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  Yahoo News 6 Oct 06
All can play part in beating global warming: expert
By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - Everyone has a part to play in combating global warming -- whether simply turning off lights in an empty room or making their own electricity from the wind and sun, experts said on Friday.

No matter how small the action in the context of the vast problem of man-made climate change, every little bit counts, was the message from the Energy Saving Trust (EST) on the opening day of the Ideal Home Show in London.

"It is important that people don't feel powerless in the face of the planet-wide problem. The message is about choice. We are not asking everyone to change their lifestyle," Karen Lawrence, head of the EST's renewables unit, told Reuters.

EST is tasked with spreading the message of boosting energy efficiency and cutting climate warming gases like carbon dioxide issued by burning fossil fuels for transport and power.

Its experts are on hand for the duration of the show that runs to October 15 to advise people of the benefits of improved roof insulation, low energy light bulbs and a host of other household changes that can help save money and lives.

Most scientists now agree that average global temperatures could rise by between two and six degrees Celsius by the end of the century -- primarily because of human activities -- causing floods and famines and putting millions of lives at risk.

UNPLUG THAT PHONE CHARGER

Lawrence said about half of the carbon dioxide emitted in Britain came from households or daily activities, and a combination of individual actions could make a huge collective difference.

"If the rest of the world consumed at the rate we do in Britain, we would need the resources of three planets to support just this one," she said, noting that the average British household produced about six metric tons of CO2 a year.

To illustrate its point, EST has calculated that if everyone in Britain unplugged their mobile phone chargers from the power once the phone had charged up it would save enough electricity to power 66,000 homes.

At the same time, if everyone only put just the amount of water that they wanted to boil in their electric kettle it would save enough electricity to power half of the street lights in the country.

Even turning a television off completely rather than leaving it on standby can save a significant amount of electricity -- and with it money, Lawrence said. "That little red dot is costing you a lot," she said.
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