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.