acute in some parts of the world. This lack of waterto both drink and grow crops will, combined with the flood-ing, create food shortages and force people to move. Large-scale migration is expected, placing huge social and politicalpressure on the host countries.


With the ice melting and the sea warming, sea levelsare rising at a rate of about 3 millimeters (0.1 inch) ayear.


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What can I do about it?

Now for the good news — there’s lots you can doMost of the world’s climate scientists believe we have time toprevent climate change spiraling out of control if we act now.Within the next ten years we all need to dramatically reduceour CO2 emissions in order to minimize the impact of climatechange. It won’t be easy — we will need to change ourlifestyles — but it is very achievable. Little things that we cando every day can produce large results.

If we all turned off our TVs and other gadgets that are kept onstandby, for example, we could shut down seventeen powerplants in the U.S., with huge reductions in CO2 emissions.

We are all using more and more energy: keeping our houses sohot that we walk around in short sleeves in the winter, drivingthe car just around the corner to get the Sunday paper, pop-ping on a plane for a long weekend abroad in the sun, buyinggrapes in January that have been flown in from Chile — the list is endless. We need to be more efficient in the way weuse energy.


Our electricity consumption has gone up 70% since1970.


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Simple actions can considerably reduce our energy consump-tion and our energy bills, and help reduce climate change: theless energy we use, the less CO2 is released, which benefits usall. Once we are aware of what’s happening, most of thethings we need to do are just common sense.

We don’t have to shiver in unheated houses with no modernappliances, or sell our cars and go back to horses and carts;we just have to reduce our carbon footprint.

Climate change terms

Carbon footprint Your carbon footprint is the measure of the amount of carbondioxide your activities add to the atmosphere. Surprisingly,many items — from apples to cars — can have a carbon foot-print too, especially if they have been flown thousands ofmiles or if energy has been used in their production. Your pur-chasing choices can make a big difference to your overall car-bon footprint.

Carbon offsettingCan’t I simply pay for somebody to plant a few trees to cancelmy CO2 emissions? While in theory this may seem like a goodidea, this process, known as “carbon offsetting,” is unfortu-nately not the way out of the problem.



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The theory of carbon offsetting is based on the concept ofallowing CO2 to be emitted now, and then reducing it at alater date. Carbon offsetting generally involves paying a com-pany either to invest in renewable energy projects that mayreduce CO2 emissions in the future, or to plant trees that willpossibly take CO2 out of the atmosphere at some future date.But the problem of excess CO2 is here today: we can’t affordto wait, and need to work in the present.

The setting up of these “offsetting” projects creates the per-ception that we can carry on polluting at the rates we current-ly do.



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Home heating


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HOME HEATING

What does heating my home have to do with cli-mate change?

• When coal, gas, or oil are burned to warm your house,carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted into the atmosphere;this is the main cause of climate change.

• Coal, gas, or oil are burned in power plants to producethe electricity used to warm your home.

Less energy used for heating = less CO2

What can I do about it?

NOW . . . • Take charge of your heating — how about turning down

the thermostat by 2ºF — this can reduce your energy con-sumption by 10%.

• Turn radiators off or down in rooms you only use occa-sionally.

We spend up to one-half of our household energybills on keeping our homes warm in winter.


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• Turn down the thermostat when you are going away;40ºF will prevent pipes from bursting in cold weather.

• Set the timer for your heating system to come on about30 minutes before you get up or come home in theevening, and to go off about half an hour before you leavein the morning or go to bed.

• Put on more clothes rather than turning up the heat.

• Draw curtains over windows at night: they provide insu-lation and help to keep the heat in the room. Avoid cover-ing radiators with curtains — they will funnel the heat outthrough the glass of the windows.

LATER . . . • Buy weatherstripping for your doors and windows. It

won’t cost much and will make a big difference. You maynot want to do this in your bathroom or kitchen if youhave problems with condensation. Make sure you stillhave sufficient ventilation.


WARNING — If you are elderly or infirm, try to keep yourroom temperatures at 65ºF at least, and your living roomand bathroom at about 70ºF.

WARNING — Don’t block up air vents or grilles in walls ifyou have an open gas fire, a boiler with an open flue, or asolid-fuel fire or heater. These need sufficient ventilationto burn properly, as otherwise highly poisonous carbonmonoxide gas is released.


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chelsea green guide to climate change preview

Education