Global Warming Special Report Download PDF

Keep Your Cool  It’s pretty freakin’ impossible to ignore the fact that our climate is changing more dramatically than the co-host lineup on The View. Whether we have Al Gore to thank or the bazillion scientists and researchers who pelt us with warnings about melting glaciers and confused polar bears, global warming is no longer just a theory. Earth has a fever: It’s heating up because carbon dioxide (CO₂)—a gas we produce when we bum fossil fuels like petroleum or coal to make the electricity that powers our high-wattage lives—is trapping heat from the sun that would normally bounce away into space. The CO₂ acts like a layer of Saran Wrap around the planet, and like a bug in a roach motel, heat gets in but can’t get out. It’s what we call the greenhouse effect.

So what’s a little extra warmth? Is your life going to change that much? Well, it could—but not if you start doing some simple things now that’ll make a major difference later. We read dozens of reports, interviewed experts from climatologists to sustainable farmers to women just like you who are working (literally) to save the earth, and came up with 31 no-sweat fixes—none of which involve getting rid of your car and moving to a cabin in the woods._ Even if you tackle just a few of these, you’ll help preserve the planet so you can enjoy a healthy life for years to come. It may be getting hot in here, but that doesn’t mean you have to sweat it out. Continue reading →