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The main problem with Global Warming is that it covers such a broad span of problems that we don't know where to start. A lot of people are trying many different things, while tons of others think in terms of purchasing expensive gadgets to help reduce greenhouse gases.

Back in the 1980's when we observed the depletion of our ozone layer in earth's stratosphere, we discovered that the compounds of CFCs were to blame. Globally we eliminated CFCs and now we're watching the damage slowly being repaired. Humans can make BIG differences!

Shrinking the size of our personal carbon footprint is no different. My family started by simply cutting our electrical usage. Our April electric bill was $111.49. We made a game of shutting off the things we don't need on a daily basis. In the garage we had three power strips. Now I don't know about most people, but I have never looked at my DVD player or VCR to see what time it was. Actually, I seldom even use these items, and yet, I have both units in my bedroom and livingroom. So I placed the power strip in a hidden area and plugged in all the entertainment items into the strip and shut it off by using the convenient on/off switch. When I'm ready to watch TV or a movie all I do is switch on, and it does not impose my daily life pattern.

When the curly flourescent bulbs first hit the market, I started buying them, and still use the first ones I bought. Yes they are more expensive, however, I've been using them for years without replacing them, not including the electric I saved. Again, in no way has this simple change inconvenienced me, but it has benefitted my wallet. Currently there is a debate about these bulbs not being entirely earth friendly, but I'm sure regular bulbs aren't either and at least the flourescent ones last much longer, so you're not constantly throwing them away and replacing them with new ones, which is probably worse of the environment.

My computer is another matter. I use it for everything, and I have everything hooked up to it. The funny thing is I never thought about how much electric all of those gadgets use! Half the time I don't even use the stuff, so I pay for it to sit there idle while my meter spins merrily outside. I applied the same logic to my two computer systems that I applied to my entertainment system. Speakers, scanners, printers, external DVD burners, external hard drives, and cooling cpu fans. These then needed to be separated depending on the type of power cord used. Anything with a transformer

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