Climate Change

Whether you know that global warming is true, or whether you believe it is just some conspiracy theory, there is no denying the detremental effect that we are having on our planet. We need to start caring. It is not so much about what we do when we are uncaring, but the quantity in which it is done. The earth can not recycle 6billion people's mess in her stride.

Of course the opposit is true when you care for the environment: It is not so much the quantity in which it is done, but what is done that counts.

They say that when you go through a major life-change, you are ussually not even aware of it and it is left to those around you to mention it. I have been caring for the environment so long and often it seems like I am doing nothing special, until it is brought to my attention and when I see how many people do nothing at all.

Being in Africa, we are host to some of the world's poorest nations and therefore climate change will hit harder. It has already started. In South Afica, everyone thinks that Global Warming is just a farse (more for their conscience than for lack of proof), but non the less, everyone is always complaining about how unpredictable the weather is lately. Although we are not able to stop it, what we do now determines the degree of bad we will face. I will not however bore you with how awful it could get (mainly because no one can agree on this).

Here are a few simple things that you can implement at home. Tust me, you will be at it for a week or two and then hardly even know you are doing it.

1. Get a geiser blanket to stop your geiser truning cold to quickly.
2. Replace your standard lightbulbs with energy savers. They last longer, save you money, the light is better and they are good for the world.
3. Drive less. Just by reducing the km that you drive by 24 per week, you will save 1980 kg of CO2 per year. Do you grocery shopping in one go, get your kids to carpool, get yourself to carpool, walk to the garage for milk, etc.
4. Do two cold washes instead of a warm ones per week and you could save 800kg of CO2.
5. Recycle (as per previous post). By recycling one half of all glass bottles, plastic, cardboard and newspaper you could save 5280kg of CO2 per year.
6. Eat more white meat. Our redmeat-farms are the troubling cause of far more CO2 emissions than even our cars.
7. Eat one veggie meal a week if you are not already a vegetarian.
8. Plant a tree and keep a few plants in your house. They clean the air and provide beauty for the eye. They can also be great company if you need it :-).
9. Shower to save water (also hot water).
10. Turn of your apliances when not in use and turn of lights when you are not in the room.

10 easy and quick simple ways to make a change without anyone even being fully aware of it. The trick is to take small steps, do not overwhelm yourself and try to do it all at once.