Going green !

Bills, Carbon footprint and Global Warming..What do these 3 have in common? No not shoes but $$$$ . Every where you go some one or the other is talking about these and the media is wasting no time in driving these down your alley.

Carbon footprint and global warming...what the heck was that ? When I first heard of carbon footprint, I thought it was something to do with fossils (pardon my geology background) and global warming was made known to me only by Al 'fake-o' Gore.

So lets talk about going green. What can we do to make it not so big a deal? How do we get rid of the bills that make us tear our hair out? How can we reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to not aiding in global warming (if ever there is such a thing)?

To do this , we need to understand the definition of the terms
1. Bills - An itemized list or statement of fees or charges.
2. Carbon Footprint- A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc.
The carbon footprint is a measurement of all greenhouse gases we individually produce and has units of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent.
3. Global Warming- Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid- 20the century and its projected continuation

Now that we armed with definitions, we can proceed to combat these 3 with one single step that has many ...LIVE A SIMPLE LIFE !! A simple life ..what is that? A simple life just means back to basics and giving priority to what really matters for human survival aka Food Shelter and clothing (in Hindi- Roti, Kapada aur Makaan). Sounds so socialist, but then again a blend of socialism with democracy is what made a 3rd world country like India a multi-billion economy with a GDP that only China can match.

However, this is not as easy for us in N. America as the government/ administration does not always practice what they preach. We do live in a capitalist country when the key word is 'Consumerism'. The BS fed about saving and then the media, dictating as to what is right or wrong for us makes it difficult for us humans to make any sound decisions.

Ever wondered why we all have cars, if not just one? Have you noticed that all office building are located in the infamous 'Downtown area'? Affordable housing are located on the city outskirts (almost an hours drive away, if not more) The ever piling bills & taxes encourage both spouses of the family have to work. Who will take care of the kids while the parents are at work? Who will take care of the children's activities ? Who will pay the medical bills ? and what about vacations, phone calls, internet, Blah blah blah! The questions go on and the guilt piles up.

Tackling all 3 is as not difficult as you would imagine. Doing it all at one go with drastic measures is stupidity. One step at a time and it will ease back on you.

In subsequent posts, I shall outlay some ideas on how we can save something, if not a lot. I am working on getting back to basics and paying off everything. Ideas from readers are most acceptable. We need to band together as one community to kill debt which is draining our lives slowly but surely. The height of it all is that we do not even see it!