Too hot for comfort...

This week, we bring you a Busy Guide to Climate Change & show how you can help save the polar bears from their terrible fate...

At Busy Girls HQ we have been hit really hard by the news that Polar Bears have been found washed up dead from exhaustion on British Isles. One of natures most powerful & captivatingly beautiful creatures, the bears are finding their habitat is shrinking every year, with many of them now swimming for thousands of miles just to find land to rest on.

So what's going on?

Basicaly, global warming is now affecting our whole living planet. Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil & gas) releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere where carbon pollution blankets the earth, traps in heat & causes global warming.

Subsequently, around the world, climate change is threatening wildlife like polar bears & corals. If current trends continue, polar bears could become extinct by the end of this century. Polar bears hunt their primary prey on the sea ice during winter, storing the fat they will need when spring thaw forces them ashore to fast until the ice returns in autumn. But the annual sea ice is now melting earlier & forming later leaving polar bears with less time to hunt. If the current rate of ice shrinkage & related weight loss continues, bears may become so thin by 2012 that they may no longer be able to reproduce.

We all lead such Busy lives, but there must be something we can we do to help?

Basically by cutting down our C02 emissions...

1. Choose clean energy

Check with your power supplier that they use at least 50% clean energy... clean suppliers include: NPower (www.npower.com) Good Energy (www.goodenergy.co.uk) & Green Energy (www.greenenergy.uk.com)

2. Drive a hybrid car

Latest suppliers of hybrid cars include: Lexus, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Nissans & Fords.

3. Recycle

Not got a green bin? Call your local council to order a new one... www.manchester.gov.uk, www.stockport.gov.uk, www.cheshire.gov.uk

4. Adjust your thermostat

Simply turn it down 3 degrees in the winter & up 3 degrees in the summer - especially when you're not in the house!

5. Replace a worn-out refrigerator with an Energy Star model.

Check your new fridge has an energy efficient A labeling - try AEG, Ariston, Daewoo & Hoover for some great models.

6. Turn your computer off overnight

A standard monitor left on overnight uses enough energy to print 5,300 pages!

7. Drive 15 miles less each week

Shrink your petrol costs & your waistline by walking, biking or taking the bus!

8. Wash clothes in cold or warm water

Simply turn your washing machine down to 30degrees - it will still wash your clothes perfectly, save energy & makes your clothes less creased when they come out!

9. Use compact fluorescent bulbs

It's a bright idea to replace 3 incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs that last up to 10 times as long and use 1/4 of the energy.

10. Keep your tyres filled

Keep them pumped & your ride will be smoother plus you'll save up to 5% on your petrol bill!