As individuals can we really make a difference in combating global warming?

Question

The 5th of June is World Environment Day, promoted by the United Nations to increase awareness to global climate change.

So as individuals, can we really make a difference ? If so, how ?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

by simply to stop doing what we are doing wrong ,will already have a mayor Impact

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/glo…
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check this interactive globe

Global warming is but a component, in a group of destructive forces at work such as ;deforestation,desertification,soil and water contamination ,irresponsible or wasteful utilization of bio resources , air pollution,Non sustainable Agriculture,over pumping carbon aquifers

all concepts which are definitely not part of the Natural Processes of the Natural world
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WHICH WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR,

The most prolific growth on this planet is part of the day in the mist and most of the time under clouds ,and the least growth is always directly in the sun .
To exchange the one for the other means changing local climates

We are exchanging Nature with Tar , concrete and open spaced mono cultures.

In 300 years half of the planets forests have gone ,and in the last 50 years half of the wet lands ,and rain forests

These Areas absorb heat during the day and release heat at night ,
Cause cloud formation(shade).humidifying the air on the surface as well as releasing excess water at the roots that keep rivers flowing ,which in turn brings more water into the Environment .
As well as contributing to absorbing carbon emissions as do the leaves of the trees together with the oceans .

All in all many factors which directly affect the local Environment .
The loss of the above resulting in rivers drying up ,less rain ,desertification,loss of habitat for many species and so on.
dryer and hotter surface environments which can manifest in different weather patterns such as tornadoes or bush fires

I may be stupid or Naive but somehow i believe that lots of these local environmental changes, can add up to affect global weather, If there are enough of them (and there are)

And then on top of that comes the story of the effects of pollutants released into Nature and especially the Air ,by MAN http://earthissues.multiply.com/photos/a…


A cocktail of events and a lot of the ingredients have MAN written all over them

So it is safe to assume that we should look at ourselves as well for possible improvements ,rectifying Eco errors that are with in our powers.

What is a safer bet
to be or not to be

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Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thank you for all of your ideas and opinions guys, but thank you for all of the links for further reading on the topic.

Answer 2

Every raindrop raises the ocean.

Answer 3

no, worry about important things

Answer 4

Yes, you can say "Global Warming is natural, the Earth warms and cools on its own and all this is a bunch of crap meant to raise taxes and separate hard working people from their money to build a bigger government!"

Then, you can turn your back on the UN's attempt to "increase awareness" which is really code for "fund raiser". All donations will be appreciated of course. Keep your money.

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"Will power"??? I recycle, it isn't like I'm putting my pop cans and bottles in the trash. Oh-hohoho no. I plan to fill my back yard with trees. But this is not because of global warming or the UN. This is because I feel good about recycling and I love trees. So don't just assume that because I don't feel Global Warming is man made that I"m 'lazy' or something, because I'm not, you'd kill for my large yard in the city....oh and you can bite me DJ Smexy.

Answer 5

Not really. When you look at what the likes of China pumps into the atmosphere, recycling the odd newspaper and aluminium can aint gonna make much of a difference

Answer 6

I hate to say it, but not enough people have the will power... it is up to the goverments, particularly USA and China who are both awful with environmentalism, to sort out CO2 emissions, it's also up to constituents to have their borough turned green, I believe that the government should reward mayors and MP's for improving environmentalism in their particular consistuency... that would benefit the world far more.

Answer 7

Enjoy life!
GW is a major hoax.

My 2 cents.

Answer 8

Buy a high mpg car. That will encourage auto-makers to stop making gas hogs.

Your local utility may have a program where you can buy your power (typically a little extra cost) from a renewable clean source. This will help stimulate development of more clean energy plants (bringing down the cost).

Car-pooling can cut the CO2 emissions from driving in 1/2 or less (depending on how many people participate).

Turn thermostat down 2-degrees in winter and air-conditioning up 2-degrees in summer. That can reduce energy consumption 5 - 10%.

Though any individual doing the above will have little effect, 10, 20, or 100 million people doing it would make a huge difference.

Answer 9

Follow the example of your leaders, and fly to Kyoto. I doubt that they cycled and rowed there. If the global population is rising, CO2 emissions cannot go down, unless we all stop breathing.

Source(s):

I want a free world.

Answer 10

Individuals can make a difference if their effort is directed. This is the problem though. You can have a million people who all do something different which they think will help the environment. And the following week , the same again, they all do something different..
Or you can have a million people all do the SAME thing to help the environment. This might make a noticeable difference. Thats when others look up and take notice, and hey, the next week you've got one and a half million doing the SAME thing. (Minority influence). And the following week, maybe 2 million.

I think direction needs to come from central Government. But it needs to be consistent. It might start small, but gain momentum if everybody pulls in the SAME direction.

Answer 11

Yes, all reductions help to some extent.

In the big picture however, we need global CO2 emissions to go down, so concentrations in the air will stabilize (stop rising).

Here are some of the changes in CO2 emission of some other countries which are large contributors, but are not required to meet numerical limitations:

China +47%
India +55%

that's just 1990-2004, 14 years.

The Lieberman Warner bill in the u.S. hoped to reduce emissions by 66% by 2050... over 42 years.

China and U.S. emission rates are nearly the same today. If China continues on this growth path, they will increase emissions by over 150% to 2.5X curernt levels, while the U.S. declines 66% to 34% of current levels. China will have emissions nearly 8X the emissions of the U.S., and it will have a per capita emision rate roughly 2X higher per peson.

And they still won't even discuss entering in a treaty to limit their CO2 emissions.

So sure, we can all play a small role in slightly reducing global CO2 emissions, but we can't compensate for the 80% of the population on this planet who have made no specific comittment to reduce emissions.

In spite of all we know China and India are building another 400+ coal-fired power plants. Our conservation efforts and taxes are inmportant specifically to help offset those impacts, but don't kid yourself about there being any plan to reduce the continued rise in global CO2 emissions.

Most of all, don't talk about the contribution of black soot or the role of population growth. Those might point to developing nations as having even more of a role, and we can't possibly ask them to act responsibly (even the richest of the rich in Hong Kong and Beijing... they get off scott free, so poor people in the U.S. and Europe can foot the bill).

Answer 12

Can you individually figure a way to regulate the sun? If so, you can make a difference.

Answer 13

Will the actual actions of an individual change the effects of global warming - no

Can an individuals actions influence others to also take action, causing large numbers of people to make appropriate changes that will influence global warming - YES

And to those who still say that global warming is a myth - you are truly uninformed. It exists. It has many causes. Humans being a top contributor. Humans are also the only factor WE CAN AFFECT. So stop laughing as you drive your SUV's and have some consideration for our planet and all of its inhabitants - including our future generations. (But feel free not to have any yourselves - it is one way you can improve on our planet)

Answer 14

You will not affect the planet but there is something you can do for human beings. Oppose socialism and centralized governments. Oppose all leftist agenda. They cause waste, are ineffective, and result in a loss of freedom. The countries that are most free generally have the cleanest environments and are free to keep them as clean as possible. Having the government over regulating climate change is like asking the Post Office to regulate your Central Air. It simply won't work.

Answer 15

nope

Answer 16

NO ONE WILL DO ANYTHING BECAUSE ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS THIER SELFS

Answer 17

Yes, we can make a difference in combating global warming even as an individual. by doing all we can to prevent or minimize all the cause of global warming. all things that are big starts from small one's, by being a good example to others, we might even convince them to be like us, an attitude like this can be applied not only in global warming but almost with everythin
g we do..

Answer 18

Not unless we can turn the sun down.

Answer 19

NO!!!!!

Answer 20

If we all work together, maybe we can.

Answer 21

We can all take small steps.
Recycle what you can.
Have your own shopping bags to eliminate all of the plastic bags
Compost your food scraps.
Walk or public transport instead of cars.
Fix leaking taps
Insulate your hot water cylinder.
Insulate the parts of the home that you can, ceiling cavities and under the floor

Answer 22

Making methane producing rubbish dumps and selective dumping can make a huge difference.
Separating waste is a small step in the home and can cause so much good to the world.
Small steps help.

Answer 23

As individuals, meaning people who really care about
global warming. It would definitely have to be a cold day
in Hell. But if all the Nations of the World; 3rd World
Countries included were to ''all get together as one.''
Then we absolutely would & could change the condition
of our Planet for the future of Mankind.

Source(s):

one who cares.

Answer 24

No!! just think that every time you switch on your electric kettle people in other parts of the world have chopped down a tree and lit fires to cook by. You can feel guilty about wasting energy, but do they? I don't think so, after all they have to eat.
The Global warming debate is gaining momentum,thanks to Al Gore and others, but like alot of people I am not convinced , though the destruction of Forrest's concerns me, I cant give a comprehensive answer the best that I can come up with is stated above.

Source(s):

www.nov55.com/gbwn html