It is time to take action

Carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants are collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up.

As we know, global warming is a sign of climate change and our environment got damage. However, the United States Global Change Research Program concludes that climate change also poses unique challenges to human health such as:

• Significant increases in the risk of illness and death related to extreme heat and heat waves are very likely. 
• Some diseases transmitted by food, water, and insects are likely to increase.
• Certain groups, including children, the elderly, and the poor, are most vulnerable to range of climate related health effects.

These effects will result in significant costs to our families and the economy. 

Take Action:

We can each play an important role in stopping climate change click here to help make a difference right now: http://www.nrdc.org/action/ and find more action ideas here: http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/gsteps.asp

By : Hanxiang Yu

Drive less, drive differently

You may think that your efforts in reducing climate changes are useless. But what you don’t know is any little green changes in your life will definitely have impacts on people around you and on earth as well. One of these changes would be driving your car less or even driving it differently.  The truth is that your car produces a high amount of carbon dioxide (CO2).  If you still want to drive you can pay more attention to fuel efficiency in your car which may be the single biggest thing you can do to prevent climate change.  Replacing your gas-guzzling car with a fuel-efficient one is by far the best thing you can do, out of all your choices. Or simply, you can slow down, don't race your car's engine, and watch your usage. All of these save on gas – and of course saving you money- and have a big impact on burning gasoline.

On the other hand, what you can do is to drive less. Walk or ride a bicycle for short trips, or take public transportation for longer ones. Several studies have shown that people who use public transportation are healthier than those who don’t. Moreover, families that use public transportation can save adequate money annually to cover their food costs for the year. Those were simple options to help reducing climate change that will not harm you but would defiantly make your life healthier and save the earth from another perspective. 

Read more:

http://www.clf.org/blog/clean-energy-climate-change/why-driving-less-and-biking-more-celebrates-earth-day-every-day/

We can't count on plants to slow down global warming

      A new study shows that plants growth from CO2 fertilization won't slow global warming. This means that we will not have that get-out-of-jail-free card that some of us were counting on.
      Increased CO2 in the atmosphere actually increased the out-flux of carbon dioxide from the soils. That is, it increased the rate of decomposition. In the long run, the increases in influx and out-flux will essentially balance out. This suggests that there will be little help from the biosphere for us humans-plants will not take up our emissions.
      Therefore, what do we need to do? What do humans need to do? This all goes to show that it is really up to humans, the emitters of greenhouse gases to take the lead on fixing the problem we started. The earlier we take action, the easier it will be.
       Don't you hope your children have a good life? Don't you want to your children notice how blue sky is? Don't you let your children know there are four seasons in one year? Join the action to slow down the climate change. Your little change will bring big difference.



To make a little change on yourself click it please: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/whatucando.htm





By: Hanxiang Yu

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2014/may/09/cant-count-on-plants-slowing-global-warming

Finally an electric car that isn't lame

The Corvette GXE will probably look something like this, only bigger. Kid not included.

Despite all the benefits of electric cars, there is still a pretty sizable stigma against them, especially from car aficionados who like their cars powerful. Electric cars are historically weak, slow, ugly, and all around kind of dorky. Electric cars have names like the Leaf or Volt, which certainly isn't helping their case with car people. Tesla has done a good deal to dissuade some of those preconceptions, but they didn't manage to come up with a name that isn't incredibly lame. Genovation Cars is trying to change this by developing an all-electric Corvette prototype. Dubbed the GXE, the prototype is based on the 2006 Chevy Corvette z06, but instead of its 7.0-liter V8 engine it will have an array of inverters, batteries, and electric motors with the goal of generating 700 horsepower for the car. That promises to deliver a 0-60 mph time of about 3 seconds with the car having a top speed of over 200 miles per hour. These specs would put even the Tesla Model S P85D to shame. The goal is for the Corvette GXE to able to travel for 150 miles on a single charge. The prototype will be debuted at the Electric Vehicle Technology Expo this September in Michigan.

This car would certainly give drivers one less excuse to not drive an electric car. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks a Corvette is lame, so you could finally drive electric in style once this car hits the market. It's about time companies started making stuff that is not only environmentally friendly, but also cool. You no longer have to be a smelly, Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugger in order to help the environment. So, why not?

For more details, including the official press release: http://www.autoblog.com/2015/07/14/genovation-cars-electric-corvette-prototype-official/#slide-141683

If you haven't done so already, please take our climate change survey: http://goo.gl/fw6oby

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Some simple ways to help slow down climate change

The Washington Department of Ecology has a helpful list of simple, little things everyone can do to reduce personal use of fossil fuels and to help slow climate change. Most of it is  common sense and practical (turning off unused appliances, changing lights,  driving less), but some of it may be a bit too idealized (low-flow shower heads are nice in theory, but a little iffy in execution).

There are downsides to low-flow shower heads...

What YOU Can Do - Washington Department of Ecology

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What you can do?

What you can do?

CO2 is a major contributor to climate change, or "global warming. We burn fossil fuels such as gasoline, oil, coal, and natural gas to run our vehicle engines and to heat and light our homes. Burning fossil fuels increases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. How can we slow down climate change? There are several ways. Drive less, weatherproof you home, changes your lights, cut hot water use, adjust your thermostat, turn off power, purchase green power, plant trees and vegetation, recycle and reuse, shop smart. These actions are not hard for each person it is easy to do but it is the key to slow down the climate change. Let us protect our environment by doing little things.

By: Hanxiang Yu