Consider this:

:: When acid rain was falling on parts of the United States--particularly in the Northeast--back in the 1980s, an innovative program helped to clean up the polluted precipitation. Congress put in place a system for buying and selling emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2), the main culprit behind acid rain. Called a cap- and-trade system, it used the power of market forces to help drastically reduce SO2 emissions, while allowing pioneering companies to profit from environmental stewardship. A similar approach can speed up the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

:: In 1996 EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner took the last steps concluding a 25-year Agency effort to phase out lead from gasoline. Lead had been blended with gasoline, primarily to boost octane levels, since the early 1920s. EPA began working to reduce lead emissions soon after its inception, issuing the first reduction standards in 1973. "The elimination of lead from gas is one of the great environmental achievements of all time," Browner said. "Thousands of tons of lead have been removed from the air, and blood levels of lead in our children are down 70 percent."

:: The U.S.--the country that gave the world tobacco--now is leading it away from cigarettes, according to Earth Policy Institute, Washington, DC. After climbing for nearly a century, the number of cigarettes smoked per person in this country peaked at nearly 2,900 in 1976 and began to decline. By 2003 the figure had dropped to 1,545--a fall of 46%.

:: We've solved a global environmental crisis before. The problem of the hole in the stratospheric ozone layer was said to be impossible to fix because the causes were global and the solution required cooperation from every nation in the world. But the United States took the lead--on a biparitisan basis--with a Republican president and a Democratic Congress. We drafted a treaty, secured world-wide agreement on it, and began to eliminate the chemicals that were causing the problem. At last count 183 countries have signed the Montreal Protocol, the global environmental agreement to regulate CFCs.

:: In the South Pole, the presence of air pollution in the ice cores visibly declined not long after passage of the U.S. Clean Air Act in 1970.

 We already know how to deal effectively with global environmental issues!

This site offers resources related to global warming issues.

Alternative Fuels

The most commonly used renewable fuels today are biodiesel and ethanol.
www.afdc.doe.gov/advanced_cgi.shtml

Backyard Wildlife Habitat

Wildlife and habitat around the US are already feeling the impacts of global warming. You can help conserve wildlife, restore habitat, and store carbon by creating a wildlife sanctuary in your backyard.
www.nwl.org/backyard, and
Louisiana Dept. Environmental Quality building backyard habitat

Building and Construction

U. S. buildings comprise more than almost one-half of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. According to architect Edward Mazria, by 2035 about 75% of the building in the United States will be either new or renovated. This represents a tremendous opportunity for the architecture and building professions to help reverse global warming.
architecture2030.org
Global Emergency Teach-in conducted by Architecture 2030 www.2010imperative.org
NPR "Building Greener" broadcast OnPoint Radio

Carbon Footprint

Calculate your impact on the climate in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases your produce.
www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction

Carbon Offsets

When you purchase carbon offsets, you are funding a project that reduces greeenhouse gas emissions elsewhere by, for example, increasing energy efficiency, developing renewable energy, restoring forests, or sequestering carbon in soil.
www.ecobusinesslinks.com

Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX)

A private sector carbon market that is up and running, based on the principle of buying and selling of sulfur dioxide emissions market developed in tthe 1980s. Open to all types of businesses and organizations.
www.chicagoclimatex.com

Climate Science

RealCllimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists. Provides a quick response to developing stories.
www.realclimate.org

Compost

Organic materials rotting in landfills account for about one-third of human-made methane emmissions in the United States. Methane is the most potent of the greenhouse gases--23 times more potent than carbon dioxide in global-warming terms.
www.mastercomposter.com

Computers and Printers

Laptops are 90% more efficient than desktop computers. Inkjet printers consume 90% less energy than laser printers, and printing in color uses more energy than printing in black and white. When possible, choose multi-function devices that print, fax, copy, and scan, as they use less energy than individual machines would.
www.energystar.gov

Fight Global Warming

You may be seeing some of their ads on TV. Also good resource info.
www.fightglobalwarming.com

IPCC Report

A new resource addresses some basic questions about the recent IPCC report in plain language. Launched by the United Nations foundation with help from Fenton Communications to help de-mystify the process.
www.ipccfacts.org

Kyoto Treaty

Many U.S. cities have "ratified" the Kyoto Treaty on their own and are implementing policies to reduce global warming pollution below the levels required by protocol. They sign a US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. In Louisiana these cities are Alexandria and New Orleans.
Cool Cities Campaign
Mayors for Climate Protection

Lighting

Lighting accounts for one-fifth of all the electricity consumed in the United States. If every household in the U.S. substituted even one conventional light bulb with a compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb, it would have the same effect on pollution levels as removing a million cars from the nation's roads.
www.efi.org or www.nolico.com/saveenergy/
This site is tracking bulbs that are replaced. Fun! onebillionbulbs.com
Recycling household lamps: www.nema.org/lamprecycle/household.html

Natural Resource Defense Council

As they say, NRDC - "The Earth's Best Defense."
www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/

Net Metering

In some states, households that produce more electricity than they need for their own use can sell the surplus back to the utility.
www.awea.org/faq/netbdef.html

News Stories about Global Warming, Link TV

National Environmental Trust: for daily press alert headlines.
www.net.org/warming/
Chris Irwin's news blog
Link TV, TV without borders

Paper Waste & Junk Mail

Paper manufacturing is the fourth-most energy-intensive industry, not to mention one of the most polluting and destructive to our forests. It takes an entire forest--more than 500,000 trees--to supply Americans with their Sunday paper each week. Recycle your used papers. Stop unwanted junk mail.
www.newdream.org/junkmail or
www.dmaconsumers.org/offmailinglist.html to remove your name from mailing lists.
www.optoutprescreen.com to get your name removed from the flood of credit card offers.

Renewable Energy Sources

Wind and solar power are among the fastest growing sources of energy, both in the United States and around the world.
www.ases.org (solar) and www.awes.org (wind)
From America's heartland, see www.nativewind.org
and view their PSA.

Ride Share

From commuting to traveling cross-country, these free national services connects travelers.
www.ridester.com; uses an eBay style rating system
www.erideshare.com

Skeptical?

This website is a series by Coby Beck containing responses to the most common skeptical arguments on global warming
gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

Telecommute

If your tired of the time spent in your vehicle fighting traffic, consider telecommuting from home.
www.telcoa.org

Travel Service

An eco-friendly travel service for planning green travel.
www.betterworldclub.com

There are no passengers on spaceship Earth. We are all crew. ~ Marshall McLuhan