Help save the world for a couple dollars a month

By Justin Hunter

You can put the shiny red cape and spandex suit away for now because with so much of an emphasis being put on the vulnerability of the environment, the hero the world seeks does not have to stop planes and giant signs from falling from skyscrapers but rather eliminate the deadly gasses that are slowly causing the greatest terror of all; global warming.
At the risk of sounding like a cheesy infomercial, for a few measly dollars a month, you can do your part in slowing the affects of global warming. The article, “Curb Global Warming At Home,” written December 20, 2006 by Broderick Perkins and posted on Realty Times explains how Californians can now become mini-heroes of their own right.
You probably don’t even notice when your utility bills fluctuate five dollars here or there, so put the extra cash to good use.
“California's Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) is offering its 5.8 million customers, a voluntary ClimateSmart program that costs about $4 a month for a typical household, about 3 percent more than the current average bill.”
The small monthly fee will allow PG&E to report to each customer the amount of carbon dioxide their household generates each month, based on their electricity and natural gas usage.
The proceeds of this innovative program will go towards funding of forest restoration and conservation projects in California.
“The projects are designed to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air in amounts equal to that put there by the participating households, effectively making them ‘zero carbon’ or ‘carbon neutral’ homes.”
CO2 is created from burning fossil fuels, which is how most electricity is generated, and is considered a man-made greenhouse gas. CO2 has also been said to be one of the, if not the most potent greenhouse gas that is accredited to the global warming dilemma in the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans.  
“‘In the long run, sea level rises are going to be the most severe impact of global warming on human society,’ said Professor Stefan Rahmstorf, presenting a report by German scientists at a major United Nations Climate Change Convention in Nairobi this winter.”
As ice caps begin to steadily melt, global warming is expected to create a frantic wave of “sea refugees” by the year 2100 as sea levels are expected to rise about three feet by that time.
Not all is lost, as you do have a choice and while one person individually may not be able to stop global warming, millions joined together can at least slow down the affects.
“PG&E's goal is to remove two million tons of carbon monoxide from the air -- house-by-house. That's the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the road for one year.”
“Critics of the PG&E program, including The Utility Reform Network (TURN), argue PG&E's plan to spend $16 million in marketing and advertising a program to generate $20 million to $29 million to help offset CO2 production, may not be the best approach, financially.”
However, the program is strictly voluntary with the exception of a three cent tax on every utility customer’s bill coming next year.
If you want to do a little more to keep Earth a cooler place, you can switch from using iridescent light bulbs to fluorescent ones, wash all clothes using cold or warm water rather than hot and trade in that gas-guzzling SUV for an electric or hybrid vehicle.