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Humans can slow global warming one household at a time. If every homeowner would do only 5 things, global warming would slow down.

Global warming is the process whereby gases like carbon dioxide concentrate in our earth's atmosphere trapping heat. It's this heat that is responsible for warmer temperatures and the melting of our polar ice caps and freshwater glaciers. It's this heat that is responsible for extreme weather patterns and erosion of land, subsequently leading to loss of biological species.

Carbon dioxide has increased in our atmosphere by 10% every 20 years and it's humans that are largely responsible. The higher concentrations of carbon dioxide, also called greenhouse gas, are caused by the burning of fossil fuels, the same fuels we use to run our cars and heat our homes. It's time to take a stand, before it's too late.

The average homeowner or renter can slow down the global warming cycle by following 5 simple steps:

#1 Reduce household waste. Reuse items where possible; choose washable glassware over plastic and paper. Recycle compounds that can be recycled like glass, certain plastics, newspaper and aluminum foil.

#2 Turn down the heat and the air conditioning. Adjust your heat and cooling by only a couple of degrees, down in cold months and up in hot months, and your home will burn less fuel. Be sure to weatherproof your home with weather stripping around windows, doors and inside electrical outlets.

#3 Walk or take a bus. Gas is so expensive today anyway, so opt to walk to the corner store or to the bus stop instead of driving your car. Save the car for longer trips. And avoid idling in traffic when driving to work. Plan your schedule to leave a little earlier or a little later to avoid traffic jams.

#4 Use a cloth bag when grocery shopping. Neither paper nor plastic bags are good options, since both contribute to global warming. It would seem that paper bags are a good option, but trees are used to make paper bags. Trees are also needed to turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. Fewer trees over the past decades have meant more greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. More gases, more global warming.

#5 Turn appliances OFF when not in use. Believe it or not, even a toaster is drawing power when it is sitting unused on the kitchen counter.

If every person were to implement just one of these five simple ways to reduce global warming, our world and its future generations would have a fighting chance.

Learn more about this author, Sheree Zielke.
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