The Global Warming Survival Guide : 51 Things You Can Do to Make a Difference

Since Al Gore managed to gain some attention during the previous Oscar ceremony and his documentary feature won 2 awards in the coveted Hollywood inner circle game, GLOBAL WARMING became a hit word and even rumours were spreading that his documentary The Inconvenient Truth had propelled his chance to seek for candidancy for the next presidential election.

Time Magazine ran an issue on the global warming early April and I only managed to read that edition now though bought it earlier. Below are some of the 51 things that I think I can do. What about you? For the remaining unlisted steps, you can browse http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1604877,00.html

1. Change Your Lightbulb
Change to the CFL (compact fluorescent lightbulb) which use 1/4 the electricity than the conventional incandescent bulb and lasts few years longer. The catch? It cost 3-5 times and the 5mg mercury is a worry for disposal.

2. Take Another Look at Vintage Clothes
Well, if all my clothes were branded stuff then 10 years later, it will be vintage clothes. But the reality is that none of them are so this is not relevant to me. What I can do is to prolong the life of my clothing/apparel. I love my Malaysian-made Power sandal which follows me for about 8 years already and gone through the thick and thin in London, Venice, Firenze, Roma, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Saigon and Hanoi.

3. Ride The Bus
OK, I surrender in this point cox in Malaysia I seldom take bus. Oh no... I did take bus in KL (after my car was stolen). However, I don't mind taking bus when I'm not in Malaysia.

4. Open a Window
I prefer natural ventilation than air-cond. My hometown house is non-air-cond hence opening the window is the only way to cool off. The catch? No chance to sleep in nude. :)

5. Pay Your Bills Online
YES. I did this to minimise all the papers. Indeed I did e-filing for my income tax as well.

6. Skip The Steak
I don't like steak as it's a heavy meal though I like "dry fry beef kueh tiao". Meat industry contributes more to the greenhouse gas emission than transportation. Yeah, I know it's quite hard to fathom. BMW causes less global warming than Big Mac? The meat industry emit nitrous oxide in manure (from fertiliser) and methane (the shit/dung lah) which has 23 and 296 times warming effect as great as carbon. Those who loves Kobe beef? Hmm.....

7. Just Say No To Plastic Bags
OK, I will only take minimal plastic bags for my garbage disposal. To avoid excessive intake of plastic bags, I will bring my own bag next time I buy groceries.

8. Shut Off Your Computer
Of course I shut off when I don't use it.

9. Remove The Tie
I don't wear one, how about that?

10. Consume Less, Share More Live Simply
This will be like my new-found resolution. Not easy to do I reckon. Quoting E.F.Schumacher in his book Small Is Beautiful "Amazingly small means leading to extraordinarily satisfying results"

Oh, maybe the last one can be go watch "The Inconvenient Truth"