Global Warming, Personal Health, & Finances

[carpaltunnel]

Like many people I've been doing a LOT of thinking about global warming. I keep coming back to the realization that many of the actions that are good for the environment are good for personal health and finances.

Drive less; walk or bike more = better health & lower expenses.

Consume less electricity: turn off the tv = better mental health, more personal time, less advertisement driven spending, lower electrical bill, lower personal spending.

Eat less meat = lower food bill, improved health.

I know people who may be concerned about global warming but can't talk about it because they work for an indistry that can't admit the problem exists. It seems to me those folks can still take action and explain their conservation behavior as good for their health finances.

[Python]

So-called Global Warming is the biggest con-trick ever conceived by greedy, corrupt governments. It is the biggest excuse ever to impose hefty taxes on ordinary people who are falling for the spin left, right and centre - and no, I do not work for any industry.

This planet has warmed up and cooled down again since time began and it will continue to do so until one day it goes bang. Once in the UK grape vines grew as far north as the Scottish Borders. No way would grapes vines grow there now - too cold. Look back through history and there has been periods when the earth has been hot, then cooled again - e.g. the Ice Age. What concerns me more is the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers, and of course GM crops. I think the consequences of these will be far more damaging long-term than what we think.

Cycling definitely has many benefits. I know since I started using the bike to commute to work I've felt much healthier, not to mention the money I've saved. I also sleep better at nights and actually wake up feeling refreshed in the morning where before when I woke up I felt (and looked) like death warmed up.

I like eating meat - all kinds but also have vegetarian dishes too. We just had one tonight - Cauliflower and Brocolli Mornay. Very tasty and doesn't take long to make.

I'm not into watching a lot of TV. Most of the programmes are rubbish and an insult to my intelligence (although I do admit to being a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation and also Voyager). I prefer to read up about things on the internet or read a good book. I also make greetings cards and I do some dressmaking which keeps me busy. I play several instruments which I like for relaxation. When I'm in the house on my own I usually have the radio or a CD on.

With using my bike for commuting, what money I save by doing that is going towards the cost of my new bike.

[madscot13]

You know, I can't respond to global warming naysayers with out a sore spot in my heart. Speaking as a biologist and a chemist, there is a lot of science out there documenting the effects of increased human emissions.

The ozone layer is a protective covering that blocks the sun's UV rays and therefore the warming of the Earth. Think of this those CFC's we are producing (don't tell me we have stopped because we haven't and besides they stick around for a long time) go into the atmosphere and they start a chain reaction that for every CFC molecule destroys on average 20 billion molecules of ozone.

You may be saying that there is a lot of ozone out there. Well there is less and less and it is beginning to show in frightening ways. We have been able to see a hole in the ozone since 1985, ever since I was born. But we are not just seeing global warming we are feelin global warming. For the one degree change we have felt, the North and South Poles have increased by 8 degrees.

As a result, the Arctic ice is melting, tropical species are moving northwards, forests are migrating, and we are just sitting here.

The government isn't just saying this to make money out of us. The government is being pushed around by firms trying to make money. As a result they have actively denied and suppressed information on global warming.

I know I may just be a crazy kid. I don't do everything I can to prevent Global Warming. But I recognize that I can't do everything. I won't push or force people into the topic and make them feel like bad people for not agreeing. But I am doing my part to learn and to become engaged. Besides who is it hurting if I recycle more, turn off the lights, and ride my bike more?

[mimitabby]

Python,
in my lifetime ihave seen the changes. Maybe where you live there are no
glaciers in retreat, no mountains that used to stay covered with snow all summer that now turn brown, and no ice and tundra.
They have a dog race called Iditarod that nowadays is having trouble finding enough snow to run the race. If you want to ask about global warming, ask an eskimo. their way of life for thousands of years is coming to an end. they are drowning because the ice is too weak to sustain their weight in the winter!

Trees that used to bloom in may are blooming in april. I suppose you didnt' notice the heat in your neck of the woods in the last few years, but our nurserymen did and as a result, they are changing the planting zones in the USA because
you can now grow tropical plants ever more north every year.
And the birds as well are changing their migratory patterns because it's hotter longer and further north.
I don't expect to change your mind, but I agree with the gal that started this thread. Like it or not there is a finite amount of everything on our planet. The best thing we can do for it is to conserve. if we are conserving by not driving cars and riding bikes instead, that means we are burning less fossil fuels,
(of which there is a finite amount) we are putting less gas and filth into the air and we as a result are getting healthier.
Here in Seattle bikes are getting more popular all the time and the more people that see you out on your bike the more people are going to try it again. kind of the 100th monkey effect. If you care about the world that your children's children are going to end up with, think about it. conserve.

[mimitabby]

and another thing. what do scientists have to gain by saying there is global warming? In fact those who hoped to gain are the ones who suppressed the information from the public so they and their fat industrial partners could continue to let their factories spew toxic waste, continue to build cars and homes etc, that are not energy efficient, and they could continue to profit while the average consumer sat fat and ignorant and happy.

[kjay]

And no doubt you've all been hearing about one of the highest producers of methane gas: THE COW!

Here's an excerpt from an article I just read, and there are many articles similar to this.

Bessy’s Stomachs

Methane is the second most significant cause of greenhouse warming, behind carbon dioxide. Bessy, the science cow, and her many brothers and sisters are one of the greatest methane emitters. Bessy’s grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause her to produce methane, which she exhales with every breath. The sheer size of her herds makes a significant contribution to global warming.

Bessy the Science Cow

Bessy and her cow friends are one of the world's greatest methane emitters. Cows exhale methane, which is a byproduct of the digestion of their grassy diet.

Livestock lead rice-growing, gas-flaring, and mining in global emissions of this highly potent greenhouse gas. Options for reducing methane emissions go beyond reducing beef and dairy consumption. These mitigation strategies also include reducing methane emissions from mines, gas production facilities, and landfills. . . .

Can you believe how much this adds up to all over the world???

[Tri Girl]

I just had to respond. This is about to get long-winded, so don't read unless you're bored...
I've recently become much more of a tree-hugging granola eating earth-lover than I was before. After watching "An Inconvenient Truth" (and showing it to my middle school classes) and other documentaries on global warming (i.e. Discovery Channel's Planet Earth), I don't see how anyone cannot believe that we're having an impact on the planet in amazing proportions. Someone last month said to me "I don't believe in global warming" like it's a religion or something. Evidence is evidence and whether you believe it's happening at the rate they're predicting or not, it's still happening. Yes, the Earth goes through cyclical warmings and coolings, but the CO2 that's in the air in the amounts that it is now is not natural. Since the Industrial Revolution, humankind has quickly (in the scope of time) been destroying the planet at an alarming rate. The population explosion has just put so much pressure on the planet. I just don't know how you can deny that...
I'm not boasting, but I've made many minor changes that will make a difference (and if we all did a little it would make a HUGE impact). I've changed all the lightbulbs to cfl's, replaced my broken appliances with Energy Star rated appliances, drive 3-5 less days a week to work, planted a whole lot more greenery on my lawn, started a compost pile, recycle so much that my weekly trash pickup is hardly existent. I do what I can to make things better for future generations. To be selfish about consumption is to be totally ignorant and a pompus a**.
We put a stop to the massive depletion of the ozone layer, we can fix this if we all just give a little and stop being so self-centered.

Anywho- off my soapbox. Wow, sorry I got so carried away. I just have always felt passionately about the environment (and I'm mid-30's, I should've been a hippie).
I agree with you about driving less and consuming less carpaltunnel! You're right on the money!!

[Trek420]

....I keep coming back to the realization that many of the actions that are good for the environment are good for personal health and finances.

Drive less; walk or bike more = better health & lower expenses.

Consume less electricity: turn off the tv = better mental health, more personal time, less advertisement driven spending, lower electrical bill, lower personal spending....

Going back to what I think is the intent of this thread no matter which side of the debate you are on many actions we can take to reduce climate change save money, are healthier, easy to do, some are even fun.

So why not do them?

My tree huggy credential go waaaay back, let's see I was one of a group of students who started one of the first recycling centers in Sonoma county in Jr. High, fast fwd a year later the same group we won a State award for enviornment al education teaching ecology to 4th graders.

Jr high folks...and I'm 51 and climbing. This is not news.

My Mom has lived pretty much in the same Sonoma valley for unpteen 60 some odd years. An astounding gardener, very observant. Take a walk in the country with someone older sometime, they notice

"____ always blooms at this time of year right here, there's fewer now, redwing black birds nest at this time here, there are fewer of them".

Things I'm doing right now;
cfls's throughout, cheaper and last longer
gardening a bit, it's fun, adds curb appeal, cross training
bird feeders fore and aft same as above
energy star appliances, saves me money, get a tax deduction
I'll get dual pane windows same as all above
recycle of course
compost bin, soil is G** awful. I'd go broke buying soil amendment.
ride my bike of course

[KnottedYet]

Don't worry about saving the planet. Yup, the planet will be fine, it's us who're gonna be in trouble.

Comets, asteroids, ice-ages, steamy jungle periods; planet keeps on rollin' along. It's the critters who pay the price.

What's gonna hurt us (but not the planet, the planet will cope) is that this warming is far more abrupt and extreme than "normal" global change. All the niche-refilling and adaptive radiation and migrational change that would normally have plenty of time to keep up just *can't* right now.

50 years of human-initiated warming isn't as sexy or dramatic as 50 minutes of comet collision, but on a geologic scale it might be just as devastating. We've got extinction rates going thru the roof right now. Just look at what's happening to the amphibians.

I'm actually more concerned about living ethically/low impact than I am about global warming. (though I suppose they do tie together) I feel more ashamed knowing that someone in China is living substandard, breathing incredibly polluted air, and working under conditions I would never want to work under; just so I can have my Nikes for cheap. How many child slaves worked to death mining, how many murdered gem smugglers, just to get that pretty diamond necklace from The Shane Co at half it's real value?

(though now you can get "certified" blood-free and slave-labor free diamonds, but I don't really believe it. A metallurgist I know has a titanium wedding ring, because he feels the mining practices for titanium are more ethical than for gold. There are choices to be aware of everywhere.)

[madscot13]

Oh yep I am sorry to be so preachy above.

KnottedYet is right, it is hard to be aware of every decision we make and consider the millions of consequences that they may or may not have. I am just trying to do the best I can, living my life with intention.

[KnottedYet]

I didn't think you were preachy. I'm right there with you, but global warming is beyond my scope of comprehension (despite living with an atmospheric physicist for 10 years) so I look at the more local and ethical effects of my choices for my inspiration. In the long run, these same choices impact global warming, too.

It's all one big interactive piece.

Whatever focus gets a person out of their consumer-media-prescribed rut is a good focus. (Outreach is the toughest part.) One person might ride her bike because it saves her gas money, another might ride hers because it makes her healthy, another might be riding to cut down on greenhouse emissions. Well, all 3 are reaping all 3 benefits. It's just the inspirational focus that is different.

Edit: my "don't worry about the planet" comment was meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek. The planet will continue (maybe as something like Venus, maybe like Europa) but the conditions we create are going to impact life on the planet including ourselves.

[Python]

The Ozone layer is something I'm not convinced about either. Perhaps the hole in the Ozone layer has always been there we just didn't know about it until the advent of space satellites and computers.

I'm more concerned on a local level. In the centre of our town there are so many "traffic calming" schemes that cars end up crawling or sitting stationary - and it stinks. We definitely have too many cars, lorries and buses on the road. Parking space is at a premium - and it's expensive. Getting to work on my bike is so much easier too. It takes a maximum of 16 minutes to get to work as opposed to anything up to 35 minutes in the car. 35 minutes to go 2 1/2 miles Even going home is quicker by bike as in the car at peak periods you end up stuck in a bottle-neck and it can take 45 minutes for the same journey. 20 minutes maximum by bike (and I hope to knock a few minutes of that time as I get fitter). If hubby drove the car from our place of work and I took the bike, I'd have his cup of tea waiting for him by the time he got home LOL.

In my house I switched to energy saving bulbs a long time ago for two reasons. 1. They work out cheaper. 2. They last much longer than conventional bulbs. Using them does have a knock-on effect for the environment too.

It does frequently cross my mind that by using my bike I am helping the environment in a small way but I'm still not convinced about the hype on Global Warming. It is a natural phenomena that's been around since time began. I just think it's being exploited to clobber ordinary people with taxes they can not afford, certainly in this country.

[Veronica]

If you really want to do something for the planet, have fewer children.

Have one or two of your own. If you love kids and want more, adopt or become a foster parent. Volunteer in your local school. There are lots of ways to fill that need for kids w/o actually having them.

If you only have one or two kids, you won't need that huge SUV.

V.

[Python]

I only had two kids - one of each They're grown up now (27 and 20 respectively).

One of our neighbours has five kids. That many kids would drive me nuts!!!

As for 4x4s (SUVs) our government has decided to penalise owners by doubling the road tax to £440 per year. Why? There are other cars that are not 4x4s that use even more fuel. They haven't been penalised. Why not? If "gas guzzlers" are going to be penalised with extra road tax then it should be across the board, not just single out one particular type. Of course, our government ministers zoom around in "gas guzzlers" like Jaguars etc. so it wouldn't be anything to do with that now would it?

Try getting a dialysis machine and everything that goes with it plus luggage, a dog and 3 adults into an ordinary car. Won't fit. If it wasn't for the fact that we have a 4x4 my son would not have been able to visit his Uncle in Scotland or his sister and hubby who also live in Scotland. By penalising 4x4s, our government has penalised people who rely on 4x4s to get around. As it happens last year my son went down with appendicitis and due to the proverbial "c*ck up" between two hospitals ended up with two unnecessary operations and an abdomen full of adhesions so his home dialysis is no more. He now goes to the local renal unit 3 times a week for dialysis. In two weeks time my brother is coming down from Scotland to be tested to see if he might be a suitable live donor for my son. We therefore don't need to rely on the 4x4 any more so I will be selling it very soon (once I dig out the registration document - can't remember where on earth I put it). The proceeds of the sale will pay off the outstanding balance of my new bike and buy a small, economical car which, hopefully after this summer is all we will need.

Although I don't buy the global warming theory, I suppose I do try to help the environment. Another sore point over here is recycling. No doubt a good idea but as usual, our government is going the wrong way about it. We recycle wherever possible. I use a compost bin and recycle cardboard and paper. We are to have the recycling extended in our area to tins and glass later this year. However, in other areas where this is being done, people are being criminalised for putting the wrong paper in the wrong bin. Just recently people were taken to Court because their little boy (only about 3 years old) had put a piece of paper in the wrong bin. Not only were the parents fined but now have a CRIMINAL record. This is so wrong when people committing REAL crimes get off Scot Free. That is not the way to encourage people to recycle. Many people are saying they won't bother now as they fear being criminalised and who can blame them.

What I'd prefer to see would be incentives to recycle. Perhaps recycle X amount and receive a pack of energy saving bulbs or something like that. I think that would definitely encourage people to recycle. Everyone likes a freebie or two, especially useful ones.

Most importantly, though is to encourage people to get out of their cars and cycle or walk. There's no doubting the enormous benefits for both people and the environment.

As far as cycling goes, I'm now completely converted to cycling - even looking ahead to winter and winter clothing.

[northstar]

One reason SUV's are often taxed higher is due to their higher ground weight. A Hummer or a Chevy Suburban does more damage to roads than a Jaguar sports car. They're both paying more in gas taxes because they use more gas than the majority of vehicles, which I doubt most would have a problem with. Heaver vehicles cause more wear and tear on the infrastructure than smaller, lighter vehicles. So I totally support a higher registration on those vehicles. They cause more surface maintenance issues. To be honest, I doubt that most people who drive SUV's have a need to load three adults, a dialysis machine and a dog into it every single day. Many of us need to stop buying vehicles for what they "might need." (I'm not necessarily saying that is your case, Python.) Just because a person hauls the boat to the lake or river once a year and puts it in, doesn't mean they need to drive a vehicle that sucks 14 mpg all year round. Just because they live in an area where it snows, doesn't mean they need four wheel drive. I grew up in southwestern Minnesota on the snowy, wind-whipped prairie, and got by just fine with my front wheel drive Geo Prizm. I personally cannot fathom any reasonable explanation for someone who lives in a city (or really, anywhere else) to drive a Hummer. Unless they are a wilderness safari tour leader on the weekends. Hmm...don't know anyone like that.

On global warming...our honorable (? Ok, not my favorite) congresswoman, Michele Bachmann, got roaring laughter when she used dubya's line, "the jury's still out on global warming" in a debate. That might be out on Youtube somewhere.

Yay for us for getting out of our cars and onto our bikes. Now plant some trees. Spend the money to get the efficient light bulbs and appliances. Lobby your city for pedestrian and bike friendly development. Plant a community garden and get your neighbors together. Put a receiver hitch on your car and pull a small trailer on those days when you need to haul something. Heck, go in on one with some of your neighbors.

Getting off my soapbox now.