You
can reduce your personal contribution to global warming and set an example for
others by using less gasoline, oil, and coal in your daily life. Your choices
about energy and transportation are especially crucial.
The
next time you buy a car, choose one that is highly fuel-efficient. Your choice
of vehicle is probably your single most important environmental decision: for
every single gallon of gasoline burned, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide go into the
atmosphere.
Instead of driving alone in your car, join a carpool; take mass transit, walk,
or ride a bike -- anything that reduces the amount of gasoline you burn.
The
next time you buy an appliance, purchase a highly efficient model.
Ask
your local electric or gas utility to perform an energy audit of your house or
apartment. Then put the recommendations into practice.
Develop a plan to reduce daily electricity use around your home. Ask each member
of your household to take responsibility for a different electricity-saving
action.
Encourage Community Action
Make
sure that public buildings are models of energy efficiency and encourage the
incorporation of passive-solar techniques in community construction or
remodeling projects.
Urge
your local library, businesses, and church or synagogue to install bike racks.
Promote community carpooling plans and the construction of bike lanes.
Work
to change local zoning ordinances and other regulations that involve energy use.
Encourage your local electric utilities to promote energy efficiency and the use
of clean, renewable energy sources.
One of the Government Protect Action
Smoky vehicles will have to undergo tests on a tamper-proof
treadmill from mid-1999.
