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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 20, 1995)
EARTH What you can do to make a difference Recycling facts and helpful hints Why Recycle? Recycling saves energy, thus reducing acid nun, global warm ing and air pollution Recycling aluminum uses 96 (>err.i»n| less energy !han pro duemg aluminum products Irom raw materials Recycling paper uses 60 per cent less energy than manufac turing paper Irom virgin timtxw Recycling a glass |ar saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb lor four hours Recycling also conserves valuable natural resources The New York Times uses 76,000 trees to produce its Sunday ivlt tion each week, yet only 30 per cent ol newspapers are recyr led m the United Staten Recycling metals minimizes the need lor mining new mirier als and decreases damage to wilderness Recycling cuts down on land lilt The average American throws away tour pounds ol garbage per day By recycling, it is possible to cut our waste stream by 80 percent Whaf You Can Do Purchase and consume according to the phrase "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle " Reduce the amount ot garbage you generate by purchasing products with minima) packaging (about half of alt waste is pack aging) Purchase foods in bulk 'Precycle" by purchasing products in recyclable contain ers. such as aluminum, glass, paper and carrftxiard Avoid piastre and styrofoam products that are neither reusable nor recyclable, such as disposable diapers, lighters, razors and piastre utensils Use white paper; it is easier to recycle than colored paper Rung your own paper bags or, better yet, cloth bags to the gro cery store Use a coffee mug rather than styrofoam cups Use products that are made to be used many times, such as cloth diapers, cloth napkins, tow els and rags, sponges, dishes and silverware, rechargeable batteries, etc Use the blank sides ol paper to lake notes and do scralch work Mend clothes and repair bro ken appliances Take i are of your belongings so they will last longer Look into purchasing used goods at second-hand stores and junk yards to eliminate unnecessary production. Help establish and promote a curbside recycling program where you live Tips on energy conservation It ra often difficult to grasp the importance of energy in our lives On any given day we may drrve to work, turn on a heater, store food in a refrigerator, lake a warm shower, cook dinner, turn wti (Kjfif, and watt h TV All ot these actions use energy Amen- ans use more energy per person than any other peo ple on {■ arih, yet we also have a deep appreciation of nature Unfortunatafy. out energy prac tees often harm the environ ment At k1 tain, global warming, oil spills and nuclear waste are all directly related to the way we use itnetoy By using energy more effi ciently. we can reduce the nega live impacts ot energy production without vtcnfiung our standard ot living There are now Compact lluorescent light bulbs that screw into standard sockets and use only a quarter ot the energy required ot conventional incandescent bulbs Here are some tips lor saving energy in transportation Use public transportation, car pool. bike or walk Purchase a cat with good gas mileage Keep youf car tuned up and running well Cut down on unnecessary dr> vmg by living close to your place ol work, calling ahead betofe shopping and consolidating errands Avoid drive-thru lines where your car engine must Kite I or long periods Arrange tor a carpool with your co workers or neighbors Enjoy local recreational activi ties rather than traveling long distances tor entertainment The necessity of water conservation Conserving water saves energy and money Much energy goes into transporting water to your residence, and then more is used to heat wu!« (or bathroom and kitchen uses 8y conserving water, it 19 possible to prevent some o( the pollution caused by excessive energy use Ways to conserve water in the bathroom T ake showers rather than baths Showers use about a third as much water Install a low (tow shower head with an orVoW valve Install a space-occupier in your toilet to minimize water use per (tush, Think "Water conservation" and make it a hab<t Take short er showers, avoid leaving the water running while shaving and brushing teeth, and donl use the toilet as an ashtray or garbage can In the kitchen Only use the dishwasher and washing machine with M loads Front-loading washing machines use up to 40 percent less water than top-toadmg models Avoid running water to wash vegetables and rinse dishes Agriculture and the environment F<*w people consider agncul lure to tie an environmental problem However, mismanaged agricultural lands lead to topsoil loss, water depletion and pollu tion With I he world's population growing by about 95 million peo ple, the pressure on agricultural lands to increase lood and fiber production builds Clearing land tor agriculture, especially m trop ical regions, leads to large-scale deforestation and loss ol species diversify What you can do Buy local, organically-grown fruits and vegetables. As* your super marvel's produce manager to stock organic products Help organize and support a local (armor's market Plant a vegetable garden and compost your organic waste to fertilize it Eat lower on the lood chain more often If you choose to eat meat, buy grass-led, organic beef and organic chickens instead ot feedlot beet and industrial chickens If you have a pet. think about replacing part or all of the canned meat in its diet with veg etable protan How population growth fits into the picture The sue of the human popula tion affects virtually every envi ronmental concern facing our planet As our population grows. demands tor resources increase, leading to pollution and waste More energy ts used, escalating the problems of global warming, acid ram, o»t sp<ils and nuclear waste More land is required tor agn culture, which contributes to deforestation and soil erosion More homes, lactones and roads must be built, occupying habitat tost by other species that share the planet, often leading to thetr extinctions Simply pul, the more people inhabiting our (mite planet, the greater the stress on its resources Earth Facts The industrialized nations, com prising one-tilth ol the world's population, use tour-fifths ot its resources to achieve their cur rent standard ot Irving — Consumers Association of Penang, Malaga In 1988, U S industry legally expelled 22 tuition pounds of toxic waste into the air, soil pnd water. — The Environmental Protection Agency The average American car dri ven 10,000 miles will release approximately its own weight, between one and two tons in carbon, as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — World Resources Institute There are enough chloroftuo roearbons embedded in a single styrofoam beer cooler to destroy all the ozone over an area the sue of 20 football fields — National Toxics Campaign The styrofoam cups Amen cans use each year could form a chain that would encircle the Earth 436 times. — National Toxics Campaign In 1988, McDonalds Restau rants used 1.5 cubic teet of sty rofoam — Harpers Index Amount of meat imported annually by the United States from Central American POO,000.000 pounds Amount o! meat eaten by the average person in Central Amer ica: Less than the average American housecai. — Diet From a New America Every quarter pound ham burger from a steer raised in Central America represents the toss of 55 square feet of valuable tropical ram forest — Chris Uhl. Forest Biologist The outflow from the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant near the LA Airport forms the 10th largest river in California — Heal the Bay Disposable diapers represent 2 percent ol all mumopie solid waste in America — The Envi ronmental Protection Agency There are currently two holes m the ozone that develop annu ally over the two poles, the one over the Antarctic is approxi matety the size of the United States — The Sierra Club Environmental information on the Internet Some of the environmental newsgroups on the Internet alt.hemp alt org earth-first alt.org audubon aft org sierra-club alt sustainable agriculture Working for the rainforest Forests act as a natural sink (or carbon dioxide, which is the major greenhouse gas responsi ble tor global warming As rain forests are destroyed, higher levels ol carbon dioxide remain in the atmosphere, leading to higher global temperatures. Burning rainforests further exacerbates the problem by releasing huge amounts of addi tional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Scientists predict that as glob al temperatures rise, we will face an increase in crop failure, oceans will rise and flood coastal areas, and many species of plants and animals will become extinct. It is often impossible to re establish a ramlorest once it has been cleared To slow this process, try to fol low at least some of the follow ing suggestions. Avoid eating fast-food ham burgers and other processed beef products Current labeling procedures make it difficult to track the origin of imported beef Don't buy products made from tropical hardwoods Instead, pur chase furniture and other prod ucts made from temperate hardwoods. Oak. beech and walnut are a few species that are popular in furniture-making Patronize businesses, such as Ben and Jerry's ice cream and Body Shop cosmetics, that have policies designed to promote sustainable rainforest use. Much ol the information on this page was provided by Earth Day Resources.
