First, go see An Inconvenient Truth. That will provide you with lots of motivation. Then go visit www.climatecrisis.org. The website gives many ideas as to how you can reduce your impact. Some of them we know all too well - more fuel efficient cars, insulate your home better, recycle, etc. etc. But some of them were new thoughts to me - and pretty simple too.

Unplug your cellphone charger that sits plugged in waiting for you to charge your phone.

Even when turned off, things like hairdryers, cell phone chargers and televisions use energy. In fact, the energy used to keep display clocks lit and memory chips working accounts for 5 percent of total domestic energy consumption and spews 18 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year!

Eat less meat.

Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.

Buy locally grown and produced foods

The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.

Buy fresh foods instead of frozen

Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.

Seek out and support local farmers markets

They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. You can find a farmer’s market in your area at the USDA website.

Buy organic foods as much as possible

Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!

For lots more ideas as to how you can make a difference and stop the destruction of our world, visit www.climatecrisis.org

And if you think this is all about Al Gore and his political aspirations, check out Tom Brokaw, the latest convert, when he hosts a program on the Discovery Channel next Sunday (7/16) at 9PM PT. Last I checked, he wasn't running for anything, except retirement!

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive