Carbon dioxide, a byproduct of fossil fuels, is the primary reason for global warming. Many initiatives designed to stop global warming center around reducing the planet’s reliance on fossil fuels and creating alternative energy. An example of this is laws that are being written encouraging governments and large businesses to put a limit on their carbon emissions. Businesses and governments that exceed their annual limit of carbon emissions will be required to pay for the excess gases they produce.

Recycling and Clean Energy

Other steps are being taken by the public at large. These include a shift in consumer buyer habits. More people are choosing to purchase products that were made using recycled materials, and that were created in factories using green energy. These include businesses that produce at least 50 percent of their energy using either wind, solar, or another source of clean energy.

Additionally, homeowners are taking advantage of incentives provided by local utility companies as well as tax incentives set aside for individuals who use renewable energy in their home. Solar panel technology has taken amazing steps forward as has the energy storage capacity of batteries used in conjunction with these systems. Homeowners with installed solar panels and who have constructed wind turbines have even been able to sell some of their excess energy back to the utility company.

Electric Automobiles

Automobiles play a large role in creating the gases that contribute to global warming. More and more people are purchasing hybrids and plug-in hybrids that run on electricity and create less carbon emissions. Tesla has taken the idea of an electric vehicle and pushed it into the mainstream. Now other automotive companies, including Ford and Harley-Davidson, are producing energy efficient electric vehicles. In addition to taking steps against global warming, these companies are saving themselves money because an automobile that gets 40 miles to the gallon as opposed to 20 miles to the gallon, will save them approximately $3,000 a year in fuel costs.

Landfill Gas

More innovative programs have shown promise in slowing the effects of global warming. One of these includes the landfill gas collection system. Basically, this program is designed to capture the methane gases that are a natural product of decomposition of organic materials in landfills. Once this methane is collected and treated, it can be used to produce energy in combustion engines. Using landfill gas in this way has a twofold benefit. First, it minimizes the amount of methane that is released into the environment. Second, it provides an alternative source for combustible fuel.

While there is much discussion about the source of global warming, it is almost universally accepted that it is occurring, so it’s not surprising that more and more individuals are turning to environmentally friendly sources of energy as a way to slow global warming’s process.