How to Make Al Gore Proud

Al Gore wants you to start taking global warming seriously. And in a 2006 speech, he offered specific tips on how to do so.

Instructions

Step 1: Cut energy at home Reduce emissions created by your home with better design, more insulation, and green electricity. Try installing solar panels on your roof.
Step 2: Reduce car emissions Reduce your car emissions by buying a hybrid car, taking trains instead of planes for regional trips, carpooling, biking, and walking.
TIP: Urge government officials to pass laws, create policies, and enter treaties that recognize climate change as a 'planetary emergency.'
Step 3: Buy efficient appliances Buy energy-efficient appliances and products. Look for the U.S. government-sponsored Energy Star logo.
Step 4: Calculate your carbon footprint Calculate your impact on the environment with a carbon-footprint calculator. You can find them on such sites as the one for the film An Inconvenient Truth, www.climatecrisis.net.
Step 5: Live a carbon neutral life Live a carbon neutral life by reducing the energy you use and offsetting the rest with positive actions such as planting trees.
Step 6: Be green at work Be green at work by bringing your lunch in reusable containers, using a ceramic mug, and printing documents only when necessary. If you own a business, make it green by using recycled paper and energy-efficient fluorescent light bulbs.
Step 7: Be a green investor Put your money where your mouth is by only investing in green companies.
TIP: Write to businesses that are not eco-friendly and let them know why you are not supporting their products and services.
Step 8: Be a catalyst for change Become a catalyst for change in your community by teaching others about the climate crisis.
Step 9: Vote Vote for candidates who believe in capping and trading carbon emissions, and who have articulated clear policies for dealing with global warming.
FACT: In February 2007, Al Gore and Sir Richard Branson offered $25 million to the inventor of any device that can remove substantial amounts of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.