This summer, if you’ve been languishing in your home, cranking up the A/C, and wishing it was already winter, then we have some good and bad news for you. Bad news first: global warming isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and be prepared for more heatwaves. Good news: there’s something you can do about it, and it helps more than just the heat.
This month, we celebrate International Day of Peace, and for this year’s holiday, the United Nations has deemed 2019’s theme “Climate Action for Peace.” If you want to help combat global warming and help promote world peace, we have some great tips for you in this month’s blog.
Social Damage Caused by Climate Change
Global warming causes more than just uncomfortable sweating at home. It also brings significant social effects to everyone worldwide.
The high heat increases the risk for natural disasters like hurricanes, which can destroy whole towns, cities, and families.
Rising sea levels cause more storm damage and also increase the risk of entire islands disappearing as water encroaches on more and more of the land.
Problems like lung issues due to smog and food crop damage are additional issues amongst many possible problems. The heat causes everyone to retreat to the cool air of their apartments for cars, causing increased electricity usage or carbon emissions.
Programmable Thermostats: You’re Missing Out on Savings
Although the situation seems dire, there is much we can all do to help slow global warming, but it will take hard work as well as some convincing of everyone else.
One small way we can help combat global warming is reducing our energy consumption. Aside from not leaving lights or the TV running unnecessarily, we can do things like install programmable thermostats for our HVAC system.
Having a programmable thermostat will save money year-round and aid in fighting global warming since less electricity will be used. It turns out that less than 20% of US homes program their thermostats, so it’s about time we all get on the savings bandwagon!
Using such a thermostat will help keep our homes’ temperature more consistent and comfortable, and also allows less usage of the HVAC while we’re gone since we can set it to turn down the heat right before we get home – an empty home doesn’t need to be ice-cold all day!
Tree Planting For The Earth
If you’d like a more hands-on approach to fighting global warming, pull out a pair of gardening gloves and find a tree to plant. Whether you volunteer to plant trees at a community park or plant some in your backyard, planting trees helps to combat global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide.
Some of our problems today are the result of deforestation around the world–we need trees to survive. Although these tips might seem small in the grand scheme of things they really aren’t.
The more that we can do, and the more that we can convince our family and friends to do, the more we will be able to do for the earth. This year, share the ways you are fighting global warming by participating in the UN’s theme through sharing on social media with the hashtags #PeaceDay and #ClimateAction. You are important in the fight for climate action.