For the past 20 years, former Vice President Al Gore has been traveling the world speaking about global warming, a passion of his since college. In 2006, his lecture was made into the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. This is the third highest grossing documentary of all time. Gore will donate 100 percent of his profits from his movie and book to a non-partisan effort to continue education on global warming.

In his lectures, book and documentary, Gore explains that if we continue to ignore what we are doing to our planet, we risk destroying the very future of our civilization. And the former vice president says that we must act before it's too late.

"Some of the leading scientists are now saying we may have as little as 10 years before we cross a kind of point-of-no-return, beyond which it's much more difficult to save the habitability of the planet in the future," Gore says.

You are not helpless in the fight against global warming. Gore goes inside a Lowe's Home Improvement store outside Nashville, Tennessee, to show you the five things you can buy that will help solve the climate crisis…and save you a few bucks!

Compact fluorescent light bulbs: These energy-efficient bulbs cost less than $4 and are produced by major corporations like GE. If every household in America switched five regular lightbulbs for five fluorescent bulbs, it would be the equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the highways for a full year.

Outdoor solar lighting: These yard or patio lights cost less than $20, and they don't burn any electricity or produce any CO2. (I have these all over my farm... I LOVE them!!)

Programmable thermostats: Though these thermostats cost from $50 to $100, they can actually cut your heating and cooling costs. Set the setting so it's a little bit cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer when you're not in the house. A difference of 2 degrees can reduce a home's CO2 emissions by up to 9 percent over the course of a year.

Air filters: Changing the air filters in your heating and cooling systems regularly can knock 2 percent off of your CO2 output each year.

Electric hot water heater blanket: Hot water heaters use a lot of energy and generate a lot of CO2. A blanket costs less than $18 and can cut your home's CO2 emissions by almost 4 1/2 percent.

Gore says that when you're shopping for major home appliances, look for the Energy Star label. "This is a signal that you're getting an environmentally efficient appliance that's going to save you money at the same time," he says.

Of course these are only a few ideas -

I have tried to take additional steps this Summer to do our part - Major recycling, And a Clothes Line - I thought I would dislike hanging clothes but actually I love it! -






Gem~