Teens care about environment: survey
19:56 AEST Tue Mar 24 2009
The vast majority of Australian teenagers say they are concerned about the environment but admit they could do more to help, an online survey reveals.
The survey of 4,012 Australians between the ages of 12 and 18 conducted by the Habbo.com.au website found teenagers are most worried about bushfires, climate change, animal extinction, ozone layer reduction, water shortage and drought and air pollution.
The survey showed 81 per cent of teenagers are concerned about the environment and 85 per cent believe they could be doing more to help the environment.
Seventy per cent surveyed said they actively made an effort to reduce their energy consumption while 97 per cent said they believe recycling is important and 82 per cent said they recycled every time they could.
It found that 65 per cent of teenagers believe the government is not doing enough to help the environment.
Call for refund scheme on bottles
13:37 AEST Thu Mar 13 2008
Family First will introduce legislation to federal parliament that aims to establish a nationwide refund scheme for cans and bottles.
The planned schemes are similar to that operating in South Australia where a five-cent refund applies to containers returned for recycling.
Family First wants a national refund of 10 cents for each container, while the Australian Greens want 20 cents.
Senator Fielding, who was dressed head-to-toe in a bottle costume when he arrived at Parliament House this morning, said the legislation would reduce litter on the streets by 25 per cent.
“There’s a message in this bottle,” Senator Fielding told reporters.
“I am no longer trash, I’m cash.
“We should get the litter off the streets and off the creeks and into recycling – that’s good for the environment and good for the community.
“It’s a win-win and I can’t understand why nationally we don’t have a scheme.”
Greens leader Bob Brown said the refund scheme would also employ thousands of people across the country.
“This is a very good way of recycling and reducing energy because a lot of energy goes into making cans and bottles,” Senator Brown told reporters.
“It will employ tens of thousands of people across Australia.”
新闻摘自：第九台
Global Warming is a dramatically urgent and serious problem. We don’t need to wait for governments to find a solution for this problem: each individual can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things. It’s the only reasonable way to save our planet, before it is too late.
Here is a list of 50 simple things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the Global Warming phenomenon: some of these ideas are at no cost, some other require a little effort or investment but can help you save a lot of money, in the middle-long term!
1. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
We recommend you purchase your CFL bulbs at 1000bulbs.com, they have great deals on both screw-in and plug-in light bulbs.
2. Install a programmable thermostat
Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.
3. Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer
Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.
4. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
5. Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most energy efficient products available.
6. Do not leave appliances on standby
Use the “on/off” function on the machine itself. A TV set that’s switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.
7. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket
You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 50°C.
8. Move your fridge and freezer
Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35ºC, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers.
9. Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly
Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.
10. Don’t let heat escape from your house over a long period
When airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (10ºC or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 ton of CO2 emissions.
11. Replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing
This requires a bit of upfront investment, but will halve the energy lost through windows and pay off in the long term. If you go for the best the market has to offer (wooden-framed double-glazed units with low-emission glass and filled with argon gas), you can even save more than 70% of the energy lost.
12. Get a home energy audit
Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.
13. Cover your pots while cooking
Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!
14. Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full
If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.
15. Take a shower instead of a bath
A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximize the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.
16. Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.
17. Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible
You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.
18. Insulate and weatherize your home
Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. Energy Efficient has more information on how to better insulate your home.
19. Be sure you’re recycling at home
You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.
20. Recycle your organic waste
Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions through the methane is released by decomposing bio-degradable waste. By recycling organic waste or composting it if you have a garden, you can help eliminate this problem! Just make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will cause methane emissions and smell foul.
21. Buy intelligently
One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.
22. Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can
You will also cut down on waste production and energy use… another help against global warming.
23. Reuse your shopping bag
When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.
24. Reduce waste
Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.
25. Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.
26. Switch to green power
In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. In some of these, you can even get refunds by government if you choose to switch to a clean energy producer, and you can also earn money by selling the energy you produce and don’t use for yourself.
27. Buy locally grown and produced foods
The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.
28. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen
Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
29. Seek out and support local farmers markets
They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. Seek farmer’s markets in your area, and go for them.
30. Buy organic foods as much as possible
Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!
31. Eat less meat
Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.
32. Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Look for transit options in your area.
33. Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free service connecting north american commuters and travelers.
34. Don’t leave an empty roof rack on your car
This can increase fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 10% due to wind resistance and the extra weight – removing it is a better idea.
35. Keep your car tuned up
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.
36. Drive carefully and do not waste fuel
You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car mantainance.
37. Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated
Proper tire inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!
38. When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
You can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency on FuelEconomy and on GreenCars websites.
39. Try car sharing
Need a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies – such as Flexcar – offer low emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar.
40. Try telecommuting from home
Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.
41. Fly less
Air travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel carbon emissions by investingin renewable energy projects.
42. Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions
You can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action.
43. Join the virtual march
The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to bring people concerned about global warming together in one place. Add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of other people urging action on this issue.
44. Encourage the switch to renewable energy
Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them. U.S. citizens, take action to break down those barriers with Vote Solar.
45. Protect and conserve forest worldwide
Forests play a critical role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere – deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on saving forests from global warming.
46. Consider the impact of your investments
If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. Check out SocialInvest and Ceres to can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change.
47. Make your city cool
Cities and states around the country have taken action to stop global warming by passing innovative transportation and energy saving legislation. If you’re in the U.S., join the cool cities list.
48. Tell Congress to act
The McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would set a firm limit on carbon dioxide emissions and then use free market incentives to lower costs, promote efficiency and spur innovation. Tell your representative to support it.
49. Make sure your voice is heard!
Americans must have a stronger commitment from their government in order to stop global warming and implement solutions and such a commitment won’t come without a dramatic increase in citizen lobbying for new laws with teeth. Get the facts about U.S. politicians and candidates at Project Vote Smart and The League of Conservation Voters. Make sure your voice is heard by voting!
50. Share this list!
Send this page via e-mail to your friends! Spread this list worldwide and help people doing their part: the more people you will manage to enlighten, the greater YOUR help to save the planet will be (but please take action on first person too)!
芊芊: 求真：我每天会看很多份澳洲的中英文报纸，我喜欢分享，所以有时候我会随手贴上来，不知道会不会占据太多你博客的版位吗？我不知道你的读者喜欢看澳洲的新闻吗？不过，我发现有时候，中英文的新闻有一点差距，不知道是否是翻译的问题。或者，读者们喜欢看什么样的新闻都可以告诉我，我会帮忙贴上来，谢谢！
Have a great day!
Gore pens new book on climate change
Posted Wed Mar 25, 2009 1:34pm AEDT
Nobel Peace Prize winner and former United States vice-president Al Gore will publish a follow-up to his global warming awareness bestseller An Inconvenient Truth in November.
The book will be called Our Choice and will describe solutions to global warming, the environmental crusader and US publisher Rodale said in a statement.
“An Inconvenient Truth reached millions of people with the message that the climate crisis is threatening the future of human civilisation and that it must and can be solved,” Mr Gore said.
“Now that the need for urgent action is even clearer with the alarming new findings of the last three years, it is time for a comprehensive global plan that actually solves the climate crisis. Our Choice will answer that call,” he said.
Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his work to raise awareness about climate change and the same year also won an Academy Award for a documentary based on his slide show lecture and book An Inconvenient Truth.
He said he will donate all proceeds from Our Choice to the Alliance for Climate Protection.
Some of the most significant problems of humankind can only be fundamentally approached as matters of conscience, commitments of the human spirit, and endeavours of whole communities, local and global. –Thomas S. Inui
Inspiration of the Day:
Starting in New Zealand’s remote Chatham Islands, thousands of cities, towns, and landmarks around the world will start to go dark for Earth Hour on Saturday evening. Up to a billion people worldwide are expected to participate in this global voluntary blackout by switching off their lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time. The movement, sponsored by the conservation nonprofit WWF, is designed as a symbolic gesture in support of action against global warming. Now in its third year, Earth Hour has been attracting some high-profile advocates. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently pledged his support for Earth Hour, saying it has the potential to be “the largest demonstration of public concern about climate change ever attempted.
Be The Change:
Join Earth Hour 2009, even if in symbolic support, by turning off your lights on March 28th, 2009 at 8:30 p.m., local time.
THE perils of climate change were not in the mind of William Wardell when he drew up the plans for Government House. However, efficiency was.
It was 1871, and the inspector-general of the Public Works Department was aiming to produce a refined yet practical Italianate design worthy of Victoria’s place at the heart of the southern end of the British Empire.
Some of this efficiency, such as the comfortable flow of air when the mansion is opened, came in handy when Governor David de Kretser moved in three years ago.
Among his first decisions was to commission a sustainability audit of the house. Since then, and despite the number of light globes it takes to fill its multiple chandeliers, its environmental footprint has been slowly receding.
Electricity consumption has been cut and plans are being drawn to increase water harvesting. Gardeners were installing a drip system when The Age visited this week.
Tonight, this greener Government House will, for an hour, turn black as the lights are turned off for Earth Hour.
Dining by candlelight as part of a worldwide act of symbolism is just one minor way that Professor de Kretser is using his position to raise people’s environmental consciousness.
“I doubt if a week would go by where I do not introduce climate change or sustainable development into a speech,” he said.
“I see my role as a scientist looking in on the area, looking and trying to provide my take on issues that I think are important.”
Many of those speeches barely mention climate change. Professor de Kretser prefers to emphasise consumption levels and sustainability. He says even a cursory following of scientific trends shows the planet cannot continue on its current path.
“If we accept the concept that anybody on this planet has the same right to a certain lifestyle, and if we just take India, China and Indonesia, they would require a five-fold increase of energy expenditure to reach a comparable lifestyle to ours. All of that to me adds up to a very degraded planet unless those energy sources are going to come from some source other than coal.
“The obvious conclusion is that we all need to reduce our environmental footprint — especially those of us in the developed world — so those of us in the developing world have the capacity to expand their footprint a bit more.”
Professor de Kretser is attracted to a proposal by academics from the London School of Economics that the West could give a power source to every household in India by 2030 at a cost of about $US120 billion ($A171 billion). In Australia, he backs the rapid introduction of emissions trading to send a message that we are serious about playing our part in a proposed post-Kyoto global climate deal.
“I think we should be going ahead with emissions trading and getting action on it as soon as possible — trying to push the limit, which is obviously a difficult limit to place given the economic circumstances.
“But in some respects an economic downturn can also be an opportunity to relook at what our values are and where we want the future to go.”
Earth Hour aims to reach one billion
19:14 AEST Thu Mar 26 2009
A climate change campaign that began in Australia two years ago with just over two million participants will reach truly global proportions this weekend.
Earth Hour is aiming for one billion participants in 2,400 cities and towns across the globe on Saturday, as people switch off their lights in support of action against catastrophic climate change.
Sydney was where it all began in 2007, with the Opera House the first global icon to get in on the action.
This year Egypt’s Great Pyramids at Giza will also be plunged into darkness alongside other global landmarks including New York’s Empire State Building, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the famed Coca-Cola sign in London’s Piccadilly Circus.
Earth Hour organisers say that by turning off the lights from 8.30pm local time on Saturday, people can send a powerful collective message on the importance of action on climate change.
World leaders are due to meet in the Danish capital of Copenhagen in December to design a new global strategy to fight global warming.
Scientists say a strong agreement must come out of that meeting if the world is to avoid the worst effects of global warming.
The gesture also serves as a reminder to people to think about the way they consume energy and to modify their daily habits to cut down on power consumption.
More than 70 public events have registered to be part of Earth Hour in Australia this year.
As well as sending a message on climate change, Swinburne University astronomer Michael Murphy said the event would return the full beauty of the night sky to Australians, at least for an hour.
“The night sky is one of the last great nature reserves, but most people in Australia can’t see it because of the city lights,” he said, adding Earth Hour sky gazers will have a good chance of spotting a shooting star.
The event’s also a good excuse to indulge in some good old-fashioned romance.
Candle-lit speed dating will be held in most capital cities, while a 700 candle message of “lights off” will be laid out on Sydney’s Coogee Beach.
A list of Earth Hour activities in Australia can be found on the website of the conservation group WWF, which founded the event.
今天开始我们谈谈环保与防止地球暖化的的课题。
先谈谈大家怎么参与“earth hour”– “地球一小时活动”
评论 由 thepplway 求真 on 23/03/2009 at 8:06 上午
Teens care about environment: survey
19:56 AEST Tue Mar 24 2009
The vast majority of Australian teenagers say they are concerned about the environment but admit they could do more to help, an online survey reveals.
The survey of 4,012 Australians between the ages of 12 and 18 conducted by the Habbo.com.au website found teenagers are most worried about bushfires, climate change, animal extinction, ozone layer reduction, water shortage and drought and air pollution.
The survey showed 81 per cent of teenagers are concerned about the environment and 85 per cent believe they could be doing more to help the environment.
Seventy per cent surveyed said they actively made an effort to reduce their energy consumption while 97 per cent said they believe recycling is important and 82 per cent said they recycled every time they could.
It found that 65 per cent of teenagers believe the government is not doing enough to help the environment.
新闻摘自：第九台
评论 由 芊芊 on 24/03/2009 at 7:36 下午
Call for refund scheme on bottles
13:37 AEST Thu Mar 13 2008
Family First will introduce legislation to federal parliament that aims to establish a nationwide refund scheme for cans and bottles.
The planned schemes are similar to that operating in South Australia where a five-cent refund applies to containers returned for recycling.
Family First wants a national refund of 10 cents for each container, while the Australian Greens want 20 cents.
Senator Fielding, who was dressed head-to-toe in a bottle costume when he arrived at Parliament House this morning, said the legislation would reduce litter on the streets by 25 per cent.
“There’s a message in this bottle,” Senator Fielding told reporters.
“I am no longer trash, I’m cash.
“We should get the litter off the streets and off the creeks and into recycling – that’s good for the environment and good for the community.
“It’s a win-win and I can’t understand why nationally we don’t have a scheme.”
Greens leader Bob Brown said the refund scheme would also employ thousands of people across the country.
“This is a very good way of recycling and reducing energy because a lot of energy goes into making cans and bottles,” Senator Brown told reporters.
“It will employ tens of thousands of people across Australia.”
新闻摘自：第九台
评论 由 芊芊 on 24/03/2009 at 7:49 下午
刚刚那则是一年前的“旧闻“，不过可以供参考。。
评论 由 芊芊 on 24/03/2009 at 7:57 下午
我会很努力地尝试参与“地球一小时活动”。
为什么得“很努力”？
唉，我这个puteri lilin,没亮灯还无所谓,没风扇没冷气就要我的命了!
为了唤醒大家的醒觉,为了教育孩子 —- 我当晚就浸泡在冰水里好了!
评论 由 csl on 24/03/2009 at 9:53 下午
同意姐姐牺牲小我一小时完成世界大我一百年，呵呵
评论 由 thepplway 求真 on 24/03/2009 at 10:40 下午
啊，那天我们打羽球呢，我关灯+电脑出门不就可以了。
评论 由 thepplway 求真 on 24/03/2009 at 10:41 下午
啊，那天我们打羽球呢，我关灯+电脑出门不就可以了。《—-
哈哈哈，求真也有天真的一面。
评论 由 啊利 on 25/03/2009 at 12:24 上午
csl姐的建议不错，浸泡在冰水里除了解热，还可感受冰容的情况，
记得加冰。
求真可要记得用萤光的羽毛球，
虾子和朋友讨论要如何处置冰箱???
评论 由 小虾子 on 25/03/2009 at 1:08 上午
Top 50 Things To Do To Stop Global Warming
Global Warming is a dramatically urgent and serious problem. We don’t need to wait for governments to find a solution for this problem: each individual can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things. It’s the only reasonable way to save our planet, before it is too late.
Here is a list of 50 simple things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the Global Warming phenomenon: some of these ideas are at no cost, some other require a little effort or investment but can help you save a lot of money, in the middle-long term!
1. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
We recommend you purchase your CFL bulbs at 1000bulbs.com, they have great deals on both screw-in and plug-in light bulbs.
2. Install a programmable thermostat
Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.
3. Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer
Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.
4. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
5. Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most energy efficient products available.
6. Do not leave appliances on standby
Use the “on/off” function on the machine itself. A TV set that’s switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.
7. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket
You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 50°C.
8. Move your fridge and freezer
Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35ºC, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers.
9. Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly
Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.
10. Don’t let heat escape from your house over a long period
When airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (10ºC or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 ton of CO2 emissions.
11. Replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing
This requires a bit of upfront investment, but will halve the energy lost through windows and pay off in the long term. If you go for the best the market has to offer (wooden-framed double-glazed units with low-emission glass and filled with argon gas), you can even save more than 70% of the energy lost.
12. Get a home energy audit
Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.
13. Cover your pots while cooking
Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!
14. Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full
If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.
15. Take a shower instead of a bath
A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximize the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.
16. Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.
17. Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible
You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.
18. Insulate and weatherize your home
Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. Energy Efficient has more information on how to better insulate your home.
19. Be sure you’re recycling at home
You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.
20. Recycle your organic waste
Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions through the methane is released by decomposing bio-degradable waste. By recycling organic waste or composting it if you have a garden, you can help eliminate this problem! Just make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will cause methane emissions and smell foul.
21. Buy intelligently
One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.
22. Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can
You will also cut down on waste production and energy use… another help against global warming.
23. Reuse your shopping bag
When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.
24. Reduce waste
Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.
25. Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.
26. Switch to green power
In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. In some of these, you can even get refunds by government if you choose to switch to a clean energy producer, and you can also earn money by selling the energy you produce and don’t use for yourself.
27. Buy locally grown and produced foods
The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.
28. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen
Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
29. Seek out and support local farmers markets
They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. Seek farmer’s markets in your area, and go for them.
30. Buy organic foods as much as possible
Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!
31. Eat less meat
Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.
32. Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Look for transit options in your area.
33. Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free service connecting north american commuters and travelers.
34. Don’t leave an empty roof rack on your car
This can increase fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 10% due to wind resistance and the extra weight – removing it is a better idea.
35. Keep your car tuned up
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.
36. Drive carefully and do not waste fuel
You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car mantainance.
37. Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated
Proper tire inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!
38. When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
You can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency on FuelEconomy and on GreenCars websites.
39. Try car sharing
Need a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies – such as Flexcar – offer low emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar.
40. Try telecommuting from home
Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.
41. Fly less
Air travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel carbon emissions by investingin renewable energy projects.
42. Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions
You can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action.
43. Join the virtual march
The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to bring people concerned about global warming together in one place. Add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of other people urging action on this issue.
44. Encourage the switch to renewable energy
Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them. U.S. citizens, take action to break down those barriers with Vote Solar.
45. Protect and conserve forest worldwide
Forests play a critical role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere – deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on saving forests from global warming.
46. Consider the impact of your investments
If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. Check out SocialInvest and Ceres to can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change.
47. Make your city cool
Cities and states around the country have taken action to stop global warming by passing innovative transportation and energy saving legislation. If you’re in the U.S., join the cool cities list.
48. Tell Congress to act
The McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would set a firm limit on carbon dioxide emissions and then use free market incentives to lower costs, promote efficiency and spur innovation. Tell your representative to support it.
49. Make sure your voice is heard!
Americans must have a stronger commitment from their government in order to stop global warming and implement solutions and such a commitment won’t come without a dramatic increase in citizen lobbying for new laws with teeth. Get the facts about U.S. politicians and candidates at Project Vote Smart and The League of Conservation Voters. Make sure your voice is heard by voting!
50. Share this list!
Send this page via e-mail to your friends! Spread this list worldwide and help people doing their part: the more people you will manage to enlighten, the greater YOUR help to save the planet will be (but please take action on first person too)!
注 ：有些可能在大马不会用到，比如 烘干机，暖气，洗碗机等等，仅供参考而已，谢谢！
评论 由 芊芊 on 25/03/2009 at 2:32 下午
求真：
我每天会看很多份澳洲的中英文报纸，我喜欢分享，所以有时候我会随手贴上来，不知道会不会占据太多你博客的版位吗？
我不知道你的读者喜欢看澳洲的新闻吗？
不过，我发现有时候，中英文的新闻有一点差距，不知道是否是翻译的问题。
或者，读者们喜欢看什么样的新闻都可以告诉我，我会帮忙贴上来，谢谢！
Have a great day!
评论 由 芊芊 on 26/03/2009 at 11:43 上午
姐姐求之不得呢，学习免费的东西，增广见闻、广开言路！
评论 由 thepplway 求真 on 26/03/2009 at 12:01 下午
Gore pens new book on climate change
Posted Wed Mar 25, 2009 1:34pm AEDT
Nobel Peace Prize winner and former United States vice-president Al Gore will publish a follow-up to his global warming awareness bestseller An Inconvenient Truth in November.
The book will be called Our Choice and will describe solutions to global warming, the environmental crusader and US publisher Rodale said in a statement.
“An Inconvenient Truth reached millions of people with the message that the climate crisis is threatening the future of human civilisation and that it must and can be solved,” Mr Gore said.
“Now that the need for urgent action is even clearer with the alarming new findings of the last three years, it is time for a comprehensive global plan that actually solves the climate crisis. Our Choice will answer that call,” he said.
Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his work to raise awareness about climate change and the same year also won an Academy Award for a documentary based on his slide show lecture and book An Inconvenient Truth.
He said he will donate all proceeds from Our Choice to the Alliance for Climate Protection.
摘自：ABC News
评论 由 芊芊 on 26/03/2009 at 6:54 下午
Some of the most significant problems of humankind can only be fundamentally approached as matters of conscience, commitments of the human spirit, and endeavours of whole communities, local and global. –Thomas S. Inui
Inspiration of the Day:
Starting in New Zealand’s remote Chatham Islands, thousands of cities, towns, and landmarks around the world will start to go dark for Earth Hour on Saturday evening. Up to a billion people worldwide are expected to participate in this global voluntary blackout by switching off their lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time. The movement, sponsored by the conservation nonprofit WWF, is designed as a symbolic gesture in support of action against global warming. Now in its third year, Earth Hour has been attracting some high-profile advocates. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently pledged his support for Earth Hour, saying it has the potential to be “the largest demonstration of public concern about climate change ever attempted.
Be The Change:
Join Earth Hour 2009, even if in symbolic support, by turning off your lights on March 28th, 2009 at 8:30 p.m., local time.
评论 由 芊芊 on 28/03/2009 at 1:15 下午
Governor to dine by candles in greener house
THE perils of climate change were not in the mind of William Wardell when he drew up the plans for Government House. However, efficiency was.
It was 1871, and the inspector-general of the Public Works Department was aiming to produce a refined yet practical Italianate design worthy of Victoria’s place at the heart of the southern end of the British Empire.
Some of this efficiency, such as the comfortable flow of air when the mansion is opened, came in handy when Governor David de Kretser moved in three years ago.
Among his first decisions was to commission a sustainability audit of the house. Since then, and despite the number of light globes it takes to fill its multiple chandeliers, its environmental footprint has been slowly receding.
Electricity consumption has been cut and plans are being drawn to increase water harvesting. Gardeners were installing a drip system when The Age visited this week.
Tonight, this greener Government House will, for an hour, turn black as the lights are turned off for Earth Hour.
Dining by candlelight as part of a worldwide act of symbolism is just one minor way that Professor de Kretser is using his position to raise people’s environmental consciousness.
“I doubt if a week would go by where I do not introduce climate change or sustainable development into a speech,” he said.
“I see my role as a scientist looking in on the area, looking and trying to provide my take on issues that I think are important.”
Many of those speeches barely mention climate change. Professor de Kretser prefers to emphasise consumption levels and sustainability. He says even a cursory following of scientific trends shows the planet cannot continue on its current path.
“If we accept the concept that anybody on this planet has the same right to a certain lifestyle, and if we just take India, China and Indonesia, they would require a five-fold increase of energy expenditure to reach a comparable lifestyle to ours. All of that to me adds up to a very degraded planet unless those energy sources are going to come from some source other than coal.
“The obvious conclusion is that we all need to reduce our environmental footprint — especially those of us in the developed world — so those of us in the developing world have the capacity to expand their footprint a bit more.”
Professor de Kretser is attracted to a proposal by academics from the London School of Economics that the West could give a power source to every household in India by 2030 at a cost of about $US120 billion ($A171 billion). In Australia, he backs the rapid introduction of emissions trading to send a message that we are serious about playing our part in a proposed post-Kyoto global climate deal.
“I think we should be going ahead with emissions trading and getting action on it as soon as possible — trying to push the limit, which is obviously a difficult limit to place given the economic circumstances.
“But in some respects an economic downturn can also be an opportunity to relook at what our values are and where we want the future to go.”
Extracted from: The Age Newspaper
评论 由 芊芊 on 28/03/2009 at 1:33 下午
Earth Hour aims to reach one billion
19:14 AEST Thu Mar 26 2009
A climate change campaign that began in Australia two years ago with just over two million participants will reach truly global proportions this weekend.
the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the famed Coca-Cola sign in London’s Piccadilly Circus.
Earth Hour is aiming for one billion participants in 2,400 cities and towns across the globe on Saturday, as people switch off their lights in support of action against catastrophic climate change.
Sydney was where it all began in 2007, with the Opera House the first global icon to get in on the action.
This year Egypt’s Great Pyramids at Giza will also be plunged into darkness alongside other global landmarks including New York’s Empire State Building, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur,
Earth Hour organisers say that by turning off the lights from 8.30pm local time on Saturday, people can send a powerful collective message on the importance of action on climate change.
World leaders are due to meet in the Danish capital of Copenhagen in December to design a new global strategy to fight global warming.
Scientists say a strong agreement must come out of that meeting if the world is to avoid the worst effects of global warming.
The gesture also serves as a reminder to people to think about the way they consume energy and to modify their daily habits to cut down on power consumption.
More than 70 public events have registered to be part of Earth Hour in Australia this year.
As well as sending a message on climate change, Swinburne University astronomer Michael Murphy said the event would return the full beauty of the night sky to Australians, at least for an hour.
“The night sky is one of the last great nature reserves, but most people in Australia can’t see it because of the city lights,” he said, adding Earth Hour sky gazers will have a good chance of spotting a shooting star.
The event’s also a good excuse to indulge in some good old-fashioned romance.
Candle-lit speed dating will be held in most capital cities, while a 700 candle message of “lights off” will be laid out on Sydney’s Coogee Beach.
A list of Earth Hour activities in Australia can be found on the website of the conservation group WWF, which founded the event.
Extracted from: Nine News
评论 由 芊芊 on 28/03/2009 at 2:02 下午
Hi,
Everything dynamic and very positively!
Thanks
Jinny
评论 由 Jinny on 05/09/2009 at 1:07 上午