Go Green!: September 2008

Welcome

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

American Facts

Americans comprise of 4.7% of the world’s population, but use 25% of the earths’s resources
Americans account for 40% of the world wide gas consumption, burning 155 billion gallons annually.
American consumption accounts for 25% of the world’s greenhouse-gas emmissions.
Since 1950, Americans have consumed more resources than the world’s entire population in human history before that date.
On average, each American generates 4 and 1/2 pounds of waste per day
We spend more for trash bags than 90 of the earth’s 210 countries spend for everything.

Recycling Saves Energy

Recycling a six-pack of aluminum cans can save enough energy to drive a car 5 miles.
Every ton of newspaper that’s recycled saves 4,100 kWh of electricity, enough to power a TV for 31 hours.
The energy equivalent of 16.3 barrels of oil is used to produce on ton of plastic bottles.
Steel recycling saves enough energy to electrically power the equivalent of 18 milllion homes a year.
Americans waste 500,000 trees every Sunday by throwing away their newspapers instead of recycling them.

Sources:
Getis, Judith. You Can Make a Difference. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1999.
Go Green Initiative. .
Neighborhood News, Ruxton-Riverwood-Lake Roland Area Improvement Association Winter 2007.
Urbanska, Wanda, and Frank Levering. Nothing's Too Small to Make a Difference. Winston-Salem, North Carolina: John F. Blair, Publisher, 2004.

Labels: environment, recycle, waste

Author: Elizabethtown College SIFE » Comments:

Get Rid of Those Unwanted Catalogs

In just a few minutes, you can get rid of all those unwanted catalogs, and save the hassle of having to recycle them. This online service is called “Catalog Choice”, a website that allows you to compile a list of catalogs you don’t want to receive and it will contact the retailers and request that you be taken off their mailing lists.

It was started by The Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Ecology Center to soften the environmental impact that was caused by the mass amount of catalogs being mailed.

Give it a try at: www.catalogchoice.org

Labels: recycle, waste

Author: Elizabethtown College SIFE » Comments:

Make a Difference: Green Your Office

You can make a difference and help improve the environment by purchasing recycled products. You will find that most recycled products cost less, or the same as products made from normal materials. Recycled products cost more when the market for them is very limited; however, prices will fall over time when consumers buy these products regularly.
There are many materials that you can buy for your of office that are recycled. Recycled paper products include: copy paper, cards, envelopes, folders, notebooks, binders, checks, post-its, and cardboard boxes. Other recycled items include: computer disks, toner cartridges for photocopiers and printers, pens, rulers, and scissors.
When buying paper products, the three arrows chasing each other on a dark background indicate that the paper contains recycled fibers, and on a light or no background, indicates that the paper can be recycled.
There are a few other simple things to do to make your office green:

Bring your own coffee mug to work, and encourage other employees to do the same.
Contribute guest mugs for visitors.
Save coffee grounds for compost, and give them to anyone who gardens at home.
Substitute cloth towels for paper towels, and keep them laundered.

Labels: Business, environment, recycle, waste

Author: Elizabethtown College SIFE » Comments:

Why Go Green?

Going Green is not a new term, but this term has become widely used in the past few years. It is important to recognize the state of our environment, and how we use the world’s resources. The world’s natural resources are fixed, when they’re gone, they’re gone, and we need to reduce how wasteful we are, in order to preserve the earth for future generations.

The greatest threat to our environment comes from what we throw away every day. Electronics and batteries contain harmful chemicals, and when they are thrown into a landfill, may seep through the barrier and contaminate the ground water and affect everything from the soil in which our food grows, to the water that we drink. Throwing things away that could be recycled, not only diminish energy, but also natural resources that may be saved by recycling.

We need to understand that all our choices will affect our interconnected world in one way or another. If we want to pass along our standard of living to future generations, we need to recycle, and buy recycled products in order to better our environment.

The world currently consists of 6 billion people, and is expected to increase to 9 billion by 2050. If things do not change, the previous fact would mean that each person would only have access to 25% of the resources we had in 1950. The fact that we are diminishing our resources is real, and we need to help slow that process down. Every little thing you recycle is never too small to make a difference.

Labels: Business, environment

Author: Elizabethtown College SIFE » Comments:

Go Green!

Find tips for making your life, your business, or your organization more environmentally friendly by Going Green. Includes articles on how to both help the earth while saving money, something that makes "cents" for all of us.