Some Info on Greenhouse Gases

The Earth is surrounded by windows. We call these windows the atmosphere, a layer of air many miles up in the sky. As the sun shines on the Earth, the atmosphere lets the heat reach the ground, then prevents some of it from escaping back into space.

That's all fine. In fact, we need the atmosphere. Without it, the Earth would be as cold and lifeless as the surface of the moon. The problem is that our atmosphere is changing. Some of our favorite activities create gases that pollute the atmosphere. As those gases build up, the atmosphere keeps in too much heat.

What are Greenhouse Gases?

The most important is carbon dioxide, also known as CO₂. All humans and animals produce CO₂ every time we exhale, the but there's nothing we can do about that. The main source of CO₂ is the burning of fossil fuels--coal, oil, and gasoline--and wood.

Another greenhouse gas is nitrogen oxide, which is given off by cars as we drive them and by coal-burning power plants as they generate electricity.

Still another is methane, which is created by rotting plants and by household garbage as it deteriorates in landfills. (Humans and other animals also create methane--everytime we pass gas.)

What is the Effect?

We've been creating all of these gases for a long time. But now we're producing too much of them and they are making the Earth a little hotter. Here's what could happen if average temperatures on Earth increases just a few degrees:

• Some of the ice around the North Pole and the South Pole would melt.
• That melted ice would cause the sea levels to rise.
• People living near sea level could be flooded.
• Some places would become too hot to live in.
• Many farmers' crops would no longer grow.

Some scientists now think that the average temperatures on Earth could rise by between 3 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of the next century. If that happened, water levels could flood much of New York City. In Washington, D.C., water would flood the Lincoln Memorial and nearly reach the Capitol steps!

That's just the beginning. As things got even warmer, hundreds of different living creatures could die and become extinct, while many kinds of pests (such as rats and mosquitoes) could multiply in the warmer climate.

The Earth's Natural Remedies

Some gases are soaked up naturally. Sea water soaks up carbon dioxide, and so do the tiny organisms in the sea called plankton. But because plankton soaks up more CO₂ in colder water, as the Greenhouse Effect warms up the oceans, the plankton will absorb less carbon dioxide.

Plants on land also soak up CO₂, especially the trees in the mighty rainforests of the world. But because trees in the rainforests are being cut down and burned, there are fewer trees to soak up the greenhouse gases. What's worse, the burning of trees actually produces even more CO₂, contributing to the greenhouse problem. In fact, rainforest burning is one of the greatest contributors to the Greenhouse Effect.

What Can You Do?

One big way to help is to cut down on the use of energy. Every time you turn on the lights, open the refrigerator, turn on the heat, or take a ride in the car, you are using energy--electricity, gasoline, and natural gas, for example. The power plants that generate the electricity and the automobile engines that burn gasoline all create vast amounts of CO₂.

Save on Home Energy

Ask youself a few of these questions and be totally honest:

• Have you been told that the best way to save money on heating and cooling expenses in your home is to set your thermostat to 68?
  
  
• Have you been told to wear a sweater in the winter so you don't have to turn the heat up as much?
  
  
• Have you been told to put a fiberglass insulating jacket around your hot water heater to save on water heating costs?

• Have you been told that buying Energy Star rated appliances are a great solution?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you have had the wool pulled over your eyes. These recommendations are not even remotely close to what it takes to Save On Home Energy costs, and I'm about to show you why.

First of all, put your mind at ease. None of my solutions require any advanced education in energy sciences. Nor do they require you to build anything that is exotic, expensive or time consuming. I'm going to reveal to you some of the energy industry's best kept secrets, and recommend a few things that you can't buy at your local hardware store. With this information, you will be able to cut your energy costs dramatically. Oh, and don't worry, I'll tell you where to get the stuff.

Life periodically presents us with "Golden Opportunities." If we take advantage of them, our lives are changed immeasurably. If we ignore them, our lives go on, but change happens more slowly. Save On Home Energy is one of those Golden Opportunities.

I encourage you to seriously consider this offer. If you are ready to change your entire idea of what green living looks like, then the real solution to your high energy costs is available to you now.

The energy experts have told you that conservation can save a little, but that to save more, you have to change your lifestyle. They've also said that to ween us off of our dependence on coal power and natural gas, the cost of energy is going to have to rise in the future.

What I'm going to show you is that your energy costs can go down, right now, and you don't have to change your lifestyle.