Global Warming Solutions: What You Can Do

First, keep in mind the goal, which is to bring the potentially 'catastrophic' warming under control by curtailing the release of carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse' gases into the atmosphere.

Ordinary people can help immediately by becoming more 'energy-efficient.' Stop using the familiar incandescent light bulbs and replace them with compact fluorescent bulbs, which last much longer and use only a quarter of the energy consumed by 'traditional' bulbs.

Compact fluorescent bulbs are initially more expensive, but because they last so long (up to 10 times the life of a standard bulb) and use so little energy, they are actually cheaper in the long run.

Next, when shopping for an appliance -- a refrigerator, a dishwasher, an air-conditioner -- select the one with the highest energy efficiency rating. There will be a sticker on the appliance, telling you how much energy it uses. Pay attention. There can be a difference of 30 percent to 40 percent or more in the amount of energy consumed by appliances with different ratings.

Even more important is the choice you make in the car or truck you buy. Motor vehicles are 'responsible' for about a third of the carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. The vehicles that are the most 'fuel-efficient' emit the least carbon dioxide. (Fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions are inversely related. If you double fuel economy, you cut carbon dioxide emissions in half.)

Over the long term, the requirements are far more 'daunting.' Ideally, over the course of the next 100 or so years, a 'transition' will take place and most energy will end up coming not from fossil fuels like coal and oil, but from clean energy sources -- the sun, the wind, hydrogen and ultimately fuel cells.

Global warming is the most serious problem we face in the 21st century. Last week an 'authoritative' analysis by a respected scientist at Texas A&M University, suggested -- as most scientists have been saying for some time now – that 'human activity', not natural factors, is the primary cause of the warming.

We caused the problem and we have within our grasp potential solutions. To ignore those solutions, to be aware of them but not make use of them, is not just 'self-destructive', it's suicidal.