We’re in a countdown to extinction, and melting icebergs, climbing temperatures, and escalating panic about vanishing animal populations have inspired a buzz-worthy global warming frenzy -- rife with warnings, stories and suggestions to help us save the world. Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” brought the climate crisis and its immediate impact into focus for many an unsuspecting moviegoer, and, as the telltale signs of global warming begin to appear before our eyes, news organizations and advocacy groups across the country are jumping aboard the conservation express.

Call the fight against global warming what you will – a political strategy, a fool’s errand, a liberal agenda – but there’s no denying that global warming is real and is happening now. It’s our fault, and we’re the ones who have to stop it if we want to survive.

You’ve heard the same speeches from the same advocates over and over again, and you’ve got the buzzwords entrenched in your brain – emission reduction, greenhouse gases, fossil fuels. The climate crisis saturates the news, as we learn that the polar bears are dying off, Greenland’s melting away, and hotter temperatures are causing natural disasters that are destroying our land and our loved ones. But buzz is one thing, and action’s something else. What can we do, both on a national and individual level, to help stop global warming?

This week, California took a first step in reducing carbon dioxide emissions by passing a bill requiring all gasoline sold in California to contain 10 percent ethanol, a gas made from corn that requires less petroleum than fossil fuels.

Why not make the switch nationally, and require all refineries to meet new, cleaner, earth-friendly standards? Some Senate lawmakers propose that we need a shift in our national goals. Instead of focusing on increased oil production, we need to try to stop global warming on a national level. Let’s pass bills that channel oil subsidy money into renewable energy instead.

But it’s not just lawmakers who can take steps to reduce global warming. You have the power to help save the world too. Lead by example, and encourage your friends and family to go green and stop global warming. Here are a few things you can do:

1. Use power strips at home, and switch off the power to your appliances when you’re not using them. Anything that’s plugged in uses energy even if it’s turned off. Flip the switch.

2. Put a water bottle full of pennies in the tank of your toilet to save gallons of water per flush.

3. If you have to drive instead of taking public transportation, check the air in your tires. When your car’s tuned up, it gets better gas mileage.

4. Recycle, recycle, recycle. How many times do you have to hear it? Recycling isn’t that difficult to do, and recycling a single soda can saves enough energy to watch six hours of TV.

There are countless other things you can do to help save the environment. Don’t leave it all up to the lawmakers and politicians, since they need public support if they want to get anything done. Global warming is real, and it’s happening now. So be a superhero. Save the world. Someone’s got to.

To read more about global warming and how to go green, visit GreenerFAQs.