Every day you hear something about harmful emissions and the environment. However, what does that really mean to you and me? Does it mean we need to go “cold turkey” on emission-producing products? To be honest, probably not…considering that would be pretty hard to do.

Let’s take a look though at 10 different everyday things that produce emissions.

Electricity: Unless you’ve got solar, wind or some other form of alternative energy you use to power your home/business, then you are probably relying on your local utility. Most local utilities still use fuel-burning plants to produce their electricity.

The burning of those fuels is still one of the main contributing sources of CO2 emissions in the United States.

According to a study done back in 2004, the average person living in the Midwest was 20 times more likely to die from particle matter emissions from power plants than someone living in San Francisco. Over the last 6 years, I wonder how much those numbers have changed…if at all.

Vehicles: It is well known that vehicles contribute a large percentage of the CO2 emissions found in the U.S., especially in larger cities.

But, if you have a hybrid or electric vehicle, you are most likely someone who has decided to cut down on the harmful emissions caused by driving a gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles. For everyone else, if you want to cut down on those emissions you should drive less, use a proven fuel additive or check out other sources of transportation.

Other forms of general transportation: Yes, other forms of transportation such as buses, trains, planes, etc also produce emissions.

The volume of emissions of course depends on the transportation being used. But if you opt for the bus or train rather than driving your car to work, you are pretty much guaranteed to lower your transportation emissions.

Shipping Industry: Now of course cruise ships have their own emissions and the shipping industry is no stranger to CO2 emissions. Did you know that each ship has the potential of emitting over 150,000 tons of CO2 every year? One good thing is that the world’s largest container ship operator (Maersk) has recently announced their commitment to lower their CO2 emissions by 20% over the next 7 years.

Trucking Industry: The U.S. trucking industry alone is estimated to be more than 15 million trucks strong. One of the most heavily traveled areas for truckers in Southern California is the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The pollution, which you can often see blanketing the horizon, is due in part to the trucking/shipping industry.

In an effort to lower the emissions of trucks coming in and out of the port, the Port of Los Angeles Clean Truck Program was put in place. And apparently it has been very successful so far.

The Port of Los Angeles recently reported: “In its first year, the program reduced the rate of port truck emissions by an estimated 70 percent.”

Manufacturing: Aside from the plants which are there to produce electricity and energy, there are many plants used solely for manufacturing. Manufacturers of products such as steel, iron, cement, chemicals, etc. produce a large volume of emissions during the chemical process involved in making their product.

There are also petroleum based products manufactured, including those used in plastics, solvents and lubricants which can dissolve or wear out over time thus generating further emissions.

For those of you who are interested in a more in-depth report on not just manufacturing emissions, but trends in all greenhouse gas emissions, check out this 2010 draft report from the EPA.

Wood-Burning Stoves/Home Heating Oil: Anyone in a cold weather climate (and even some warmer ones as well, has probably used either a wood-burning stove or home heating oil to warm their home during the cold winter months. Both of these methods, while often considered “greener”, still produce emissions.

Now there is nothing quite like a wood-burning stove and during an especially cold winter, home heating oil is sometimes the only feasible option. But you might want to look into how to reduce your emissions and lower your home heating oil costs.

Animals: Well, it’s pretty common knowledge that most animals produce some form of emissions. Cows and dogs, in particular, have recently been singled out for their contribution to harmful emissions.

One study went so far as to say “a medium-size dog leaves a larger ecological footprint than an SUV“.

And did you know a single cow can produce up to 1000 litres of toxic gas each day?

But one positive note is that reports state you can lower those emissions by changing the animal’s diet. Don’t you think the same should hold true for humans as well?

Gardening/Farming Equipment powered by gasoline/diesel: Just as with the cars we drive, any gardening or farming equipment powered by gasoline/diesel is going to produce emissions.

Take this tractor for instance, it produces emissions every time it gets fired up. One cool note though, is that this tractor is hauling a manure spreader. So at least it’s taking the animal waste and putting it to good use. That doesn’t mean one necessarily cancels out the other, but it’s definitely a plus.

Basically, no matter where you live or where you go, there is some form of emission being produced. However that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to panic or try to immediately stop using anything that generates emissions, because that would be fruitless.

However, it is good to know what produces emissions, so you can be more aware of them and adjust your habits and uses accordingly. What everyday things do you use that produce emissions? And do you feel you need to lower your emissions? Why?

In the day-to-day grind of life, we can often get stuck so much on our own problems or worries that we don’t see the world around us. I’m sure everyone, at one point or another, has been convinced that the problem they were dealing with was maybe just a little bigger than it actually was. C’est la vie, right? Well, let me tell you about a few eco-heroes and their actions that hopefully will serve as a reminder to us all that there isn’t much we can’t accomplish when we set our minds to it.

Now I’m sure you’re familiar with a variety of different “celebrity” eco-heroes, but here are a few eco-heroes you may or may not be familiar with:

1) Erik Uebelacker: Erik was the 2009 First Place Winner for the “Action for Nature’s International Young Eco-Hero Awards“.

What’s even better? Erik was just 8 years old when he won in the 8-12 yr old age category!

Erik won for his book, “Butterflies Shouldn’t Wear Shoes” which he decided to write after he learned, in his second grade class, that butterflies taste with their feet.

With a little help from his mom, Erik wrote, illustrated and put together the book.

He then gave the book to his teacher, who requested more copies (as did other people). So they decided to print and sell them in order to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund (since Erik loves animals and wants to help them). He raised $2000 from the sale of his book which he donated to the WWF.

If you want to learn more about Erik or get a copy of his book, you can do so through his website, butterfliesshouldntwearshoes.com

2) Rory Owen Delaney, Producer/Director with Man Bites Dog Films. Whether or not you are familiar with his work with MBD Films, you might know Rory as the guy who wrote, produced, edited and directed the eco-documentary “Toxic Soup“.

Toxic Soup is the story about everyday Americans who are fighting to keep their blood, water and air safe from pollution. It is set to debut at the 2010 Atlanta Film Festival Awards and you can check a preview of it here:

3) Bethe Almeras, The Grass Stain Guru: Bethe will probably tell you right off the bat that she is no eco-hero. But she is the perfect example of an eco-hero in that through both her writing and by example, she encourages others to connect with nature, respect and enjoy nature and just get back outdoors.

Over the past 20 years, she has continued to accomplish this in a fun and creative way.  Bethe is also the co-founder of the National Wildlife Federation’s Earth Hour®.

4) Denise Herzing, Wild Dolphin Project: Denise is sometimes considered to be the Jane Goodall of the sea. Her dolphin project is three-fold: research, education and conservation.

Through her work she “seeks to contribute informed knowledge to help create awareness and preserve the natural environment through appreciation of all the biodiversity on our planet.”

5) Mike Lieberman aka CanarsieBK: Now, Mike is a little like Bethe in that he isn’t doing what he’s doing to try and be a hero. He’s doing it because he honestly wants to help provide you with “Simple Solutions for Living in a Complex World”.

He doesn’t try and preach, he doesn’t tell you it’s all or nothing, he shows you by letting you in on his personal successes (and failures) how you can live a more sustainable, eco-friendly life.

I had the honor of meeting Mike in person when he came out to Southern California (he’s a full-blown New Yorker, by the way). And I have to tell you, he’s about as down to Earth as you can get.

He tells it like it is and has a real heart-felt desire to share his experiences with others and learn from others through their experiences. And he is doing just that. He has a variety of websites including: Urban Organic Gardner, Simply Raw Recipes and 365 Ways to Go Green (all of which can be found on his CanarsieBK.com).

6) Adarsha and Apoorva, a brother/sister team and Founders of Project Jatropha: These teenagers were also winners of the 2009 “Action for Nature’s International Young Eco-Hero Awards” (but in the 14-16 year old category). They decided to create a bio-fuel for India.

Even though the teens live in California, they often spent summers with their grandparents in a small village in India. They knew many of the village farmers grew tobacco for a living, but one of the things they noticed when they were there was pollution coming from the kilns farmers were using to cure their tobacco plants.

In addition, they found out that farmers were getting their firewood (for their kilns) from traders who had been illegally selling it to them, from trees they had cut down in a nearby National Park.

In order resolve this problem the teens started Project Jatropha with assistance from two organizations: an organization that helps farmers in India and a plant biotechnology company. They came up with the solution to use a different plant…a drought resistant plant (Jatropha curcas), which can grow in an arid environment and produce seeds with about 34% oil that can be processed to create high grade fuel. For the rest of their amazing story and great accomplishments, check out their timeline.

There is broad range of eco-heroes here, but each is a hero in their own right. To find out about other selfless heroes, eco or otherwise, check out Explore.org.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: For all you filmmakers out there….Explore has teamed up with HATCH for this year’s HATCHfest in order to honor and recognize a filmmaker whose short film shows a group or individual hero striving for a better world through their selfless acts.

So, if you or anyone you know has created a short film which showcases a cause or individual hero who inspires others, through their selfless acts to make a difference, submissions are now being accepted. Deadline is Thursday, March 25th.

Spread the word and get your favorite eco-hero or eco-cause the recognition they deserve for their truly selfless efforts! You never know, their work (and yours) may help inspire the next generation of eco-heroes.

No matter what your viewpoints are on the environment relating to climate change or global warming, the fact of the matter is we live on a planet that is over 4 billion years old. A planet that has a core temperature estimated to be between 4000 and 7000 degrees Celsius (approx. 7000-12500 degrees Fahrenheit). A planet that had surface temperatures ranging from minus 128.6 degrees F (Antarctica on July 21, 1983) to 136 degrees F (Libya on Sept 13, 1922).

Of course those are extreme temperatures, but there have been many environmental extremes over the years. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

First, did you know the United States experienced 96 weather-related disasters within the last 30 years – each of which caused over $1 billion in damages? The estimated total for these disasters exceeded $700 billion.

The majority of those disasters were caused by tropical storms or hurricanes. Other types of disasters included severe weather, heat waves, non-tropical floods, fires, blizzards, etc.

As far as which states were hit worst; Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina all experienced between 31-35 weather-related disasters each.

WARMEST PLACE ON EARTH: Dallol, Ethiopia is generally referred to as the warmest place on Earth. Yearly temperatures average around 93 degrees F. Some of Dallol’s best known features include Dallol Mountain, its hot springs, salt canyons and salt pillars.

COLDEST INHABITED CITY ON EARTH: While most people consider the Antarctic to be the coldest place on Earth (as it does have the coldest recorded temperature on earth), the coldest year-round inhabited city on Earth is commonly regarded as Oymyakon, Siberia.

The Siberian winters in Oykyakon have gotten as low as -96 degrees F with an average winter temperature of -45 degrees F. While most people can’t even imagine living in temperatures that cold, people in Oykyakon are used to it. Schools don’t even close unless the temperature has reached at least -52 degrees F.

Take a look at this video and see what you think about living in the coldest inhabited place on Earth:

DRIEST PLACE ON EARTH: The Atacama Desert is easily considered the driest place on Earth. With an average rainfall of just 0.04 inches per year, rain is a scarce commodity. Some areas of the desert haven’t reported any rain since 1570!

Not only is the Atacama Desert dry, it is also large. So large (46,000 square miles) that it can be seen from outer space with the naked eye.

This image of Solar Evaporation Ponds in the Atacama Desert was taken by the Expedition 19 crew, back in May 2009, while they were aboard the International Space Station.

WETTEST PLACE ON EARTH: On the other extreme, we have the wettest place on Earth. Many people will tell you it’s Lloro, Columbia with 523.6 inches per year. However, according to the NCDC (National Climatic Data Center), that measurement was only an estimate and the actual wettest place on Earth is pretty close between Mawsynram, India and Mt. Waialeale in Kauai, Hawaii.

Mawsynram is a village in North-Eastern India. Its altitude is about 4600 feet and its highest average precipitation was about 467 inches. Mt. Waialeale on Kauai has an altitude of about 5200 feet with an average yearly precipitation of 444 inches. Its highest, according to the NCDC was 460 inches.

Now I know there are many environmental extremes I could bring up, including the devastating earthquakes in Haiti. the cold extremes being felt across New England and in other places around the world (despite the last decade being the warmest on record) and more. But the real key to remember is the world is constantly changing and while we can’t necessarily take on Mother Nature, we can each do our part to take care of the Earth. What actions are you taking to care for the Earth?