Worried

I am worried.

I am not a worrier, not usually worried.

My mantra is “I-am-sure-everything-will-work-out-just-fine”.

I like to think I am the epitome of anti-drama and anti-anxiety.

But yet…

I am worried.

 

The unusually wild wind whips my hair in my face and a slight panic rises in me.

I ask the guide why the drop off hut is so far (2 miles) from the face of the glacier, and I am told that 10 years ago, that was where the face of the glacier was. Looking across the vast, flat plain of climate change, I shudder.

I am concerned as I watch the ravaging, raging wildfires grow in intensity and scope.

Measuring the unusually deep Fall snow, my brow furrows.

I see the pictures of the skinny polar bears on tiny, tilting, melting icebergs and my heart hurts.

I watch the intense weather patterns neatly framed by my large living room window and selfishly wonder…

 

Will a time come when these extremes will work their way in and destroy our comfort, physically or mentally or both?

Will we be exposed to Mother Nature’s righteous punishment for destroying Her Earth?

How long until the human race is no longer able to stave off the weather?

I am worried.

But yet…

 

There are things we can do.

 

Can we reverse this inevitable path?

Can we stop this slide into already irreversible damage?

I am not sure, but we should try.

 

Raise Awareness.

We can talk about it. We need to have this conversation. Until I got fixated on the topic of climate change, I was naive and ignorant.

I had no idea that Glacier National Park has gone from 150 glaciers to 26. From 1900 to 1980, a new temperature record was set on average every 13.5 years, but since 1981, it has increased to every 3 years. I was schooled on how Alaska has had its hottest month on record this past August. Look at the graph below, tracking temperature change for the last 1000 years. I am afraid of what it would look like if tracked to 2019.

Let’s have a calm, rational discussion. Let’s agree that even if the details can be argued or manipulated, isn’t it better to err on the side of preserving the Earth?

COMMUNICATE – with your mouth, with how you spend your money, and with your vote.

Walk the conservation walk.

We can conserve- electricity, water, fossil fuels. Start in your own little world.

Take this test to measure your carbon footprint. And then take action.

 

Electricity:

Turn the lights off when you leave a room.

Change your light bulbs to fluorescent ones.

Use an indoor or outdoor clothesline. This is mine and it crisscrosses the ceiling of my laundry room.

Change your electricity to a green energy provider here.

Get solar panels. If you do it before the end of 2019, you will get a 30% tax credit.

When replacing your appliances, choose energy-efficient.

Clean the back of your fridge as dusty coils use 30% more electricity.

Install a smart thermostat. This is mine, and it is controlled from my cell phone. It reverts to saved “away” settings when my cell phone leaves the house and resume the “home” settings once it returns.

Close your chimney damper when not in use.

Lower your thermostat 2 degrees and don a sweater.

Use a power strip with a switch for high drain electronics like TVs, game consoles, cable boxes, DVD players, cell phone chargers, computer chargers. Turn the strip to “off”, as these devices use 40% electricity even when they are not powered on.

Laptops use 75% of the energy that desktops do. When you can, get a laptop.

Have your electric company do an energy check-up. Schedule it in summer or winter, as the extremes in temperature make it easier to see deficiencies. My evaluator showed me with his thermal detection program where my insulation was lacking. He suggested getting this for my drafty attic stairway and it has made a dramatic difference.

 

Water:

Take showers over baths.

Take shorter, cooler showers.

If it’s yellow, let it mellow.

Don’t pre-rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.

Use your dishwasher over washing by hand. Surprisingly, it uses less energy and water.

Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth.

Install a high-efficiency showerhead.

Wash clothes only when truly dirty, make sure loads are full, and wash them in cold water.

Invest in a water collection barrel in dry climates.

 

Fossil Fuels:

Shop online. Studies show that this is more energy-efficient than each of us driving to run our errands.

Use cruise control.

Work from home if possible.

Use Uber and Lyft, especially when you can share rides.

Get a hybrid or an electric car.

Don’t idle your car. If stopped for more than 10 seconds, turn off the engine.

Properly inflate tires for 3% improved gas mileage.

Avoid air travel. (Ugh. Ouch.)

On a map, draw 2 radiuses around your home. Within 2 miles, walk. Within 6 miles, bike. (Or whatever distances you are comfortable with.)

Food

Eat less red meat, cheese, and any animal products. (For me, reducing cheese consumption is the hardest of all the things on this list, along with reducing air travel. I looooooove cheese.)

Choose the right fish. Use this guide. Download their app.

Plant a garden.

 

Reduce

Permanently opt-out of junk mail here.

Print double-sided, use print preview and remove fluff pages.

Pay bills online, set up autopay, and opt-out of paper bills.

Get a roommate- romantic or otherwise.

Have fewer children.

Live in smaller houses.

Drive smaller cars.

 

Reuse

Compost your vegetable waste. The simplest directions are here, or simply throwing your vegetable scraps in a corner of your yard and cover it with leaves. Repeat and layer. Or you can take your compostables to a composter. Find one here.

Buy clothes second hand. Here is my favorite app. You can even search “New with tags” or “Like new”.

Use a travel mug- my fav. Use refillable water bottles- my fav.

 

Recycle

Know your local recycling rules and follow them.

Use recycled paper matches over wood matches or lighters.

Recycle your batteries and cell phones. Find out where here.

 

Conclusion

I hope you are worried too. Not to the point of stomach aches, but significantly concerned.

We should be worried enough to make changes in our consumption of the Earth.

We need to help Her heal and regenerate.

There is no Planet B.