30 Simple Measures to Combat Global Warming

Global warming, which causes climate change, has begun to show its effects in Turkey as it has worldwide. Tornadoes, excessive rainfall, and drought in some regions are the most important indicators of global warming. Ministry of Environment and Urbanization stated that global warming can be tackled with simple measures. Here are those 30 simple measures: ·Replace your light bulbs with energy-efficient ones. Use compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs. With CFLs used in place of incandescent bulbs, energy savings of up to 80% can be achieved. When you replace a 60-watt incandescent bulb with an 11-watt compact fluorescent bulb, you prevent 20 kg of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere annually. ·Do not leave electrical appliances in stand-by mode. Turn them off from the on-off switch. Do not keep your chargers plugged in when not in use. A television watched for three hours a day and left on stand-by for the remaining 21 hours consumes 40% of its total daily electricity in stand-by mode. ·Run your washing machine and dishwasher only when fully loaded. If you must run them without a full load, always use the half-load program. Moreover, detergents produced today eliminate the need for high-temperature washing. For this reason, use low temperature settings. In this way, you will save energy while maintaining the same level of cleanliness. ·Relocate your refrigerator and freezer. Place your cooling appliances in the coolest rooms of your home, away from heating sources. This way, you use less electricity and prevent significant amounts of carbon dioxide from being produced.

·Defrost your old refrigerators regularly. If your refrigerator is not a new model with an automatic defrost system, defrost it frequently.

If you can afford it, replace it with a new model in a higher energy class. In this way, you can achieve 50% electricity savings. Frosted refrigerators consume much more electricity. ·Use less hot water. Heating water consumes a lot of energy. Remember that heating hot water above 45-50 degrees Celsius leads to unnecessary energy consumption. ·You can achieve significant energy, fuel, and cost savings by using less water while showering or by using low-temperature programs on your dishwasher and washing machine. ·When cooking or boiling water, keep your pot covered. This way you can achieve significant gas savings. When using a pressure cooker, your savings can reach 70%! When heating water with a kettle or electric heater, use only the amount of water you need. ·Take showers instead of long baths. Bathing by shower uses four times less energy than using a bathtub. You can increase your savings further by limiting the water flow of the shower. This way, instead of using 200 liters, you use only 70 liters of water. ·Do not allow heat to escape from your home for long periods. When ventilating your home in winter, do not keep windows open for more than a few minutes. ·Improve your home's insulation. By closing door and window gaps with appropriate materials, replacing your windows with double-glazed ones, placing insulation material behind radiators, or insulating your building, you can achieve significant savings on heating fuel.

By preventing air leaks in your building, you can reduce your fuel costs by 30%. Simply by replacing your single-glazed windows with double-glazed ones, you can achieve energy savings of approximately 70%. Remember, one-third of the energy used for heating escapes from poorly insulated areas.

·When buying new appliances, choose A energy class or more economical options. Check the energy label of the appliance you are thinking of buying and purchase the one that uses the least energy. When buying appliances, evaluate them not only by price but also in terms of energy savings. ·Keep your air conditioner well-maintained and its filter clean. A well-maintained air conditioner filter can prevent approximately 160 kg of carbon dioxide from being produced annually. Keep the space where air conditioning is used as closed as possible. ·Set your air conditioner temperature two degrees higher. By tolerating just two degrees more heat, you can prevent approximately 900 kg of carbon dioxide from being produced annually. On air conditioners, the temperature setting should indicate the desired temperature of the indoor air, not the air being blown out. The comfortable indoor temperature is between 22-24°C. ·Use solar energy. With a modest investment, you can meet a significant portion of your hot water needs from solar energy, achieve substantial energy savings, and make an important contribution to reducing carbon dioxide production. ·Recycle or reuse the waste in your home. Instead of throwing things away, you can reuse many items in different ways. If your local government implements a recycling program, separate your organic and solid waste and send your packaging waste for recycling. ·When shopping, choose larger packages. Based on your household's needs, buy products in the largest package size you can afford. Not only is it more economical, but you also significantly reduce the amount of packaging waste.

Since fewer processing steps are applied during recycling compared to normal production, energy savings are achieved in manufacturing materials through recycling. For example, recycling aluminum cans saves 95% energy, and recycling paper saves 59% energy.

·For products requiring small packaging (liquid soap, cologne, etc.), prefer refillable options. This way, you contribute to your household economy and reduce the amount of waste. ·Acquire a reusable shopping bag that can be used for long periods. Decline plastic bags given at each purchase and carry your items in your own shopping bag. Remember that the plastic bags given to you at your purchases and later thrown away cause wasted energy, environmental pollution that will last for years, and additional carbon dioxide production. ·Consume fresh food rather than frozen food and prefer local markets/cooperatives whenever possible. (Choose fresh, local, and seasonal!) Frozen foods consume 10 times more energy than fresh foods. Food travels a certain distance from farm to your plate. The longer distance food travels, the more transport-related carbon dioxide emissions it causes. ·Buy products produced with good agricultural practices or organic/ecological products whenever possible. Soil farmed organically stores and filters much larger amounts of carbon dioxide than soil farmed with chemicals. Additionally, nitrogen oxide, a greenhouse gas released as a result of chemical fertilizer use, is released less into the atmosphere.

·Reduce your driving time by walking, cycling, or using public transportation whenever possible. Since half of the distances traveled by car in cities are less than 3 km, in the first kilometer after starting the engine before it warms up, the car causes four times more air pollution than normal.

When you use your car 170 km less per week, you produce 225 kg less carbon dioxide. On the other hand, walking is one of the most important health measures you can take. ·Have your vehicle serviced on time. If only 1% of motorized vehicle owners serviced their vehicles regularly, it would be possible to prevent the production of more than 450,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. ·Drive your vehicle carefully and do not consume excessive fuel. By changing your driving habits, you can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced. Use the appropriate gear, do not drive aggressively, and turn off the engine if you will be stopped for more than a minute. This way, you save money and can extend the intervals between maintenance services. ·Check your vehicle's tire pressure weekly and ensure they are inflated properly. Proper tire pressure increases the distance you travel on a tank of fuel by up to 3%. Every 4 liters of gasoline saved means preventing 10 kg of carbon dioxide. ·When buying a new vehicle, choose fuel-efficient ones. When you travel longer distances with less fuel, you prevent significant amounts of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. ·Do not keep an unused roof rack on your vehicle. This type of extra weight on the vehicle increases your fuel consumption by 10% by catching wind. ·Demand that your school and city take measures to restrict carbon dioxide production. In this way, extend your fight against climate change from your home to the outside and promote its spread. ·Plant a tree. A single tree filters an average of one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. The shade provided by a tree growing next to your home reduces your air conditioning costs by approximately 10-15%. ·Protect forests. Forests are very important because they store carbon. When forests burn or are cut down and destroyed, the carbon they stored is released into the atmosphere. Forest loss accounts for 20% of annual carbon dioxide increases. ·Educate yourself and educate others. The more knowledge you have about climate change and nature, the more consciously you will act toward the world. Support work being conducted on these subjects. Ministry of Environment and Urbanization Newsletter / September 2014