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“Climate Change 101 with Bill Nye | National Geographic.” YouTube,

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How You Can Stop Global Warming.” NRDC, 11 Dec. 2017,

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“Before The Flood.” National Geographic Channel

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Climate change since the Industrial Revolution in the 1700's is a problem caused  mainly by humans burning fossil fuels and overusing natural resources. (#1)

Climate change is a real problem, and people should start noticing and taking action #3

There is more to be done to solve the problem of climate change other than recycling.#2

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This is former president Obama speaking about the problem of climate change.

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state of the union address (type of public presentation)

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Obama calls climate change our greatest threat

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No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change, President Obama said in Tuesday's State of the Union address. "I've heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they're not scientists; that we don't have enough information to act," Mr. Obama said in the speech.

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Rising sea levels. Raging storms. Searing heat. Ferocious fires. Severe drought. Punishing floods. The effects of climate change are already threatening our health, our communities, our economy, our security, and our children's future.

What can you do? A whole lot, as it turns out. Americans, on average, produce 21 tons of carbon a year, about four times the global average. Personal action is, of course, no substitute for meaningful government policies. We still must limit carbon pollution and aggressively move away from dirty fossil fuels toward cleaner power.

But it's important to remember the equally vital contributions that can be made by private citizens-which is to say, by you. "Change only happens when individuals take action," says clean energy advocate Aliya Haq. "There's no other way, if it doesn't start with people."

Here are a dozen easy, effective ways each one of us can make a difference.

1. Speak up!

What's the single biggest way you can make an impact on global climate change? "Talk to your friends and family, and make sure your representatives are making good decisions," Haq says. By voicing your concerns-via social media or, better yet, directly to your elected officials-you send a message that you care about the warming world. Encourage Congress to enact new laws that limit carbon emissions and require polluters to pay for the emissions they produce. "The main reason elected officials do anything difficult is because their constituents make them," Haq says. You can help protect public lands, stop offshore drilling, and more here.

2. Power your home with renewable energy.

Choose a utility company that generates at least half its power from wind or solar and has been certified by Green-e Energy, an organization that vets renewable energy options. If that isn't possible for you, take a look at your electric bill; many utilities now list other ways to support renewable sources on their monthly statements and websites.

3. Weatherize, weatherize, weatherize.

"Building heating and cooling are among the biggest uses of energy," Haq says. Indeed, heating and air-conditioning account for almost half of home energy use. You can make your space more energy efficient by sealing drafts and ensuring it's adequately insulated. You can also claim federal tax credits for many energy efficiency home improvements. To help you figure out where to start, you could also get a home energy audit, which some utilities offer free of charge. (Alternatively, you can hire a professional to come to your home and perform one; the Inflation Reduction Act offers a partial tax credit for this.) The EPA's Home Energy Yardstick gives you a simple assessment of your home's annual energy use compared with similar homes.

4. Invest in energy-efficient appliances.

Since they were first implemented nationally in 1987, efficiency standards for dozens of appliances and products have kept 2.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide out of the air. That's about the same amount as the annual carbon pollution coughed up by nearly 440 million cars. "Energy efficiency is the lowest-cost way to reduce emissions," Haq says. When shopping for refrigerators, washing machines, heat pump water heaters, and other appliances, look for the Energy Star label. It will tell you which are the most efficient. (There may also be rebates to earn from your purchase of Energy Star-certified products.)

And when you're ready to swap out your old machines, don't just put them on the curb: Recycling an old refrigerator through the EPA's Responsible Appliance Disposal Program can prevent an additional 10,000 pounds of carbon pollution because the global-warming pollutants in the refrigerants and foam would be properly captured rather than vented to the air.

5. Reduce water waste.

Saving water reduces carbon pollution, too. That's because it takes a lot of energy to pump, heat, and treat your water. So take shorter showers, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, and switch to WaterSense-labeled fixtures and appliances. The EPA estimates that if just one out of every 100 American homes were retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, about 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year would be saved-avoiding 80,000 tons of global warming pollution.

6. Actually eat the food you buy-and compost what you can't.

Approximately 10 percent of U.S. energy use goes into growing, processing, packaging, and shipping food-about 40 percent of which winds up in the landfill. "If you're wasting less food, you're likely cutting down on energy consumption," Haq says. As for the scraps you can't eat or the leftovers you don't get to, collect them in a compost bin instead of sending them to the landfill where they release methane. Recycling food and other organic waste into compost provides a range of environmental benefits, including improving soil health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, recycling nutrients, and mitigating the impact of droughts.

7. Buy better bulbs.

LED light bulbs use one-sixth the amount of energy to deliver the same amount of light as conventional incandescents and last at least 10 times longer. They're also cheaper in the long run: A 10-watt LED that replaces your traditional 60-watt bulb will save you $125 over the light bulb's life. And because the average American home has around 40 to 50 light bulbs, this is a simple swap that will reap huge rewards. If every household in the United States replaced just one incandescent with an Energy Star-labeled LED, we would prevent seven billion pounds of carbon pollution per year. That's equivalent to the emissions of about 648,000 cars.

8. Pull the plug(s).

Taken together, the outlets in your home are likely powering about 65 devices-an average load for a home in the United States. Audio and video devices, cordless vacuums and power tools, and other electronics use energy even when they're not charging. This "idle load" across all U.S. households adds up to the output of 50 large power plants in the country. So don't leave fully charged devices plugged into your home's outlets, unplug rarely used devices or plug them into power strips and timers, and adjust your computers and monitors to automatically power down to the lowest power mode when not in use.

9. Drive a fuel-efficient vehicle.

Gas-smart cars, such as hybrids and fully electric vehicles, save fuel and money. And once all cars and light trucks meet 2025's clean car standards, which means averaging 54.5 miles per gallon, they'll be a mainstay. For good reason: Relative to a national fleet of vehicles that averaged only 28.3 miles per gallon in 2011, Americans will spend $80 billion less at the pump each year and cut their automotive emissions by half. Before you buy a new set of wheels, compare fuel-economy performance here.

10. Maintain your ride.

If all Americans kept their tires properly inflated, we could save 1.2 billion gallons of gas each year. A simple tune-up can boost miles per gallon anywhere from 4 percent to 40 percent, and a new air filter can get you a 10 percent boost. Also, remove unnecessary accessories from your car roof. Roof racks and clamshell storage containers can reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 5 percent.

11. Rethink planes, trains, and automobiles.

Choosing to live in walkable smart-growth cities and towns with quality public transportation leads to less driving, less money spent on fuel, and less pollution in the air. Less frequent flying can make a big difference, too. "Air transport is a major source of climate pollution," Haq says. "If you can take a train instead, do that." If you must fly, consider purchasing carbon offsets to counterbalance the hefty carbon pollution associated with flying. But not all carbon offset companies are alike. Do your homework to find the best supplier.

12. Reduce, reuse, and recycle.

In the United States, the average person generates 4.5 pounds of trash every day. Fortunately, not all the items we discard end up in landfills; we recycle or compost more than one-third of our trash. In 2014 this saved carbon emissions equivalent to the yearly output of 38 million passenger cars. But we could be doing so much more. "Reduce should always be the number-one priority," says NRDC senior resource specialist Darby Hoover. And to reap the environmental benefits of "recyclable" goods, you must recycle according to the rules of your municipality, since systems vary widely by location. Search your municipality's sanitation department (or equivalent) webpage to learn exactly what you can place in the recycling bin, as counties and cities often differ in what they accept.
This story was originally published on April 20, 2022 and has been updated with new information and links.

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There are many ways to prevent global warming from becoming worse. Many nations have put laws into place to fight climate change -- here's what you can do.

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This is National Geographic.

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A new study has found that 30 percent of the world's population is currently exposed to potentially deadly heat for 20 days per year or more-and like a growing forest fire, climate change is spreading this extreme heat.

Without major reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO₂, up to three in four people will face the threat of dying from heat by 2100. However, even with reductions, one in two people at the end of the century will likely face at least 20 days when extreme heat can kill, according to the analysis, published on Monday in Nature Climate Change.

"Lethal heatwaves are very common. I don't know why we as a society are not more concerned about the dangers," says Camilo Mora of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the study's lead author. "The 2003 European heatwave killed approximately 70,000 people -that's more than 20 times the number of people who died in the September 11 attacks."

Dangerous heatwaves are far more common than anyone realized, killing people in more than 60 different parts of the world every year. Notable deadly heatwaves include the 2010 Moscow event that killed at least 10,000 people and the 1995 Chicago heatwave, where 700 people died of heat-related causes.

Heatwaves have also claimed victims more recently. In the last two weeks, dozens have died in India and Pakistan's current heatwave, with temperatures spiking to a record 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53.5 degrees Celsius). And there have been heat-related deaths already in the U.S. this summer.

Counting Victims

Mora and an international group of researchers and students examined more than 30,000 relevant publications to find data on 1,949 case studies of cities or regions where human deaths were associated with high temperatures. Lethal heatwaves have been documented in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, London, Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney, and São Paulo.

Those facing the greatest risk live in the wet tropics, where only slight increases in average temperatures or humidity can result in deaths. However, heat can be deadly even at moderate temperatures of less than 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) if it's combined with very high humidity, Mora ays.

Heat kills ten times more people in the U.S. than tornados or other extreme weather events, says Richard Keller, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of medical history. (Read experts' safety tips on surviving heat waves.)

Extreme heat sneaks up on us because we expect it to be hot in the summer, says Keller, who has written a book on the 2003 European heat wave.

The human body's internal temperature likes to be between 98.6 to 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (37 to 38 degrees Celsius); any warmer, and it's a fever. As temperatures rise, the body reacts by sweating to try and cool down.

If our internal temperature gets close to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), all-important cellular machinery start to break down. Body temperatures above 104 degrees are extremely dangerous and require immediate medical attention.

If the heat index-a metric that combines temperature and humidity-reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), our bodies begin to slowly heat up to the ambient temperature unless we take action to cool down. ( Learn 100 practical ways to reverse climate change.)

The young and elderly, who disproportionately lack resources and are more socially isolated, are left the most vulnerable. The overwhelming majority of 15,000 heat-related deaths in France during the 2003 European heatwave were 75 or older, many of whom were living on their own, said Keller.

"Increasing inequality leads to increased deaths from heat extremes," says Keller.

Heating the Global South

Heat didn't used to be a huge problem in India, Pakistan, and other parts of the global south, but heat extremes are now more common and more intense with climate change, says Keller. (Read "India's Heat Wave: How Extreme Heat Ravages the Body")

Thousands of people have died in India from the heatwaves in recent years. Another new study published in Science Advances found that the number of heatwaves in India killing more than 100 people increased 2.5 times between 1960 and 2009 -an uptick likely due to climate change, says study co-author and University of California, Irvine professor Steven Davis.

Yet India's mean temperature has only increased 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5 degrees Celsius) in the past 50 years, a mild increase in comparison to other parts of the world.

Surface temperature measurements show that the Earth has warmed 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) since preindustrial times, but this additional heat is not evenly distributed. The Arctic is 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.5 degrees Celsius) hotter on average, and in November 2016, temperatures were an extraordinary 36 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) higher than normal over most of the Arctic Ocean, an area larger than the continental U.S. (Read "Climate Change Pushing Tropical Diseases Toward Arctic")

Small increases in mean temperatures can have a major impact in tropical countries, especially amongst the poor who are extremely vulnerable, Davis notes.

"In Chicago people can escape the heat, but that's not the case for many poor people in India," he says.

Temperature measurements reveal that summers in 92 percent of U.S. cities have become hotter since 1970. Cities in Texas and the Intermountain West are the most affected, according to data compiled by ClimateCentral. It shows summers in Milwaukee are now 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit (1.34 degrees Celsius) hotter on average, 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.6 degrees Celsius) hotter in Dallas, and 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit (2.1 degrees Celsius) in Salt Lake City.

"This is what climate change means on the ground," says Davis. Nor is it surprising there are 60 killer heatwaves a year, he added. Hotter temperatures are driving people to leave their homes and migrate. (Meet America's first official climate refugees.)

"Our attitude towards the environment has been so reckless that we are running out of good choices for the future," says Mora of the University of Hawaii.

"For heatwaves, our options are now between bad or terrible," he adds. "Many people around the world are already paying the ultimate price of heatwaves."

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By 2100, Deadly Heat May Threaten Majority of Humankind

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A new study has found that 30 percent of the world's population is currently exposed to potentially deadly heat for 20 days per year or more-and like a growing forest fire, climate change is spreading this extreme heat.

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Before The Flood full documentary.

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From filmmaker Fisher Stevens, Leonardo DiCaprio travels the world speaking to scientists and world leaders about the dramatic effects of climate change.

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It's beenmore than four months since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, packing winds that flattened thousands of homes, killed scores of people and severely damagedthe island's infrastructure.

Though criticized for what some island residents said was a slow, inadequate response, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has distributed mass quantities of food, water and other basic supplies that have contributed to helping many residents try to restore their lives.

Federal officials said Tuesday that the agency had no intention of abandoning Puerto Rico and that food and water would continue to be distributed, but only to communities that have "an identified need" for such goods as they await the full return of normal services from local supermarkets, restaurants, banks and other entities.

"We're not cutting off aid to Puerto Rico," he said. "As long as there is a need identified, we will continue to work with the government of Puerto Rico and the local municipalities to support those needs."

Booher said FEMA supplies would be provided through volunteer agencies and other private, nonprofit organizations, such the Red Cross, Salvation Army and community churches.

After Hurricane Maria, FEMA collaborated with the island's government to establish nine staging areas for distributing supplies such as food and water to Puerto Rico's 78 mayors, the agency said.

Since the storm made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, FEMA has distributed more than 65 million liters of bottled water costing more than $361 million and at least 58 million meals and snacks worth $1.6 billion.

The agency has also pointed to key infrastructure improvements as a sign that Puerto Rico was getting back on track. According to the latest U.S. government data, electricity has been restored to 65.4% of the island, 86% of residents have potable water, 96% of the island has cellphone service, 84.3% of gas stations are operating, and at least 23,455 blue roofs, which FEMA describes as "a temporary covering of blue plastic sheeting to help reduce further damage to property until permanent repairs can be made," have been installed.

More than $259 million has been provided in financial assistance to cover the cost of repairing and rebuilding homes and renting accommodation, according to FEMA.

Hector M. Pesquera, a Puerto Rican government official, said in a statement that "over the past few months, conditions in most areas have improved and many economic indicators are showing that recovery is underway."

Many residents still struggle to find clean water. Medical care remains scarce as many hospitals limp toward becoming fully operational.

The destruction of schools left thousands of students without computers, books and desks. Many storm survivors who lost everything they owned are having difficulty navigating the process to apply for assistance and file claims with FEMA, humanitarian aid agencies said.

Nelson Rosado Jr. was at his parents' home in the mountainous town of Maricao, in western Puerto Rico, on Tuesday trying to make sure his father and mother had as much food, water and medicine as possible.

Rosado's father, Nelson Rosado, 69, who is losing his hearing and sight, depends on his wife, Rebeca Valle, 60, for many of his needs. Neither of them drive.

Rebeca and Nelson rely on their children to take them more than an hour away to the nearest supermarkets in Lares, Mayaguez or Sabana Grande. The task has become even more treacherous since Hurricane Maria battered roads and power lines.

After the hurricane hit, the couple tried living with Nelson Rosado Jr., 42, and his family in Milwaukee, but they could not adapt to the cold or being away from home, so they returned to the island this month. They had relied on sources including FEMA for food and water and hope that the agency will help them again.

"They should continue bringing provisions," the younger Rosado said about FEMA. "For the people who live [in rural areas], it is much more difficult."

Nearby, Hector Torres, who lives on the border between the towns of Las Marias and Maricao, said many families rely on a FEMA distribution center in Las Marias for food and potable water.

Like others in his community, the 36-year-old nurse said he has gone to the center to pick up provisions such as bottles of water and snacks, including granola bars, apple sauce and candy bars.

He has not had electricity at his home since the hurricane hit. Help with water remains vital, he said, as some neighborhoods depend on electricity to power their water pumps.

In Las Marias, Jucino Morales stood in front of his home waiting for the crews responsible for restoring power in his neighborhood to make it to his street. He had learned from a passerby that the workers were near and he did not want to miss them.

"Things must come back to normal at some point," said Morales, 65.

Another driver stopped to say hello and asked whether Morales had his electricity back.

Times staff writer Simmons reported from Los Angeles and special correspondent Galarza from Maricao, Puerto Rico.

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Four months after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico struggles with lack of electricity, food and water

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It's beenmore than four months since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, packing winds that flattened thousands of homes, killed scores of people and severely damagedthe island's infrastructure. Though criticized for what some island residents said was a slow, inadequate response, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has distributed mass quantities of food, water and other basic supplies that have contributed to helping many residents try to restore their lives.

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Climate change with Bill Nye.

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Climate Change 101 with Bill Nye | National Geographic

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Sea level rise
Greenhouse gas emissions
How to fix this huge problem of global warming.