Veni | Вени

(first published on May 25, 2006, but decided it’s good to bring it to the front, as Al Gore just won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work)

A group of people – 40 altogether – we went to see the movie “An Inconvinient Truth“.

I highly recommend it, regardless of the fact that Al Gore is in the main role – as a key note speaker on the issues of global warming.

I say “regardless” because some people may think the movie is biased just for one reason – that he’s the main character. In fact he is not. He’s just the person who tells us how important it is to save our planet from ourselves.

You will read plenty of information on the Internet about the movie, or about the global warming. I can recommend the official web site. You may notice that I’ve linked not the main page, but the page “Take Action”. Yes! It is important not to know about the problem, but actually to do something about it.

Here’s what I have done, what I am doing, or what one could do to lower the influence on the climate:

• Plant trees. I have planted thirteen* trees in my life. They are in front of the building I live in Sofia.
• Try not to use too much electriciy. Whenever I can live without turning on the electiricy, I stay in the dark, or I switch only one bulb.
• Try night laundry and dishwasher. I turn the dishwasher only during night time, and I avoid using the drying cycle. Would be good to dry clothes outside, instead in the drying machine.
• Make informaction public. Five years ago I was the first one to start an information campaign that the forest at the Vitosha mountain (right next to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria) was dying.
• Drive economically. In Europe I make about 50 mpg, and in the US about 40 mpg. I try not to use the car, if I can go by foot or by public transport. I never keep the engine running, while I am waiting for someone (and I wonder why every US driver does exactly the opposite!?).
• Use fluorescent lights. I’ve installed compact fluorescent lights at home in Sofia since 1995, and some of them are still working – more than 10 years now!
• Don’t keep the A/C running all the time. I try.
• Try to walk on the stairs instead of using the elevator. I try.
• Try to buy organic food all the time, because it does not use chemicals. I do.
• Recycle. We do.

What do you do?

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* – Actually they were 14, but one of them was stolen (sic!) the first night after I planted it!