HOW TO BE GREEN 4
Essentials cont. from pg. 2
of warmth enabled the
Vikings to land in North
America. However, the
Little Ice Age began right
after that warm spell
and the Vikings' crops
in Greenland, Iceland
and Newfoundland
all failed, forcing the
* people to leave. This
change delayed any
European colonization
of the Americas until a
much later time. When
Europeans did make
another attempt to
settle in America, many
lost their lives when
searching the icy waters
north of Canada for
the Northwest Passage.
During the late 1700s,
meteorologists of the day
marveled at the mild
ness of the winter when
George Washington and
his troops spent the night
at Valley Forge. The tem
perature of the earth's
atmosphere fluctuates
naturally from time to
time, and some might say
that we are simply due
for a natural warm spell
and that human activity
has had little effect on
the overall atmospheric
temperature.
Proponents of climate
change protocol beg to
differ on the issue of the
economic well-being on
the country. They believe
that observing climate
protocol would be useful
to the United States, as it
would bring us in on the
global carbon emissions
trade, which is projected
to become a 5-10 billion
dollar-per-year market.
So how does emissions
trading work? First of all,
universal limits (like the
Kyoto Protocol) are set
on the amount of carbon
emissions that a compa
ny can emit. If a compa
ny cannot meet the stan
dards, it will have to buy
emissions credits. Where
do such credits come
from? If a company's
emissions are under the
limit, they can sell credits
Become More Energy Efficient
to other companies equal
to the difference between
the standard and the
company's lower output.
In this manner, emis
sions will be capped at
a certain level. For every
company that goes over
the limit, there is another
company (or multiple
companies) that make up
for it by staying under
the limit.
Much information on
global climate change
remains to be researched,
which I encourage each
and every person to do.
Global warming is a
problem that will fall into
the hands of our genera
tion, and it is in our best
interest to find out all we
can about it. Whichever
side you choose to
believe, that humans
are or aren't causing
global climate change,
the important thing is
that you know your facts
and are informed in your
beliefs.
Katherine Martin
Contributing Writer
Energy conservation
not only helps you save
the environment but also
helps you save time and
money. David Suzuki, a
Canadian scientist and
environmental activ
ist, shows us that there
are very easy ways you
can start saving energy
today. When you are ngt
using electrical appli
ances, unplug them.
Even though you might
not be using your curl
ing iron or lamp if it is
plugged in, it is using
Katherine Martin
Contributing Writer
In the Triangle, fami
lies might be able to
water their lawns on
certain days, but we still
need to be conscious
about conserving water.
The website Earth 911
suggests simple ways of
conserving water in our
homes. One suggestion
is to avoid flushing the
toilet when it is unneces
sary. Do not use your toi-
energy. Most appli
ances, like TV's, are in
a standby mode and
are still on even though
you do not see a picture.
Wash your clothes with
cold water instead of
hot~it works just as well
and it does not take the
energy to heat the water.
Also, when washing your
clothes, make sure you
just wash them when
you have a full load.
Suzuki suggests that
we use energy-efficient
light bulbs, for they last
a lot longer and use a lot
less energy. He also sug
gests recycling to reduce
let as a trashcan; throw
away Kleenex and insects
instead of flushing them.
Take shorter showers and
turn off the water when
you are brushing your
teeth and washing your
face. Another shower
tip from Earth 911 is
to decrease the water
flow to get a comfort
able temperature instead
of changing the water
temperature. You can
also save water by stor-
emissions from landfills
and eating locally grown
food. These are all easy
steps we can start taking
today to become more
energy efficient. If you
want more tips about
efficiency, check out these
websites:
http://www.davidsuzuki.
org/Climate_Change/
Energy/conservationef-
ficiency.asp
httpV/www.davidsuzuki.
org/Climate_Change/
What_You_Can_Do/at_
home.asp
ing water in the fridge
so it will be cold instead
of letting the water run
until it is cold. We can all
conserve water to help
protect our environment.
For more information,
look at tiiis website:
http://earth911.org/water/
water-conservation/sav-
ing-water-in-the-kitchen-
and-bathroom/
Water Conservation Tips
Iceland Runs on Water
Katherine Martin
Contributing Writer
Iceland is working
to become more envi
ronmentally friendly by
replacing fossil fuels with
water. According to Tim
Hirsch for BBC News,
Iceland currently uses
hydro-electric power
and geo-thermal water
reserves for their electric
and heating needs. Even
though they have already
found some alternatives,
they are still working on
being free of fossil fuels.
Iceland is a very small
country, but it produces
more greenhouse emis
sions per person than
any other country. They
are trying to change this
by using another natural
resource; their plan is to
run an engine by electric
ity that runs off of hydro
gen and oxygen. The
current hurdle is how to
produce the hydrogen.
Professor Bragi Amason
from the University of
Iceland in Reykjavik
proposes splitting water
through the process of
electrolysis to get hydro
gen. Iceland is first going
to convert buses, later
focusing on cars. They
want to be free of fossil
fuels and depend on their
own natural resources.
which will also be better
for our world. For more
information check out
http://news.bbc.co.Uk/l/
hi/sci/tech/1727312.stm