Take A Stand For The Planet and Go With Reusable Grocery Bags
Posted by admin in environment on 04 16th, 2010It is time for BYOB! Yes, bring your own shopping bag! As we continue our journey throughout a eventful 2010, it’s outrageous to think about how much shopping we historically do here in America and world-wide. Whether it’s numerous trips to the supermarket as we keep our kitchen’s stocked for magnificent meals and tasty goodies or those occasionally dreaded (yet skillful) “6 bags on each arm” walks through the local shopping mall, all of it adds up to so much preventable garbage. Probably the most blatant examples of this waste is disposable shopping bags.
An estimated 100 billion plastic shopping bags are consumed every year within the USA, according to the Wall-Street Journal. Most plastic bags wind up in landfills and the rest often end up in rivers, ponds, lakes, streams or in the sea, where animals can ingest or become tangled in them. Considering the number of shopping bags that are consumed and wasted each year, the time is now to spread the word in regards to the constructive benefits of eco-friendly reusable shopping bags. After all, the majority of us want to give back to our families, friends and communities as often as possible.
Creating a BYOB strategy in our individual shopping habits is a simple way to do just that. If we are able to increase consciousness at this time, the positive impact for our environment is immense for 2010 and well into the future. Numerous cities have already made gradual but significant progress in promoting the use of eco friendly bags in recent years. Encouraging consumers with plastic and paper bag bans, savings at the register for reusable bag usage and tax motivations are a few to speak of.
Right now in America, the San Jose City Council only just approved among the nation’s strictest bans on plastic and paper shopping bags. This is a gigantic victory for the Bay Area, which has 1 million plastic bags per year accumulating in and along the San Francisco Bay. San Jose becomes the newest bay area city to endorse some type of ban on disposable shopping bags; some others comprise of San Francisco and Palo Alto. Tracy Seipel of the San Jose Mercury News reported that it was actually ONE gentleman who truly jump-started the ban, an additional impressive instance of the power of one person. Here’s a an excerpt:
“While visiting his sister-in-law in Taipei, (Kansen) Chu (elected to San Jose city council in 2007) went grocery shopping and was surprised to get charged for plastic grocery bags. The next day, he brought his own cloth bags back to the store. “I guess the question,” said Chu, “was, ‘Why not San Jose?’ ” He began a conversation with the city’s environmental services staff, which later moved to council committee discussions.
Save the Bay’s 4th yearly report on the most garbage-strewn places in the district further demonstrates the need for BYOB. The 50-year-old environmental advocacy group focused on 10 particular bay-area sites where approximately 15,000 plastic bags were recovered in one day last year in their report. Here’s an extract of an article in the San Francisco Chronicle by Kelly Zito.
According to (Save the Bay’s) research, Californians use about 19 billion plastic bags each year, 3.8 million in the Bay Area. The average use time for the bags - made using about 12 million barrels of oil each year in the United States - is about 12 minutes. In addition to the hundreds of years it can take for a plastic bag to decompose in a landfill, the bags also force downtime when fed into traditional recycling equipment. Typically, the bags get wound into conveyor belts or gears and must be cut out by hand.
Ten US cities have banned plastic bags to date, five within the past year. Even Mexico City enacted a ban on plastic shopping bags, which went into effect in August. The city of 20 million at present faces the realities of effective enforcement, which is not simple when the Mexico City Chamber of Commerce estimates there’s 35,000 vendors in Mexico City’s downtown vicinity alone.
Bans on plastic bags aren’t the only valuable means to scale back destructive waste the result of disposable bags. PlasTaxes, which tax customers at the register for using plastic bags when shopping, had been first launched by the Irish. John Roach of National Geographic reported in 2008 on the worldwide momentum that’s been building because Ireland instilled a PlasTax in 2003. The Irish showed they could trim down plastic bag utilization by 90% or more. Momentum is on the rise across the world, predominantly in America. From Washington, DC to Edmonds, WA to North Pole, AK, communities and governments are spurring a global trend to reduce the unsafe environmental effects of disposable shopping bags. In the great state of Hawaii, the legislature is currently taking into account a bill to ban single-use plastic bags (SUP), or to ascertain a small fee to utilize SUP bags.
Even chief retail stores like Target and CVS are taking action by enacting savings at the register for customers who choose to BYOB or just carry-out their stuff without a bag. For those naysayers, it’s convenient to pay no attention to recent momentum in reducing disposable bag waste. But to some, the wide-spread adoption of recycled shopping bags is inevitable. Have a look at just how smoking is becoming taboo in America. Indoor smoking bans have caught on like wild-fire. In a similar way, who is to say the use of disposable bags won’t turn out to be taboo one day within the (hopefully near) future? The use of eco-friendly recycled grocery bags is unquestionably picking up steam. Our individual decisions to take our recycled shopping bags can go much farther than we imagine. That’s what BYOB is all about.
Of course, plastic and paper bags should be recycled and it’s important to keep in mind most huge retailers including Albertsons and Wal-Mart will recycle plastic bags for you (just need to bring them your accumulated stash). That being said, a BYOB shopping strategy can make your life a lot simpler because there is no longer a need to accumulate that cupboard full of plastic bags or figure out what and when to handle it. Keeping a couple of reusable bags inside your car or backpack is a great way to make sure you possess them when required. So give back this year by remembering to BYOB! No matter whether it be in a convenience store, the mall, or while grocery shopping, we can make a change for our environment and help increase consciousness one transaction at a time. For the struggle to eliminate disposable shopping bag waste, 2010 is our moment.
read comments (0)Constant Change Is Good For Us
Posted by admin in environment on 04 14th, 2010So how’s that 2010 new years resolution going? In any case, if you’re like many of us, you may have already given up. It can be extremely difficult to change one habit. In fact, we may proceed year after year making exactly the same agreement to ourselves to break a nasty issue. Next we end the vow of breaking that practice (sound familiar smokers, habitual soda drinkers, or fast-food eaters?). It’s a vicious cycle! How do we shatter it?
I suggest we take on a technique of changing various straightforward things in our life, now, as an alternative to having just one objective for adjustment. Imagine if changing in just one tactic isn’t enough? Since we have a tendency to make decisions to alter, yet in small ways, we obtain momentum in addition to assurance in our capacity to create constructive changes regarding a number of the tougher things like working out repeatedly and at last losing that extra weight. So let’s begin building with the aim of gaining confidence!
I estimate two uncomplicated yet important ways I can modify our planet in addition to myself. To begin with, I’ll use eco friendly reusable or recycled grocery bags rather then plastic one use bags as well as paper bags whenever I go to the grocery store. Secondly, I’ll remember to utilize reusable water bottles. You may be startled by what a helpful influence these two painless behaviors will surely have on the world.
These ways of life are undemanding, effortless and reasonably priced. Furthermore, contrary to common perspective, plastic containers and bags aren’t addictive (we swear, no withdrawals or cravings)! Numerous aren’t heedful of how our usage of these products change our planet’s wellbeing. Once upon a time not long ago, we weren’t aware of the unsafe effects of cigarettes. We accepted cigarette smoke for the status quo. Some of us still smoke or live in towns where smoking is permissible inside public spaces. Using reusable shopping bags and reusable water bottles would be fresh healthy ways of life and so easy compared to something akin to quitting caffeine, high fructose corn syrup or eliminating fast food from our diet programs. Stock a reserve of eco friendly bags in the automobile or your pack. Make a minimal investment in a stainless steel reusable water bottle and carry it with you all the time. You won’t simply shrink the damaging impacts of disposable bag and disposable bottle litter in the environment, additionally you will inspire others to create these trouble-free lifestyle improvements of their lives as well. The best outcome is how you will feel with yourself when you appreciate you are now part of the answer, as opposed to the crisis. Take a look at the stats and the facts:
Disposable bag usage:
Plastic bag waste pollutes our lands, valleys, ponds, rivers, lakes, as well as oceans.Just since the year started (as of March 1st, 2010), it is estimated that in excess of 82 Billion plastic bags are consumed in the USA.
According to the EPA this contributes to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of marine mammals (who ingest and subsequently choke or pass away of hunger because of this). In California alone, an estimated 19 billion plastic bags end up in landfills each year. Although there is contest on the subject of which one (plastic vs. paper) is worse for our environment, there is no arguments that the widespread adoption of eco friendly reusable shopping bags is by far the perfect elucidation for this important environmental problem.
Plastic bottle usage:
According to the Container Recycling Institute (CRI), more than 21 billion beverage cans and bottles have been land-filled, littered and incinerated so far this year (yes just since 2010 kicked off). CRI also states that Americans buy an estimated 34.6 billion single serve plastic bottles every year and hundreds of millions end up in the same places that disposable bags end up.
We all dream of a day when we finally break loose of our bad habits: stopping smoking, removing fast food in our diet, or just getting off the couch and working out! You recognize you are able to do it! Resolve what you can easily modify right away, and proceed on it. So formulate an easy change within your existence today: Adopt a reusable shopping bag and reusable water bottles habit and start building momentum for larger changes that are beginning in your life right now!
Pollution and Environment
Posted by admin in environment on 12 24th, 2009Pollution is the fouling of the environment, that is, land, water and air- by waste, smoke, etc. Every industrial country faces the problem of waste. As factories make new goods for people to buy, old ones are thrown out with the household trash. Burning this garbage pollutes the air, throwing it into rivers and seas pollutes the water while piling it up leads to unpleasant rubbish heaps, which take up much-needed space.
Our beautiful ecosystem is being systematically damaged by industrial pollution channeled into rivers like Ganga and Yamuna, nuclear wastes from atomic plants routed into the world’s oceans and poisonous gases like carbon dioxide mixed with the ozonosphere. Besides, tropical rain forests and green pastures are disappearing under the pressure of a proliferating population. Dams are being built over rivers such as the Narmada to change nature’s well-balanced surface equations between flora and fauna. Elsewhere sloping mountainous terrain is being converted into mini oceans to supply electricity to the ever-starving industrial stomach of our age. Elephants, tigers, wild rhinos of South Africa and many other forest creatures have become endangered species.
Consumerism has created a garbage glut in the world. Consumers in industrialized countries throw out staggering amounts of refuse like cartons, cigarette butts, polythene bags and plastic containers, which mix with the water of rivers and oceans and fertile crop-yielding soil of the earth. If too much sewage is poured into seas, lakes and rivers, the water can no longer dilute it,as a result all the oxygen gets used up and the fish die. The bacteria which normally break down the refuse into harmless matter also die, only harmful bacteria which do not need air remain and these cause diseases.
Owning a car has really become a status symbol these days. The arrival of Maruti 800 on the roads of India already brought a revolution in the world of automobiles. And now the upcoming Nano will bring about a new revolution. But the increase in the number of cars has added to various pollution problems. The smoke-emitting guzzlers have made cities like Delhi living gas chambers. The growing number of vehicles; have vitiated the atmosphere. The amount of harmful gases in the air is alarmingly on the rise. They affect our eyes and lungs giving rise to all kinds of respiratory diseases.
On the landmass, eco-destroying monsters are deforestation, dams constructed to generate electricity and serve irrigational facilities, and soot and toxic gases resulting in the greenhouse effect. Some American environmentalists like Jeremy Rifkin blame the world’s population of cattle for most of the ecological ills. These creatures we feed and fatten to get their meat, spoil streams and underground aquifers. Tropical rain forests are turning into pastures for this gluttonous herd. In Saharan Africa, the burgeoning population of cattle is denuding the arid lands of fertile vegetation. In Netherlands, population of pigs poses a major ecological threat. Their manure defiles water supply with excessive nitrates and acidifies local soils.
Building dams over rivers is like clotting the blood of nature and stopping its pulse from beating. Scientists have proved that dams and embankments cause more floods and do more harm than good. Flooding is a boon of nature when occurring in limits. It cleanses and renews river basins, expands feeding and breeding grounds of plants, fishes, birds and wildlife, and spreads fresh layers of fertile silt from which we get bumper crops.
Getting rid of plastics is particularly difficult- with time, wood and paper decay through the action of bacteria, but plastics never decay.
Pollution must be controlled and the sooner the better. It will cost a great deal, both in terms of money and a change in lifestyle. For example, acid rain can be arrested by checking harmful fumes before they go out from power station chimneys. This may push up the price of electricity, but is for the better. Also, the packaging of goods in bright plastics and the ‘throwaway’ culture should be discouraged. As industry needs a regular supply of raw materials, the best solution to the problem of waste is to make use of it as a raw material by reusing or recycling it. Governments must not allow construction contractors who are largely responsible for manmade floods to plunder the timber wealth of forests.
The introduction of metro has eased the traffic on the roads of Delhi to a little extent. It provides a comfortable, cleaner and cheaper alternative to the office-goers. The day is not very far when unconventional sources of energy will be used to drive cars.
The Japanese solution to environmental hazards is burning, burying, reducing and recycling waste products. In U.S., more than 2,000 garbage burning plants work day and night in addition to 125 large incinerators. Another Japanese solution is aqua culture, which they have introduced in their industries to keep them clean. An Italian chemical giant has manufactured a plastic substitute, which reduces the greenhouse effect.
A high governmental priority will be to educate citizens about environmental risks, economic and health dangers of resource degradation and the real cost of natural resources. Greater emphasis should be placed on promoting awareness, undertaking and competence in schools, colleges and training institutions. NGOs and public-spirited individuals can bring about significant measures on polluting units for adopting abatementprocedures/policies. A system of certification of goods that are environment friendly should be set up. Only then this vast country of ours and the whole world will become a pleasant and clean place to live in.
Sussex Town Gets a Bit Greener
Posted by admin in environment on 10 12th, 2009Brighton have recently made a statement revealing that they will soon be installing 20 roadside charging stations for use with electric vehicles. This is part of a big project to try and make Brighton a more Zero-emission city.
One thing to debate is the fact that some people who already own an electric car think they are bigger and better than everyone else? If you consider a recent episode of South Park it would certainly seem to be the case. Many of the people in South Park bought a electric car and found that they all started to think very highly of themselves and better than the people without the car.
Of course this is all nonsense and just put there to annoy the people of Chicago (where a lot of the episode was based) as well as everyone who own one of the electric cars.
Do we all believe that the answer to the worlds pollution can be found in these cars, or maybe it is it just too much hassle? As power stations are unable to shut down overnight, currently there is a lot of unused electricity, so without building anymore stations, we could power millions of electric vehicles with no additional impact on the environment. If we consider that we may have to build more power plants, they would hopefully be cleaner plants. As well as this, the cost per mile obviously works out a lot cheaper for an electric vehicle than it does for a gas vehicle. The truth is it is all to do with efficiency as gasoline cars are 25% efficient whereas electric are around 95% meaning that a mile on electric costs a penny and a mile on gas costs around 15 cents.
So if you are about to buy a new BMW or buy a Toyota you should hold off and wait until an electric car comes your way. Whether it is used cars for sale there is sure to be an eventual upgrade for a car to help take down your C02 emissions.
Global Warming Trivia for The Classroom
Posted by admin in environment on 07 21st, 2009Global warming is taking its toll on the world. How much do you know about global warming? Taking a global warming quiz can let you see just how much you know about global warming while allowing you to find ways to help prevent global warming. There are several facts that may surprise you about global warming.
For instance did you know that while natural forces are partly to blame for global warming that people are responsible as well? This piece of global warming trivia is something that is often overlooked. Our own creation of greenhouse gases is contributing to the continued warming of the planet.
When it comes to global warming the fact that China is the largest contributor of greenhouse gases is something else that isn’t very well known. What planets conditions are thought to be the result of too many greenhouse gases? This is another of the global warming trivia questions that are difficult to answer off hand.
Global warming trivia even extends to the appliances and fixtures in the home. Individual energy consumption can be reduced from sixty to eighty percent by changing a light bulb. Why is knowing this important? There are over a hundred thousand deaths around the world every year due to changes in the atmosphere from global warming.
A global warming quiz can test your knowledge about carbon dioxide and other deadly effects of global warming. Even if all greenhouse emissions were stopped immediately it would still be at least one hundred years before the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was completely gone. There would be decades after the last emission that the effects where felt.
Animals are facing extinction due to global warming and the effects are beginning to be felt in everyday life. Droughts, heat exhaustion, and pollutants are all effects of global warming. The melting ice is contributing to the warming effects by taking away natural cooling methods. Even malaria is believed to increase as the effects of global warming increase.
An interesting fact about global warming is that planes give off fewer pollutants at night than during the day. So by flying at night you can actually reduce your impact on the atmosphere. Another interesting fact is that hybrid cars don’t always get better gas mileage than traditional cars. Global warming costs everyone money since insurance companies pay more out in claims due to disasters, food becomes scarce and crops are not sustainable in some regions.
Brushing up on global warming trivia and taking a global warming quiz can assist you in finding ways to help save the environment.
Cruise Ships are destroying the Oceans!
Posted by admin in environment on 07 8th, 2009Cruise ships are truly massive. These ships can hold many tourists and have a wide array of staff. They therefore carry and produce phenomenal amounts of waste and then what do they do with it?
Well many of them do dispose of their waste when they get back to port, sensibly and cleanly. Some of these liners have been cutting corners, they have just been dumping there waste in the sea. They simply cannot contain all of the waste in the cruise ship and are forced to release it into the open water. This “dumping” is unacceptable if we want to keep the oceans in clean areas like the Caribbean clean. Around 2003 these ships were creating about thirty thousand gallons of sewage each day. There is not another new study to show the increase of this today.
However this isn’t the main problem. The biggest issue is the air pollution that these cruise liners create. The engines that thee liners use are of massive proportion, they burn great amounts of diesel that releases harmful dioxides into the air. Over a 10 year period from 1991 to 2001 the amount of cruises bought just in the UK rose from 193,000 to 776,000. These figures show that the amount of cruises each year will continue to rise. St Lucia holidays have become very popular, the St Lucian government has even banned some cruise liners from entering its waters.
One thing is for sure though, either we find a new way to power these Cruise ships or we are going to have to forget about them altogether. If you’re thinking of going on Barbados holidays or having weddings abroad, then think quickly before the Caribbean is just another victim of pollution. Soon some of these wonderful places will be so damaged that we wont want to or be able to visit them.
Eco-friendly Casinos
Posted by admin in environment on 05 20th, 2009Visitors of the beautiful Atlantic City casinos have noticed a few changes in the making. The Green Initiative has taken off in the right direction by improving the eco-friendliness of this high traffic area. Some of the current projects include the Solar Project, Energy Conservation, ways of tracking wind power, and Operations Green Products. Each initiative plays a significant role in reducing the dependency on goods which cause pollution.
The Atlantic City Conservation Center is one of the main points aside from the Atlantic City casino hotels and resorts throughout the region. ‘Going Green’ has reached a high point by a few impressive factors including the elimination of paper cups used in offices, recycling goods such as paper and ink cartridges, introducing hand vacuums, foam soap, and more. The energy conservation project is meant to encourage Atlantic City casino resorts to implement some changes in their building structures to help the environment.
Eco-conscious consumers can accelerate the process of these Green Initiatives by advising their favorite Atlantic City hotel and casino to practice the eco-friendly ideas as well. As you know, the gaming industry is close to hitting a $10 billion mark for 2009. What could be done if they reinvested these profits into improving their casinos to save the environment? More casinos are taking these motives into account because 1) it saves money and protects the environment, 2) currently a tax deduction for eco-friendly buildings, and 3) it gives back the community.
The consequences of such improvements are offering a better outlook for Atlantic City resorts casinos because of the principals. Newer improvements including the Solar Project which was awarded to Pepco Energy Services to build and maintain the largest single rooftop composed of solar rooftop of the Conservation Center. It’s a 20-year contract and everyone is dying to see what happens from these improvements. The vision of a healthier planet is only years away. More Atlantic City casino hotels are investing stock into these proceedings while making small improvements themselves.
Although the construction of the Conservation Center can raise eyebrows for investors, Atlantic City casino resorts are recycling goods. Paper goods are only one big contribution to the recycling efforts of Atlantic City leaders – the new ideas are to recycle carpet, office equipment, computers, and more. Pounds of recyclable materials are finding their way into the homes of others and away from the landfills. Some look at Atlantic City as a place of fun and carelessness, but these new eco-friendly initiatives are making a statement to the world – these professionals care about the outcome of their actions.
Household pollution what does that mean?
Posted by admin in environment on 12 29th, 2008Indoor air pollution may not sound too serious, but it does contribute to some terrible diseases like, asthma, respiratory infections, and even lung cancer. You need to be very concerned with pollution indoors because lung disease, every year, claims 335,000 American lives. People constantly warn you of the harmful effects of giant factories, and exhaust from motor vehicles; however they do not often enough discuss the dangers of indoor air pollution. Poor indoor air quality can cause headaches, nasal congestion, nausea, and dry eyes as well as causing chronic lung problems. It is especially dangerous for someone who already suffers from lung problems, to be exposed to indoor air pollution on a regular basis. You may never suspect it, but the quality of air in your home could easily be polluted by many biological pollutants. Many people get sick and miss days of school and work, when their illness could be prevented by keeping up with good quality air, in the home. You could have a number of biological pollutants in your air such as, bacteria, molds, pollen, viruses, dust mites, and even pet dander. There are many ways to keep things like mold out of your home, and the sooner you learn of these the better your life will be.
Just how badly each person is harmed by pollution will depend on the duration of exposure, as well as the amount they were exposed to during that time. These together, are referred to as the total exposure to the pollution. Elderly people, as well as children usually are more harmed by the effects of air pollution, than a healthy adult. It is also dangerous for people with asthma or lung disease to be exposed to air pollution. People know that the exhaust from their car is harmful and could kill you, but the benefits we get from our cars, often outweigh the potential harm, in our minds. It is not until we have felt the effects of air pollution personally that we begin to be concerned with fixing the problem.
This can be done by keeping good air flow in the rooms of your home, and keeping them clean regularly. If your basement is high in humidity, you might need to buy a dehumidifier to keep it from turning into a mold factory. A major cause of indoor air pollution is cigarette smoke. It is especially terrible if a person smokes around non smokers like their children. Environmental tobacco smoke is known to cause 3,000 lung cancer deaths and at least 30,000 deaths from heart disease each year, in non smokers. Another cause of indoor air pollution, that can even cause death, is carbon monoxide. There are many appliances in the home that use gas or wood as fuel, including heating systems, which can release carbon monoxide into your home. This is a serious problem because carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that stops oxygen from getting to vital parts of the body. In mild cases it can cause headaches, dizziness, confusion, and fatigue; however when inhaled in high doses it will cause death. You must have a Carbon Monoxide detector for carbon monoxide which is the only way to know it is in your air. If you don't know ask but before you guess ask how to prevent indoor air pollution.
