Clarification and Incentives

First off, I’d like to respond to a comment by This Guy on my Religion and the Environment post. Since This Guy was unclear on what I meant for the post, I would like to make sure it is clear for everybody. This Guy pointed out my usage of the term “religious groups.” I guess that was poor wording on my part. By religious groups, I should have said religious denominations. Different denominations are starting to catch on to the green movement. Like I said in my post, the Southern Baptist Convention released a statement geared toward supporting the environmental movement. This Guy also pointed out “expect[ing] something like sermons about going green.” I wish I could find the video I’ve been searching for, but it seems to be lost somewhere on the World Wide Web. The video depicted the preacher and the congregation of Vineyard Boise, a church in Idaho. The preacher gives sermons on environmental friendliness and sustainability and the congregation thoroughly enjoys it and is growing tremendously as evidence. I hope this clears the air This Guy.

I’d like to briefly say something about incentives. I’m pretty sure everyone knows what an incentive is and why you would want one, so I just want to give a few examples of some. From the federal government, the residential community can get a 30% tax credit, up to $1500, for the cost of energy-efficient improvements such as Energy Star products. For residents who install a type of renewable energy resource such as solar heating systems or small wind systems, a 30% tax credit is given. Lastly, an incentive that will end in the next couple of years offers tax credits for purchasing hybrid cars. The amount of tax credit depends on the hybrid vehicle chosen. Extra incentives are also given to plug-in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid conversion kits. Additionally, each state gives out its own incentives. Check out the incentives for your state at http://www.dsireusa.org/.

Green Tip Número Oito (Number 8): Instead of using Bing or Google to fulfill your internet searching fetish, give Blackle a try. Blackle is a search engine that is powered by Google. The screen is almost completely black because it takes more energy to portray a white or light colored screen. The bottom of the page even tells you how many watt hours have been saved (the current count is 1,534,336.519!

Self-Anaylsis Post

From what I can gather, this blog project is not only about the topic we choose, but how we research and convey our arguments for our topic. I learned early on in the project that the research I do and feedback I receive could alter my thoughts on my topic. After a comment about water vapor on my first blog post, I discovered that my preconceived notions were not completely true. Sure, everyone learns that carbon dioxide gas and CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) are bad, and they are, but water vapor is rarely discussed. For me personally, before this blog I had never heard of water vapor as a greenhouse gas, let alone it being the most abundant greenhouse gas. I now know that water vapor is the most abundant yet also the most important greenhouse gas. I’ve learned that water vapor is important to our climate in how Earth is heated and cooled. Also, water vapor is a very naturally occurring gas. In terms of arguments against going green, I’m learning that religious groups are starting to get involved. A friend who is an environmental major told me about a church, Vineyard Boise, which broke the barrier between environmentalism and the church. Once he finished his sermon, the congregation applauded him with a standing ovation. This is proof that the religious world is warming up to the idea of environmentalism, which could catapult the interest and therefore the service put towards going green/global warming. Also, I’ve never really known a lot about paybacks, but I have heard people talking about how going green was so expensive and you would never get your payback. I explored this in some of my previous posts. In terms of a hybrid car, the tax credits that can be received combined with high gas prices and the make and model of the car does create a payback ranging from large to small. Two examples are the Saturn Aura Green Line Hybrid and the Mazda Tribute Hybrid FWD. The Aura has a 19.3 year payback rating while the Tribute has a much lower rating of 1.3 years to payback. It all depends on the car. In my posts, I have researched and included green tips, which are teaching me new ways to do little things to help out the environment. I think these tips can be beneficial to anyone that reads them.

In creating an argument, it’s important to fully research the topic in order to have a full understanding. Also, having done research allows you to provide informative responses to comments that may be placed on your blog.

Is Cap-and-Trade Affective?

Cap-and-trade systems seem like they would be an effective method for reducing emissions affecting global warming. Some members of the United States Congress have tried to introduce the system for implementation to no avail. As I touched on in my analysis post, President Obama plans to implement a cap-and-trade program. In a cap-and-trade program, the government of a country first sets a cap on emissions. Next, credits, or permits, are given to different companies depending on the company’s size, what they do/produce, etc. Lastly, companies that need more credits can buy them from other companies that don’t need all of theirs. Sounds good, right? While supporters of the program are adamant that it would be very effective, some top claims of opposers of the system say that the system will raise energy costs and cause job loss because producers will have to have more money to buy more credits. Another argument is that it won’t really help the environment. The opposition uses information collected from the European Union’s cap-and-trade system. The Wall Street Journal reports that, “utilities companies made windfall profits by simply selling on large numbers of unneeded credits and not passing the savings on to their customers in the form of price cuts.” This is an example of potential raised prices. Figures show that in the first three years of the European Union’s system, emission rose 1.9 percent. Some kind of method needs to be found to lessen emissions of companies all over the world. Cap-and-trade seems to be the preferred option right now, so let’s President Obama’s plan won’t produce negative effects similar to that of the European Union.

Green Tip Hesabu Saba (Number Seven): Short and sweet this post, say no to ATM receipts! "Americans take so many each year that the roll of paper could circle the equator 15 times."

Class Links Post

Here are three of the blogs I've found that I like to visit:

1. The Deal With Global Warming 2 is an informative read for global warming questioners. Being a “green” blogger myself, Iron Man’s blog is interesting to read. Iron Man does a good job of researching and explaining different aspects of global warming. He talks about the argument of whether or not global warming is manmade or natural. I am a believer that global warming is natural but humans are speeding it along, so it’s interesting to read the extreme sides of the issue.

2. All Quiet on the Western Blunt is a blog about the legalization of marijuana. Bud’s Wiser provides an interesting and somewhat convincing argument for said legalization. Not only is Bud’s Wiser’s blog interesting to read, but it is funny and entertaining as well. He included “Cannabis Clips” and “Pot Culture Days” to keep things entertaining. If you’re looking for a fun blog to read, All Quiet on the Western Blunt is the one to go to!

3. One more blog that I find interesting is College, Students, Relationships, and Technology. In this blog, The Tech Man explores the effect technology has on college relationships. This is an interesting blog to me because I myself am in a long-term, long-distance relationship. I have found that technology helps our relationship a lot because we are able to communicate in so many different ways. He explores both sides of technology’s effect on relationships, so it is interesting to see different sides of the argument.

Theory Post

I think one of the biggest arguments in the argument against going green is the cost of it all. There’s no denying that it’s expensive, but it can be argued that it will all pay off in the end. Many states offer incentives, likes tax credits, for people if you take strides toward going green. Light bulbs are an example of a quick payback. "Compact fluorescent light bulbs -- which go for about five times the price of incandescent bulbs -- pay back their extra cost in about four months." A lot of people say that you won’t ever get your payback for hybrid cars, but depending on the price of gas and the price of that certain model, you do get your payback. Federal incentives, high gas prices, and economic driving habits all combine to help you get back a lot of what you put in to the car if not all.

Religion and the Environment

Usually, people tend to assume that going green and religion just doesn’t mix. In today's ever changing world, somebody is bound to take a position. The Southern Baptist Convention released a statement geared toward supporting the environmentalist movement. Pope Benedict XVI is right in line with this group’s decision. While religious groups seem to be in a constant battle against science, the big problem they seem to have with environmentalism seems to be the "worship" that people give to the environment. This doesn't have to be the case. Many religious people can agree that science can help to prove religious beliefs and vice versa. Pope Benedict "regularly points to God’s mandate to man to be a careful custodian of his creation, as a gardener in Eden (Genesis 2:15)." Since the Southern Baptist Convention, which is a huge denomination in the United States, is on board with going green, and the Pope is too, maybe other religions will catch on and see that going green is not so bad. One can only hope.

Green Tip Numero Sei: I think at some point, everyone has heard someone say something along the lines of “turn off the water while you’re brushing your teeth.” Well, that’s a simple way to conserve water (and a personal pet peeve of mine). This is pretty gross and I don’t think it bothers boys as much as girls, but when my brother was in college they told his suite to live by the guidelines, “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.” Gross as it may be, this conserves a lot of water. Every time you flush a toilet, water is wasted. So if you can’t bring yourself to not flush the toilet after you use it, try extra hard to incorporate other green living tips into your daily lifestyle.

Metals to Medals

I was in my car listening to the radio when I heard the DJ talking about the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He wasn't happy with the fact that the medals would be made from reclaimed metal from recycled computer circuit boards and other computer parts. He thought that doing this was taking going green too far. I disagree completely. He argued that we should be able to sacrifice going green to have pure medals, but Olympic medals aren't pure anyway. By International Olympic Committee (IOC) standards, gold and silver medals have to be made of 92.5% silver with gold medals having 6 grams of gold covering. Bronze medals are a mixture of copper and zinc. The 2010 medals will still be mostly composed of the metal that they're supposed to be because their components are found in the computer waste that they’ll be made out of. Putting composition of the medals aside, winning an Olympic medal isn't about what the medal is made of, it's about the hard work, time, and effort that the athletes put into their respective competitions. Using recycled metal for the Olympic medals is a great way to keep the electronic wastes out of landfills and turn it into something useful. Hopefully, taking the step forward to using recycled metals will get the message out to people all over the world that it’s “cool” to recycle.

Green Tip Zahl Fünf (Number Five): I guess I’ll continue on the recycling spiel. Recycling is an easy way to do your part to help out the environment. Throw your bottles, cardboard, newspapers, and paper in your recycling bins so they don’t sit in a landfill. You can also buy a lot of products from recycled materials as well. I’ve used organic makeup in a recycled container and it worked wonderfully. I’ve also got a pair of scissors made from partly recycled materials. Oh, and those plastic bags you’ve got stocked up from Wal-Mart and Target (but not much longer because you bought a reusable bag, right?), most large stores have places to recycle those too. So do your part, reduce, reuse, recycle.

Analysis

There are so many arguments centered around global warming that come from all angles of the spectrum. I try to look at the different spectrums of arguments against global warming and going green. “Polls over the past five years have shown that 40% of people in Britain resolutely refuse to accept that our emissions are changing the climate. In the US it is over 50%.” This is a stunning statistic to me. I would hate to be caught up in a state of confusion on the issue of global warming. Though the evidence outweighs the untruths, companies that have a high impact on the Earth and climate continue to synthesize these false arguments to keep their businesses running and costs lower. These businesses hire scientists to say that global warming isn’t real so they can still have some confused individuals spreading the word that it’s not. Many religious groups seem to be caught up in the issue. Since conservatives generally don’t believe in global warming, religious groups tend not to as well. This is not to say though that all religious groups have the same beliefs on the issue.

It seems like a main argument in the battle against going green deals with the fact that going green is expensive. Though getting started with going green may seem expensive at first, you can save a lot of money in the long run. An example is changing all the light bulbs in your house to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Though they do contain mercury, it is such a small amount that it cannot hurt you if it breaks. CFLs can save you a lot of money on your energy bill. Businesses seem to take the pledge to go green now a days because it’s “trendy.” In the end though, they find that it turns out to be a cost efficient turn. My point is that there IS a point to going green . I read an argument recently about colleges with us young, hip students being radical in this idea of going green. They gave an example of taking away trays in college cafeterias to conserve water. As a college student myself, I have had no problems with my school going trayless.

Our world is affected by global warming. In the 1800’s, Earth’s global temperature was 13.6ºC. Earth’s temperature rose to 14.5ºC by 2007. This + 0.9º difference may not seem like a lot, but it is. This is evidence of global warming. Not only is temperature changing, but other parts of our climate are changing as well. These changes cause and will continue to cause “human destruction.” Through this blog, I’ve already discovered that contrary to what I was taught in school, water vapor is counted as a large part of greenhouse gas emissions, in fact, it is the largest.

Politically speaking, President Obama is working on creating new jobs that deal with the global warming/going green field. Also, he plans to implement a cap and trade program, which can yield both positive and negative results. With US carbon production expected to increase by forty percent, we need a program that actually works to reduce carbon emissions. Cap and trade sounds wonderful in theory, but it can be argued that with companies having to buy permits for more emissions, prices will go up for certain products, such as a twelve cents per gallon increase in gas prices. With the economy in the condition it is, many people simply cannot afford the increases, so the cap and trade plan does not seem feasible. United States legislature is making strides in the fight against global warming. The American Clean Energy and Security Act was passed in the House of Representatives in June. The bill includes sections on renewable electricity standards, emission cuts, emission permits, and investments in emission technology just to name a few things.

Driving: Green Style

In my last post, the green tip was about driving habits, so I thought I would look into global warming/going green as it pertains to vehicles. I drive a 2002, four-wheel drive, six cylinder Ford Escape. Http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ allows you to search for your car and find out estimated miles per gallon, annual fuel cost, carbon footprint and air pollution score for your car. According to the aforementioned website, my car, which I absolutely love, gets about 16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway, which averages out to about 18.4 mpg. With gas at its current rate, it costs me about $3.58 to drive twenty-five miles, totaling an average fuel cost per year of $2152. After I found out all of this information, I found out that I use about 19 barrels of gas per year, my car has a 10.2 carbon footprint (which is a little over half of the scale when compared to other cars), and my air pollution score is two, ten being the best. I get stunned by all of this information more and more each day. I knew my car was no hybrid, but I didn't think it was as bad as it was. While it's simply not feasible to go out and buy a new car, there are always things anyone can do to conserve fuel. Like I said in my last green tip, you can avoid idling in the drive-thru and walk in to order. Another thing to do is avoid being a “lead foot.” I like to drive fast down back roads just like any other person, but statistics show that optimum fuel economy per speed is at 60 mph. You can keep your tires pumped up to keep gas mileage up and carpool or use public transportation to avoid how often you use your own car/gas. These solutions will all help to reduce gas usage, which cuts down on CO2 emissions, which helps, no matter how small, in the fight against global warming.

Green Tip Numéro Quatre: Many large stores like Target or Wal-Mart offer reusable bags to buy for fifty cents to a dollar. Skip the candy bar while you’re waiting in line and buy one of these bags instead. Reusing these bags reduces plastic usage. Also, they’re more durable than plastic bags and they hold more too. Just don’t forget to bring your bag(s) with you when you go shopping!

What is global warming?

I don't remember where exactly I found this picture, because I saved it a long time ago, but I just think it's funny :)

I thought I would go over exactly what global warming is. The website I mentioned in a previous post, www.epa.gov/climatechange, defines it as "an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns. Global warming can occur from a variety of causes, both natural and human induced. In common usage, "global warming" often refers to the warming that can occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities." Some keywords in this definition are climate, natural, human, emission, and greenhouse gases. We usually hear about global warming changing the climate of our atmosphere, and that's true. What we don't usually hear is that global warming is a naturally occuring phenomenon, like an Ice Age (some scientists speculate that global warming will cause an Ice Age). Humans are just helping it along. Our greenhouse gas emissions are speeding up the process. According to an executive report from 2007 looking at information from the pre-industrial era up until 2005, the greenhouse gas percentages of CO2, CH4, and N2O have all risen between eighteen and 148% (CH4). This is why going green is so important. Some people think that there is no use in going green because one little person can't change a thing, but that's wrong. While I was still at home and fussing at my parents for not unplugging their phone chargers, my dad would fuss back at me, telling me that one little charger wouldn't make a difference. If we all have that attitude, nothing really will get done. If we all do our part to be green, we can make a difference.

Green Tip Number 3: Everyone loves a drive-thru. Next time you go through one, park your car and go in to order. Idling in drive-thru lines causes you to use more fuel, which uses up more of Earth's fossil fuels. Also, you'll come out cheaper because you'll be spending less money on gas, not to mention taking a few extra steps toward working off that Big Mac!

Rethinking What I Thought I Knew

I’m going to be honest and start off saying that I’m a little confused about global warming right now. I know that I knew a little bit about global warming, but I’m learning more and becoming shocked and slightly upset. I want to thank Iron Man for leaving the comment on my blog for my first post. He enlightened me to the fact that most of global warming is water vapor. I don’t remember ever being taught this in school. Not wanting to take his word for it without doing a little research of my own, I checked out the Environmental Protection Agency website, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/, specifically the portion on climate change. I searched through frequently asked questions, what you can do, and where you live to name a few good places to look. I found that Iron Man was right. Water vapor IS the most widely found greenhouse gas. This being said, I guess I’m learning early what this project is all about. It is challenging my preconceived notions and I’m sure it will challenge yours as well.

Even though water vapor is the most abundant gas and it occurs naturally with positive and negative effects, it doesn’t mean that we should stop working toward going green. Going green encompasses so many ways to help the environment. Anything we do to help out is wonderful. Conserving energy helps, recycling helps, carpooling helps. We need to learn to stop being selfish and to care about the environment. After all, what’s more important, driving your gas guzzler down the street so you don’t have to walk, or breathing clean air?

Green Tip Number Dos: I hope you took the last tip into account. Even though I’m notorious for unplugging phone chargers and hair dryers, I realized there’s even more things that I can unplug. I’m working on this with you! So in the next couple of weeks, I encourage you to invest in a reusable water bottle. Even if you recycle water bottles, not every part of a bottle can be recycled, so some of it ends up in a landfill. Water bottles can get pretty pricey, but I got mine from Target for only about $10 (it even says think green!). Compared to buying disposable water bottles, you’re going to get your money’s worth pretty easily. Save money and save the environment. Buy a reusable water bottle today!

Go Green!

I remember one day at the cell phone store where I used to work that I plugged up a phone, a Motorola VE20 to be exact, to a wall outlet. When it had completed charging, a little message popped up that said something like "Battery Full. Please unplug charger to conserve energy." I got so excited and rambled on to my customer, who thankfully happened to be a friend of mine (so she didn't think I was a crazy lunatic) and my coworkers in the store how wonderful that was. You see, I am all for going green. Where I come from, aka Hick Town, nobody recycles and no one really knows anything about global warming, let alone cares about it. Through my awesome, House-esque Biology teacher, I saw Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth in the 10th grade. While those who have seen it can probably agree with me in that the movie seems just a tad bit dramatic, you can probably also agree with me that it scared you a little bit. An Inconvenient Truth is what started me loving the environment and thinking about what I can do to help it. Also, it has made me want help others love it too. This whole idea of "going green" is talked about in “modern” areas, but does anyone really know what it entails? Through this blog, I plan to investigate going green and how to do so. Also, I plan to explore arguments against going green. An example of this is the fact that some people don’t see global warming as a real threat, or they don’t see it as real, period. So, these people also don’t see the importance of going green. You get my drift? Basically, I want to explore the argument of the reality of global warming.

Go Green Tip Numero Uno: At the bottom of each of my posts will be a green tip. So look here on every post and really seriously try to work on incorporating it into your daily routine! So here’s the first one-unplug phone chargers, hair dryers, and lamps, etc. when you’re not using them. It helps conserve energy!