Sustainable Green Living - What's It All About?
AND
Why Should You Care?
We humans have always impacted our Planet's environment. From the very begining, we foraged our surroundings, built fires, and disposed of the things we no longer wanted or needed. But as our populations increased, our present-day practices are contributing to the unprecedented use, and misuse. of our Planet's land, air and resources. As a result we have created levels of land, water and air pollution so hazardous it is undermining our food safety and it's production. And we are also ravenously desecrating our forests and natural resources , pressing wildlife and plant species to the verge of extinction and putting our own very existence in jepordy. In response, earth freindly solutions, products and technologies are emerging…but we must begin to take the necessary steps, together, in order to make a difference, to protect ourselves and our beautiful Planet.
Be of good cheer and never doubt that your efforts to live greener can, and will, make a difference. Every act, great or small, when multiplied over many days will produce meaningful and properous results. Remember, YOU, in the end, can only be responsible for yourself and your actions, either good or bad.A TEST.......Don't worry, it's easy!
What is Sustainable "Green Living"?
A. Living within our Planet's limits
B. Reducing our impact on the Planet's resources
C. Making lifestyle and consumer choices to limit our use of resources
D. Living more simply
E. Taking care of nature, so nature can take care of us
F. Meeting our NEEDS, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their NEEDS
G. Creating a balance between our natural systems, our economic system and our social system
H. All of the above
The best answer would be H.
It [sustainability] has come to mean the ability to meet present needs without damaging or depleting the environmental, economic or social resources that future generations will need. And that is what "Green Living" is all about.
How Can You Live A Greener Life, Help Our Planet
AND Save $Money $?
Here Are Some Facts And Suggestions:
Conserve Energy:
- In America, the electric industry is the most polluting industry in our country.
- Currently, 84 percent of U.S. energy needs are provided by fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels contributes to the creation of smog, acid rain and global warming.
- The excavation of nonrenewable fuels desecrates natural wildlife areas and displaces it's inhabitants, degrades the land, and pollutes it's water sources.
- In the Northwest regions, consumers get more than 50% of their electricity from powerful high-impact hydro projects that change natural river flows, degrades the water quality and blocks fish from their natural migration.
Our Response:
* If every household in the U.S. replaced incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, in just one room in their home, the nation would save more than 800 billion kilowatts of energy and keep one trillion pounds of greenhouse gases out of the air. The energy savings would be equivalent to the annual output of more than 20 power plants.
* By instituting a few inexpensive energy-efficient measures, like using Smart Strip power strips for your electronics, turning down your water heater and using a water heater blanket and switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, you can reduce your energy bills by 10% to 50%. You do the math!. Conserve water:
- Less than 1 percent of all freshwater on earth is available for human consumption, and our demand for water is quickly begining to outpace freshwater recharge rates.
- When we use more than our share of water, we threaten other needy and deserving entities, including but not limited to fisheries, wildlife, riparian vegetation, groundwater supplies and populations further downstream.
Our Response:
* In one day, the average person uses up to 183 gallons of water for drinking, cooking, washing, flushing and watering. Yet it is estimated that a normal and efficient household would use 57 gallons of water per person a day, which would be a savings of 300+ percent. This amount of savings on the part of Americans would reserve more than 6 trillion gallons of water every year. Think before you turn a faucet on. Take shorter showers. Use a Reduced Water Flow Shower Head. Is the dishwasher completely full? Wash a handful of dishes at the sink. Are you washing a full load of clothes? Reduce Our Use Of Toxic Products:
- Over 2,000 chemicals are used, in high volume, in the U.S.. Many of them are untested by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and many of them are known by their manufacturers to pose risks to humans and wildlife.
- Trade secret laws enable manufacturers to hide up to 99% of a product's "inert" ingredients. Inert ingredients, however, can be as or more toxic than "active" ingredients requiring disclosure.
- It is estimated that 12 billion pounds of household cleaning products are poured down the drain each year, of which, a percentage re-enters the environment and fouls water quality.
- Americans generate 1.6 million tons of household hazardous waste, much of which is disposed of in our landfills and waste water. Sadly, many of these products contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or re-active ingredients.
Our Response:
* Switching to natural and /or organic alternatives will reduce the volume of chemicals, corrosives, toxins, ignitables and re-actives from polluting our environment and water sources, resulting in protecting ourselves, the wildlife and our Planet. Hazardous waste, such as paint, oil, flammables, pesticides, fertilizers and batteries should be disposed of properly. Contact your solid waste management agency or local government offices for more information. Reduce Waste:
- The average American today creates 65% more garbage than they did in 1960.
- If waste cannot be composted, recycled or reclaimed for a second use, it must be thrown "AWAY" or burned. When burned it can be a source of energy, but it is also a source of pollution. And the imaginary land, called "AWAY", is a landfill. In this landfill waste becomes a massive and a nearly permanent structure. The waste is deprived of the light, moisture and the air it needs to break down, where-by the land of "AWAY" will be preserved for many generations to come. Landfills also leach contaminates into groundwater and release poisonous methane gases into the atmosphere.
Our Response:
* Thoughtful purchasing can reduce waste. Purchase items that are minimally packaged, durable, reusable, recyclable, and that use our resources conservatively.
* Re-using useful items prevents over production and the need to create new items, which conserves our resources.
* Recycling, including composting, diverted 69.9 million tons of material away from landfills and incinerators in 2000 and thus obviated the consumption of a nearly equal amount of virgin resources for industrial and consumer products. Buy Recycled Products:
- The average national recycling rate is only 33%. If recycling is to be successful at solving significant waste problems by diverting usable "raw" material from landfills or incinerators, consumers need to buy products made from the recycled material.
Our Response:
* By seeking out and buying products made with recycled content, markets are created for the "raw" materials, where-by elevating recycling to a competitive, profitable and sustainable endeavor.
* Nearly all recycling processes achieve significant energy savings compared to production using virgin materials. According to the EPA, in 2000, recycling resulted in an annual energy savings of at least 660 trillion BTUs, which equals the amount of energy used in 6 million households annually. Avoid Plastics:
- Plastic is made from non-renewable petroleum resources and requires the use of toxic chemicals during it's production and processing.
- Plastics production produces 14 percent of toxic air emissions in the U.S., and each plant emits an average of 300-500 gallons of contaminated wastewater per minute.
- Though most plastics are technically recyclable, only types 1 and 2 are commonly recycled. That means that the majority of types 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are being thrown "AWAY". As a result, less than 3 percent of the 60 billion pounds of plastic produced nationwide every year is actually recycled.
- Very few facilities collect and recycle plastic bags, and they end up primarily as litter or landfill material. As litter, plastic bags can, and do, much harm or can even kill wildlife. Those that make it to a landfill will last for several lifetimes.
Our Response:
* When asked the question, " Paper or Plastic?", say, " NEITHER!". If just 5% of U.S. consumers switched to re-usable cloth bags, that would save our environment from nearly 700 million plastic bags this year.
* Reducing our reliance on plastic would reduce pollution, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste liabilities. Use Virgin Wood Products Wisely:
- Americans consume 700 pounds of paper products each year per capita, compared to the 1994 world average of 97 pounds, and more than 90 percent of the printing and writing paper made in the U.S. is from virgin tree fiber.
- Every year nearly 900,000,000 trees are cut down to provide raw materials for American paper and pulp mills.
- Pulp and paper mills are among the worst polluters to air, water and land of any manufacturing industry in the country.
- Paper bags use mostly virgin fibers to give them the strength to hold up to heavy groceries.
- Trees do not renew quickly enough to keep up with current demand. As deforestation accelerates, forests are unable to remove harmful carbon dioxide from our air, provide climate control, provide soil conservation or natural wildlife habitats.
Our Response:
* Reusing paper and buying paper made of recycled fibers and non-wood fibers saves trees.
* If U.S. consumers used half as many paper bags (switch to re-usable cloth bags) as they do today, we would save more than 11 million 15-year-old trees in one year.
* Alternatives to virgin wood products that make use of recycled and salvaged materials reduces the pressure to cut more trees and diverts valuable material from overburdened waste systems.
* When it's necessary to buy virgin wood, asking for "Certified Sustainable Wood" products promotes responsible forest management. Reduce Meat Consumption:
- The demand for meat in the U.S. has led to massive-scale, industrial farming practices. The EPA blames these farming practices for 70 percent of the pollution in the nation's rivers and streams, making livestock agriculture the primary non-point source of water pollution.
- Pound for pound, far more resources go to produce meat than non-feed grains, fruits and vegetables, resulting in gross inefficiencies. To produce one pound of beef protein it takes vastly more water, land and energy than to produce one pound of vegetable protein. In fact, more than half of all water and one-third of fossil fuels used in the U.S., and eighty-seven percent of our agricultural land is devoted to raising animals for food.
- All told, meat production is a leading contributor to deforestation, soil erosion and desertification, water scarcity and pollution, loss of biodiversity, depletion of fossil fuels and global warming.
Our Response:
* Reducing your meat consumption (both red meat and poultry) could improve the environment on almost every level. Buy Sustainable Foods From Sustainable Producers:
- About 2 million acres of prime cropland are lost annually in the U.S. due to erosion, salinization, and water logging caused by conventional, unsustainable farming practices that rely an mechanization, chemicals and ineffective irrigation.
- Over fishing and indiscriminate destruction of fish and marine wildlife throughout U.S. and international waters is devastating species and altering ocean ecosystems.
Our Response:
* Sustainable, organic farming protects the land, air and water by relying on natural growing methods. Buying organically produced foods will help organic farmers survive and persuade more conventional growers and producers to go organic.
* Buying fish from sustainable fisheries will protect the existence and health of species and their habitats.
Reduce Over Consumption:
- Americans on the whole are voracious consumers. We out-consume any other industrial nation per capita. It is for this reason, that associated activities like raw material extraction, manufacturing, packaging, delivery, end-use and disposal take such a tremendous toll on the environment.
Our Response:
* Renting, borrowing, or sharing, when it is practical, will eliminate purchases for things we need only seldom or temporarily.
* Extending the useful life of our belongings by maintaining, upgrading, repairing, refurbishing, refinishing, reupholstering, etc. will reduce the need for so many new purchases.
* Begin to develop an awareness of, and allegiance to, companies and products that don't needlessly harm our Planet. Buying earth friendlier products will send the message to eco-offending companies that they must either change to stay relevant and competitive, or disappear.
* Collective buying that supports re-use, and earth-friendly businesses, will expand the markets, there-by increasing our choices and lowering prices. Reduce Driving:
- Motor vehicles are the biggest single source of atmospheric pollution worldwide. Six of the seven chief air pollutants come from automobiles. More than 125 million Americans live in areas with unacceptable air pollution.
- U.S. cities have lost 21 percent of their trees in the past 10 years, due primarily to urban sprawl and highway construction.
- Over 16 million hectacres are paved over to accomodate the car: including roads, parking lots, driveways, etc. Runoff from these surfaces deposits road salt, dirt, fertilizers, pesticides, antifreeze, engine oil, and other pollutants into our lakes, rivers, streams and oceans.
- The U.S, with just 5% of the Planet's population, uses 40% of the Planet's gasoline. The exploration and extraction of petroleum products contributes to pollution, habitat destruction, endangers wildlife and the loss of our Planet's scenic beauty.
Our Response:
* By driving two less days per week, the average person can save about 143 gallons of gasoline and keep about 2,778 pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere each year. If only 1 percent of all licensed drivers followed suit, 273 million gallons of gasoline and 5.3 billion pounds of CO2 could be saved this year.
* Driving the most fuel efficient, low emissions car that fits your needs will reduce our reliance on oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, conserve natural resources, and protect wildlife and the environment from aggressive oil exploration and drilling.
* The owner of a 40 mpg vehicle will spend $780 less each year on gasoline than the owner of a 20 mpg vehicle (if driving 12,000 miles and paying $2.60/gallon)
.
Make A Difference
The Alliance for Climate Protection
http://www.climateprotect.org/
Take The Pledge
To Improve Our
Environment
We are asking you to join us in signing The Pledge, which calls for a 90% cut in global warming pollution. The pledge is a simple way to show that the political will exists to take the bold steps necessary to end the climate crisis. But it will only be effective if millions of Americans speak out and add their voice.
THE PLEDGE:
1. To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;
2. To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become "carbon neutral;"
3. To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2;
4. To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;
5. To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;
6. To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,
7. To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.
Sign the Live Earth Pledge today by visiting:
http://liveearthpledge.org/answer_the_call.php
OR
http://www.algore.com/pledge/
We Can Solve It
wecansolveit.org
For More Information
Campaign Earth
http://www.campaignearth.org/mainpage.asp
Treehugger.com - Go Green
http://www.treehugger.com/gogreen.php
Friends of the Earth
http://www.foe.org/index.html
Organic Consumers Association
http://www.organicconsumers.org/
Defenders of Wildlife
http://www.defenders.org/
Defenders of Wildlife - Renewable Energy
http://www.defenders.org/habitat/renew.html
U.S.Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org/
EPA GREENACRES
http://www.epa.gov/greenacres/
Consumer Reports - Greener Choices
http://www.greenerchoices.org/
Be Persistent, this is a very busy link
Fun Links For Kids
Or Kids At Heart
YOU Wild - morph into a wild animal
http://www.youwild.org/
Adventures of Bobby Bigfoot
http://www.kidsfootprint.org/
Cool Kids For A Cool Climate
http://www.coolkidsforacoolclimate.com/
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The purchase of products from our Affiliates supports this website
and it's chosen non-for-profit organizations.
And we also purchase CFL bulbs for
the less fortunate. They save money,
and we conserve energy.
Thank-you for your support!
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