Go green and help the environment, and the animals you love!

Carbon dioxide emissions are at an all time high, causing global warming to accelerate faster than ever as heat is trapped in our atmosphere. Cytridiomycosis may be the amphibian's number one enemy right now, but before this deadly fungus spread from Africa, many species still went extinct due to habitat destruction and human expansion. This is still a big threat today, as it is for ALL life. Humans are causing this sad elimination of nature, and just as humans have started it, only humans can turn it around. The more people who help, the better. Do not just sit there and think to yourself that it's all going to go away, not affect you, or someone else can do it. Nothing gets done that way, so stand up and take responsibility! It really isn't difficult. There are many things that can be done to decrease the demand of natural resources and reduce global warming and habitat destruction at the same time. I'll list a few.

-Keep the human population down. If you are going to fool around, do so safely. An unplanned child is another mouth to feed. Only have a child if you are planning to do so, and be reasonable at that. Promote education on this matter in schools.

-Turn the lights off when not in use. This saves thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide.

-Turn off anything and everything that is not in use, including computers, as soon as you're done with it. If your computer needs to be left on for some reason, turn off your monitor.

-Unplug devices that aren't in use, including phone chargers. Although these devices aren't on, they still use a surprising amount of energy just by being plugged into the outlet.

-"If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down." Urine is sterile and will not dirty your toilet, so why waste water by flushing it every time?

-Use cold water to wash your clothes instead of warm or hot water. If you have heavy stains, there are products that can help with that without wasting energy and emitting carbon dioxide to heat water.

-Take showers only as long as you need to. Fresh water is in short supplies these days and we are approaching a water crisis.

-If you are going to use pesticides, use organic ones. Remember, if you don't like bugs in or around your house, a spider is your best friend.

-Don't water your lawn if you can avoid it at all. If you do, do so manually. Automatic sprinklers running while it's raining or still wet is truly unnecessary.

-Keep your house about 4 degrees closer to the temperature outside than you normally do, and keep your windows and doors to the outside shut unless this is your primary method of ventilation to prevent hot or cool air loss which will make your A.C. unit work harder. Remember, in cooler times such as winter, you can always bundle up!

-Use compact fluorescent bulbs. A typical light bulb will use 60 watts. A compact fluorescent bulb will produce even more light at only 15 watts. They cost a little more but they save you money in the long run with an average life span of 10 years.

-If you have the money, get solar panels and use them for your energy and electricity.

-If you have the money, get a monolithic dome house. They are as eco-friendly and energy efficient as they come due to their round insulating design. It takes very little effort to heat or cool a monolithic dome house, and they are virtually indestructible.

-Car pool. Take the bus or subway... Use public transportation. Or better yet, walk or ride your bike where you can.

-Eat to live. Don't live to eat.

-Minimize mowing your lawn. Each time you cut your grass, ozone is released into the lower atmosphere, where it should not be. When you do mow your lawn, do so in the evening or when it's cooler so that conditions for ozone formation aren't as prevalent.

-If you have children, educate them about preserving the environment and the things they can do to help.

-Recycle. Pen and Teller may think this idea is absurd, but do you believe everything you watch? Sure it takes energy. So does dumping your trash in the landfill, but recycling saves valuable resources and space that would otherwise be occupied by landfills.

-Use both sides of the paper! If you need something to just jot down an idea or work a problem, use a piece of paper that has already been used, for instance, in the margins. You'd be surprised how far one piece of paper can go. Less paper used is less trees killed and more wild habitat saved. If you are a student whose teacher will not let you write on both sides of the paper, get involved and make your case! Have other students join in with you to change this! I had this problem when I was in grade school. I fought it and I won. It can be done!

-Don't litter!

-If you see litter, put it where it belongs... in the trash, or recycle container. It won't hurt you to get your hands a little dirty.

-Be resourceful.

-Spread this to people you know!

-Write your governor or local legislation.

-Promote hydrogen fuel. The Hindenburg story is a myth. It wasn't the hydrogen that killed those people, but rather a flammable lead paint that covered the blimp. Most people who died on the Hindenburg jumped to their death. Hydrogen is no more dangerous than gasoline, contrary to popular belief. In fact, hydrogen will not explode and gasoline will! Hydrogen has been tested many times under different circumstances and findings show that it evaporates much faster than gasoline, causing the time it burns during an accident to be much shorter. In effect, this makes it safer, if anything. Hydrogen is very easy to make by electrolysis in damns. It is a recyclable source. Hydrogen in your car + oxygen to ignite = water vapor out! It's that simple! That water vapor just goes back into the atmosphere where it enters the water cycle and rains back down again. The supply is completely reusable and you couldn't go any more green as far as fuel goes! Grass on the other hand (including corn) being used to produce ethanol is inefficient, requires vast fields for its harvest (which requires further habitat destruction), and still releases a few dangerous gases into the air. Hydrogen on the other hand, requires no more space to make than what we already have and is very efficient. A condensed pellet has been invented that can be placed in to a special fuel cell in a car. This condensed hydrogen is enough to keep you going for 5,000 miles in one tank! Don't forget about solar power, wind power, and battery power either though. Remember, if you support ethanol, you support habitat destruction.

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