Image by biofriendly

Have you ever wondered what Mother Nature thinks about Global Warming?  There’s always talk about how humans have caused global warming or the various different factors that contribute to global warming, but what does Mother Nature think?

If people cut down the rainforests, is she kind and forgiving or does she strike back with flooding in that same area…flooding that would have been lessened if the rainforests were still intact?  If we waste water, does she redirect rivers and streams thus creating droughts or dry wastelands?  If we demolish fields, trees and streams to build factories, businesses, etc. all in the name of “progress”, does Mother Nature sit back and watch or does she shake with anger and let loose an earthquake?

Every day there is talk about how to deal with global warming/climate change, but I think MNN.com (Mother Nature Network) had a good blog where they talked about how the U.N. Environment Program pointed out, in a recent report, that Nature’s way is best when it comes to controlling the gases responsible for climate change.  True, isn’t it?

If we invested in planting more trees, conserving water, developing eco-systems, etc. rather than just spending money on carbon offsets, “cleaning” coal (how do you clean coal anyway?) or burying carbon emissions back into the Earth (that would tick me off if I was Mother Nature), wouldn’t we all be better off?

Maybe if we did more global activities that gave back to Mother Nature, maybe she would give back more to us.  Maybe if we each took a closer look at what we could do, that would help too.  It’s something to think about the next time you throw trash on the ground, decide not to recycle, leave the water running for 20 minutes, drive rather than walk to the store across the street, etc.  What do you think Mother Nature thinks about Global Warming?

On March 2nd, I wrote a blog “Global Warming: Calculate your own pollution“, where I brought up that before I decided to go out and spend money that I don’t have to pay someone else to offset MY carbon impact, I wanted to check out other biofriendly options I could take.  So, here are a few more ways I found to help offset carbon impact:

a) Turn down the heat in your home and/or increase insulation.  Not only will this help reduce your carbon impact but it will help you save money too.

b) Don’t just turn off appliances and computers, but unplug them when you are done using them too.  Most appliances that remain plugged in continue to use up small amounts of energy.  I heard on the news the other day that billions of dollars are wasted every year in the U.S. due to the fact that companies don’t have their employees properly shut down computers each night.

c) If you are able to, set up a wind turbine or add solar panels to your home.  Doing so can reduce your household carbon impact down to almost zero.  Some alternative energy solutions produce more energy than you can even use, thus allowing you to be able to “sell” your energy back to the power company.

d) Install a filter on your faucet rather than using bottled water.  You save money and it reduces the amount of plastic waste…even if you recycle the bottle.

e) Go plant a tree.  You can do this on your own property or help out a local non-profit to help rebuild or re-beautify your area.  Now through May 31st is Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup, so it’s a good way to help clean up your parks/town by helping to plant a tree or two.

f) Ride your bike and/or walk to places as much as you can.  Getting your car off the road even if for a few hours or a day, helps lower the emissions that are calculated as part of your carbon footprint.  Besides, getting out and getting some exercise is good for you too.

Now, I know it’s April 1st, but these are actual ways you can personally offset your carbon impact without just paying someone to do it for you.  Besides don’t you want to know the biofriendly steps you take ARE in fact offsetting your carbon impact?  What better way to know that than to do it yourself!

Image by biofriendly

On location film shoots have always been a pet-peeve of mine.  It’s not the fact that they are doing shooting on location, I just don’t understand why there is so much unnecessary waste on these film shoots.  Seriously, between the constantly running generators, to the trucks idling in the street, to the trash created from serving meal after meal using plastic or Styrofoam products, to the large “sun” lights running for hours at a time, to the extras and assistants of assistants standing around waiting for the shoot to happen, etc – how much can one location shoot cost, much less affect climate change or global warming?

To be honest, it’s probably more than most production companies are willing to sit down and examine.  Even if they put fuel additives or bio-fuels in their trucks, limited the use of plastic and Styrofoam or used Energy Star lights and appliances, there is still so much more that could be done to lower costs and lower their impact on the environment.

There is one network that announced it is doing something about it…Fox’s “24″ just recently announced it is going green and plans to become the first “carbon neutral” television series.  Apparently they have hired consultants to measure the carbon-dioxide output from production.  They also started using 20% biodiesel in their trucks & generators, have installed motion monitors in bathrooms and kitchens and are paying a little more so California utilities can supply them with wind and solar power.  Per the Global Energy Initiative Data Site, all these changes have resulted in reducing their carbon emissions by 43%.  They then purchased high-quality carbon offsets to cover their remaining and “unavoidable” emissions. 

If one TV show can make such a turn-around regarding climate change and global warming by doing some simple but basic actions, just think how much difference could be made if more TV shows and networks were doing the same.  Now if they would just streamline their location shoots, they’d probably save a lot of money too!