Environmental Issues Impact Us All

The Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration News publication has listed United Air Temp is the third largest residential heating and air conditioning company in the USA.

We are doing our part for the environment by making sure the heating and air conditioning systems in over 100,000 homes in four states are running as efficiently as possible.

It is significant, did you know that in your home 58% of all energy consumption is the result of heating, air conditioning, and hot water heating?

Energy efficiency for power plants, cars or homes is the easiest way to slow global warming in a long-term investment shift that will cost hundreds of billions of dollars, the United Nations said on Tuesday 8/28/07.

For the first time China is the No. 1 carbon dioxide emitting country. China's 2006 carbon dioxide emissions were 8 percent higher than those of the United States.

The mainstream media attributed China's increasing emissions to America's appetite for Chinese manufactured goods.

Many scientists, including most of those working with the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have reported a link between global warming and the severity of hurricanes.

World surface temperatures have risen about 1 degree F (.55C) over the last 100 years, and are forecast to rise further this century. Because hurricanes feed on warm ocean water, some climate scientists foresee more severe hurricanes.

  • Direct manifestations of a long-term trend toward warmer global temperatures:
  • Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather
  • Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding
  • Glaciers melting
  • Arctic and Antarctic warming

Events that foreshadow the types of impacts likely to become more frequent with continued warming:

  • Spreading disease
  • Earlier spring arrival
  • Plant and animal range shifts and population changes
  • Coral reef bleaching
  • Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding
  • Droughts and fires

Industrial societies generate phenomenal amounts of garbage, and the accumulation grows only worse with time. In this age of disposability, far more waste is produced than can be handled by our planet. Quite simply, we are running out of room for all of our debris, and are seriously encroaching on the well-being of other living creatures, both on land and in the water, as we deluge their territories with litter. The worst part of it is that, especially in rich countries like the United States, so much is wasted unnecessarily.

Below is a list of things you can do to help bring down the amount of trash that pollutes the earth.

AT HOME:

  • Store leftovers in washable plastic tubs rather than in tinfoil or bags.
  • Buy products that come with refillable dispensers or cartridges.
  • Purchase items in bulk whenever possible to avoid throwing out multiple smaller packages.
  • Use canvas tote bags when shopping instead of store bags.
  • Save the coat hangers you get from the dry cleaner for your new clothes, or for your next trip there.
  • Request paper bags (which are biodegradable, i.e., will disintegrate over time) rather than plastic bags for your groceries.
  • Keep your grocery bags to use as garbage bags or for storing items you plan to recycle.
  • Buy recycled paper goods.
  • Use rags instead of paper towels.
  • Use silverware instead of disposable cutlery.
  • Use cloth napkins and real plates instead of paper ones.

Request to have your name removed from junk mail lists. To do so, contact the Direct Marketing Association. Enormous quantities of waste paper are generated by unsolicited bulk mailings, as most of the material ends up in the garbage.

AT THE OFFICE:

  • Bring a re-usable lunch bag to work instead of using paper lunch bags. Insulated vinyl lunch bags with velcro fasteners are a common item at most five and dime stores.
  • Make 2-sided photocopies instead of 1-sided.
  • Keep old manila envelopes for the next time you need to send something internally. Simply cross out or stick a label over the previously-written name and address.
  • Write informal notes to yourself on scrap paper instead of using a new sheet each time.
  • Write small memos on small-sized memo pads or Post-It notes.

A link to 50 things you can do to help!