Save Your Earth

Watch the DVD An Inconvenient Truth.

http://www.climatecrisis.net/

REDUCE YOUR IMPACT AT HOME

Most emissions from homes are from the fossil fuels burned to generate electricity and heat. By using energy more efficiently at home, you can reduce your emissions and lower your energy bills by more than 30%.

In addition, since agriculture is responsible for about a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, you can reduce your emissions simply by watching what you eat.

Here’s how:

Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. If every family in the U.S. made the switch, we’d reduce carbon dioxide by more than 90 billion pounds! You can purchase CFLs online from the Energy Federation.

Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer
Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling.

Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

nstall a programmable thermostat
Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.

Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most efficient models. If each household in the U.S. replaced its existing appliances with the most efficient models available, we’d eliminate 175 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year!

Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket
You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.

Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible
You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.



Turn off electronic devices you’re not using
Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you’re not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Unplug electronics from the wall when you’re not using them
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!

Only run your dishwasher when there’s a full load and use the energy-saving setting
You can save 100 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

Insulate and weatherize your home
Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. The Consumer Federation of America has more information on how to better insulate your home.

Be sure you’re recycling at home
You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates. Earth 911 can help you find recycling resources in your area.


Buy recycled paper products
It takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.

Get a home energy audit
Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.

Switch to green power
In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. The Green Power Network is a good place to start to figure out what’s available in your area.

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!

Avoid heavily packaged products
You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.

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.

REDUCE YOUR IMPACT WHILE ON THE MOVE

Almost one third of the carbon dioxide produced in the United States comes from our cars, trucks and airplanes. Here are some simple, practical things you can do to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide you produce while on the move.

Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Click here to find transit options in your area.

Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free national service connecting commuters and travelers.

Keep your car tuned up
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated

REDUCE YOUR IMPACT WHILE ON THE MOVE

Almost one third of the carbon dioxide produced in the United States comes from our cars, trucks and airplanes. Here are some simple, practical things you can do to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide you produce while on the move.

Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Click here to find transit options in your area.

Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free national service connecting commuters and travelers.

Keep your car tuned up
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated

HELP BRING ABOUT CHANGE LOCALLY, NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY

Your actions to reduce global warming can extend beyond how you personally reduce your own emissions. We all have influence on our schools, workplaces, businesses, and on society through how we make purchases, invest, take action, and vote. Here are some ways you can have a positive effect on global warming.

Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions
You can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action. Download our toolkits for schools and businesses to take action outside of your home.

Join the virtual march
The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to bring all Americans concerned about global warming together in one place. Add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of other Americans urging action on this issue.

Encourage the switch to renewable energy
Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them. Take action to break down those barriers with Vote Solar.

Protect and conserve forest worldwide
Forests play a critial role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere -- deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on forests and global warming.

HELP BRING ABOUT CHANGE LOCALLY, NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY

Consider the impact of your investments
If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. You can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change here and here.

Make your city cool
Cities and states around the country have taken action to stop global warming by passing innovative transportation and energy saving legislation. 194 cities nationwide representing over 40 million people have made this pledge as part of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Find out how to make your city a cool city.

Tell Congress to act
The McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would set a firm limit on carbon dioxide emissions and then use free market incentives to lower costs, promote efficiency and spur innovation. Tell your representative to support it.

Make sure your voice is heard!
We must have a stronger commitment from our government in order to stop global warming and implement solutions and such a commitment won’t come without a dramatic increase in citizen lobbying for new laws with teeth. Get the facts about U.S. politicians and candidates at Project Vote Smart and The League of Conservation Voters. Make sure your voice is heard by voting!

Chinese American veterans' service often gets overlooked

By MIKE BARBER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

From left, Chinese American veterans Dick Kay, Jimmy Chinn, Bill Sing and Bill Chin gather Thursday at Hing Hay Park to share their experiences. In Seattle, 14 Chinese American vets came home from World War II and founded the American Legion's Cathay Post 186. (November 11, 2005)

The air raid siren sounded as 26-year-old Arthur Chin lay helpless in a full-body cast, trapped in China by severe burns suffered when he was shot down by a Japanese plane.

It was late 1939. Japan and China were at war. Servants were rushing Chin's wife, Eva, and the couple's two children to the safety of the cellar. Eva, however, refused to leave her husband's side.

Then it was over. With the smell of cordite, dust and smoke still in the air, servants and children made their way upstairs. Eva lay across Arthur, limp. A small piece of shrapnel had pierced her body, killing her.

"She gave her life for him," Susie Ennis, 59, Arthur Chin's daughter by a second wife, says from her home in California. "Each of us girls in the family, our middle name is Eva."

The tale of love and war that Arthur Chin lived illuminates the often-overlooked contributions of Chinese American veterans. Chin was the first American "ace" fighter pilot, but it took 50 years for that recognition.

In Seattle, 14 Chinese American veterans came home from World War II and founded the American Legion's Cathay Post 186 in Chinatown. Sixty years later, they are still some who keep their sacrifices alive.

Korean War veteran Dick Kay, 76, feels the touch of war each time he walks by Chinatown's Hing Hay Park. His brother's name, Lawrence Lew Kay, is among 10 carved on a granite block of Chinese American servicemen who never returned from World War II.

"I was 11 when my parents were notified that he went down with a troop ship in the Mediterranean Sea."

Like veterans organizations nationwide, Post 186's membership has fallen despite its long record of community service, educational scholarships and contributions. Prominent Seattleites such as the late Wing Luke, the first Chinese American city councilman, and Ark Chin, a University of Washington regent, came from its ranks.

"We need younger members to join, but they're not," laments Bill Chin, 80, who grew up in Chinatown and served with the 13th Armored Division in Europe during World War II.

Bill Chin, Kay and Bill Sing, 85, an aerial gunnery instructor in the Army Air Corps during World War II, joined Jimmy Chinn, 76, an Air Force veteran of Korea and Vietnam, at Hing Hay Park on Thursday to share their experiences.

Chinese Americans numbered nearly 13,500 in the armed forces in World War II.

Chinese Americans fought and died even as the Chinese Exclusion Act remained in effect, severely limiting job opportunities while encouraging ugly stereotypes.

Congress repealed the act in 1943, 61 years after it was enacted as a temporary measure to limit Chinese immigration but which was made permanent in 1902, making Chinese immigration illegal.

Chinese American veterans like those from Seattle laid the foundation for that repeal.

"The way to overcome is not by whining but by working harder and gaining a little respect, and demonstrating by example," says Sing. The group admired Arthur Chin, whose father was Cantonese and mother Peruvian, and how he and 13 young Chinese Americans went to fight Japan nearly a decade before the United States entered the war.

Concerned about Japanese aggression against China, Chin and the others took flying lessons in Portland, and in 1932, when Chin was 19, signed up for the Cantonese Provincial Air Force. Among their numbers were the late John Wong and Clifford Louie Yim-Qun, both of Seattle.

Though outnumbered and outclassed in their comparatively primitive biplanes, Chin recorded nine victories over Japanese pilots, becoming an "ace" for having at least five victories.

Chin was awaiting evacuation to the United States when his first wife was killed. He returned to China after the United States entered the war and flew supplies over the dangerous Himalayan "Hump." He retired to a quiet life as a postal worker in Beaverton, Ore., and married two more times.

A half-century after the war ended, the U.S. government recognized Chin as an American veteran by awarding him the Distinguished Flying Cross. Chin died in September 1997 and his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

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