Today is Blog Action Day and as the day approached, I panicked a bit for I haven’t been writing for some time. But this year’s topic, Climate Change and it’s implications on our lives, is so huge, I did not want to pass up the opportunity to include my two cents even if there might only be a few readers left who check my blog out these days.
We all know that there is an enormous amount of information on the web about climate change and it is kind of difficult to figure out where to start and what to say in a short message for your post that hasn’t already been said. But you know what? Despite ALL of the information out there, many of us are still not taking the steps necessary to slow down the process of climate change, let alone stop it. We may even have some ideas that climate change is detrimental but still a lot of us do not have a clear picture of what all this means. So if you are like me and need to see the big picture, check out the Climate time Machine by Nasa which shows Changes in the Global Conditions Over Time in a very easy to understand flash videos.
I also came across a few sites/forums where some people were upset and questioned why US has to be concerned about climatic changes in the rest of the world. That’s such an ignorant position to take as the green house gases are not separated by borders like most countries are. Gases in our atmosphere don’t need regulations or permission to move from one country to another! It’s the same air we all breath, in our homes, and in our offices. Air pollution is a universal problem and each and every one of us has an obligation to do whatever we can do to correct it if we care for a better future for us as well as our future generations.
Look at this video that shows how US isn’t immune to the wrath caused by polluting environment:
And you can download the fact sheet that explains the connection between Climate Change and Flooding.
Now it’s really easy to start feeling that at our individual levels, it’s difficult to do anything about it. In order to make a difference in the rate at which the earth’s atmosphere is polluting, we don’t have to drop our daily routines and do something out of the ordinary. It’s the simplest of things that will eventually make a huge difference in clearing our atmosphere. Simple things like using energy star products, energy efficient cars, recycling and planting some trees (remember we learned in grade school that plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?). If you want to be part of the community while planting trees, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched a worldwide tree planting campaign and pledged to plant 7 billion trees by the end of 2009. They allow people to make online pledges to plant trees. They have already surpassed their original pledge of 7 billion trees. Here are the instructions on how to plant a tree!
I think I am going to start planting some fruit trees as that can produce delicious results – for us as well as for the mother earth.
What action(s) are you going to take to reduce the climate change?
photo by nattu
PS: This post is part of Blog Action Day 2009. Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites bloggers all over the world in posting about the same issue on the same day. It’s aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. It’s not too late to register your blog and be part of “the largest ever social change event on the web.”
Adam
I am sure there are plenty of readers out there Pearl. Everytime you post..be it monthly or weekly I see an update in my stream. When you don’t post as often, it almost insures that you will have more to say…or maybe I am just using that that to justify my own lack of blogging as well.
At least you managed a Blog Action day post, more than I can say for myself.
Do plants some trees Pearl, I ordered about a dozen trees and bushes from http://www.arborday.org/ to include some fruit and nut trees.
I fully believe that the act locally think globally philosophy needs to be practiced and embraced by all of us.