Adeline Olmer
- Aug 4, 2023
- 4 min read

How We Can Stop Global Warming—it's not hard

As this year has proven, we are in the middle of serious climate change. July is said to be the hottest month we have ever had.

I keep waiting for the governments of the world to acknowledge the crisis and unite to develop an action plan. I’m frustrated, but waiting for the world to take action is wrong.

We are in a crisis and waiting for someone else to take action is a mistake. This is a problem we are all part of and therefore we all need to get involved to solve it. We may not be able to unite the world just yet, but we can all do our part to counteract the negative impact we have on our planet every day.

There are many little things we can do every day that will make a big impact by reducing our individual carbon footprints.

Here are seventeen suggestions to try.

Stop handwashing dishes. Using a dishwasher uses less water. That means scraping off your plates without rinsing before you put them in the dishwasher.
Avoid using plastic bags for your fruits and vegetables at the grocery store. Bring reusable ones instead.
Don’t use plastic spoons, forks, cups, or plates; they only end up in the landfills.
When there is a choice, use biodegradable—such as coffee filters and tea bags.
Hide paper towels under the sink and use cloth dishtowels instead.
Avoid products with excess packaging—especially plastic.
Don’t leave the water running when you’re in the kitchen or when you are brushing your teeth.
Use natural cleaning products. You don’t need to add chemicals to your home or the environment.
Unplug your small appliances. Leaving them plugged in when not in use still uses electricity that we don’t need.
Turn lights off when you leave a room.
Do less laundry. Wait until you have a full load before starting the machine. An ENERGY STAR-certified machine is said to use 14 gallons of water per load. Compared to a standard machine that uses 20 gallons of water, that is a savings of 6 gallons of water per load. That adds up.
Using cold water can save 75 to 90 percent of energy needed to heat the water.
Washing with cold water helps to prevent wrinkles and preserves your clothes by not damaging the fabrics.
If it’s possible, line dry your clothes. I realize that we no longer dry clothes outside, but the smell of clothes that have dried in the fresh air and the sun is wonderful.
The best way to avoid using a dryer and avoid wrinkles is to hang-dry your clothes. You can easily do this inside by hanging shirts and dresses on a hanger.
Plant a tree. Trees clean the air and the process of photosynthesis absorbs carbon dioxide from the air.
Recycle, but make sure to rinse out all the containers before you put them into the recycle bin. If you don’t, they won’t be recycled.

These steps may not seem like they are significant enough to change global warming and yet they are steps in the right direction. The more conscious we are, the more changes we will make.

When we put our support behind organizations and companies that are conscious of the effect they are having on the world (instead of just focusing on their profit) I believe we will get to a tipping point and everyone’s attention and actions will shift to saving the planet.

I may be optimistic here, but what choice is there? Wait for someone else to wake up and solve the problem? I already know that doesn’t work. Every night on the news I hear stories of places that are so warm they are breaking all records or floods where they’d never occurred before and snowfalls trapping people in their homes. These are things that can’t be ignored, forcing me to wake up to my responsibility as a human on this beautiful planet.

How do you feel?

What are you willing to do? I think the more we know and are aware of what other people are doing, the more we become aware of what we can do—that’s a good thing.

Tell us your ideas.

I forgot!

Last week, when I showed you my new line of linens I forgot to mention something very important. The napkins DON'T WRINKLE. That's a big deal, no ironing is needed.

Thank you all for your enthusiastic response to my line of linens. I am delighted that you love them. Stay tuned for more new designs to come.

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“I absolutely loved Le Kitchen Cookbook: a Workbook. Having grown up enjoying my mother’s southwestern tacos only to be set loose in a French kitchen as an expat and newlywed, this is just the recipe guide I have needed all these years! Through soulful anecdotes Adeline Olmer takes us from Parisian kitchens to American cafés, all the while showing us how to thoughtfully cook, eat, and maintain our culinary curiosity. In addition to her delicious recipes, all the terms, methods, and taste explanations Adeline offers are so helpful and add up to a better understanding and appreciation of home cooking. We are left with a desire to nurture others and ourselves. A timely book!”

—Kristin Espinasse, author of “Words in a French Life”