Ignorance is Perilious

Nothing like a little news satire to put things in perspective. It's amazing how ignorant our representatives are. Nor can they separate church and state or understand the basic concepts of geology that an elementary student understands. I guess they didn't get to watch "Bill Nye the Science Guy" in school.

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10 Easy Ways to Go Green: Go Easy on the Environment with These 10 Tips

Going green is easy. Check out these simple and easy steps to make environmentally conscious choices in your everyday life.

10 Easy Ways to Go Green: Go Easy on the Environment with These 10 Tips

Switch to CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs).

CFLs use 75% less energy and last up to 10 times longer--10,000 hours vs. 1,500 hours--than a traditional light bulb.

 Did you know that anything with an LED (light emitting diode) continues to draw power even after they're turned off? To save money and energy, plug appliances and electronics like cell phone chargers, TVs, and printers into power strips instead of wall sockets. When you're done using them, flip of the power to cut the flow of electricity.

A leaky faucet can waste up to 74 gallons of water a day, and a leaky toilet can waste up to 200 gallons a day. Fix the drip and save $30 a year and stop wasting up to 73,000 gallons of water a year.

Wolves Recycle, Why Can't Humans?

How random when you come across a comic that embodies the subject your talking about. If humans just did our part to take care of the only planet we have, we'd be a lot better off.

Did you know?

Every 10 aluminum or steel cans recycled saves 4 pounds of carbon.

Every 10 glass bottles recycles saves 3 pounds of carbon.

If you recycle newspapers, you could save 50 pounds of carbon a year.

If offices recycled, they could reduce the waste they send to landfills by 50%--a savings of 33 million tons--which is enough to save 561 million trees.

--The Green Book

Every 3 months, Americans put enough aluminum cans in landfills to rebuild America's entire commercial air fleet.

In the average person's lifetime, they have the opportunity to recycle more than 25,000 cans.

You can power a TV for 3 hours by recycling 1 aluminum can.

Each year, Americans throw away enough office paper to build a 12 foot high wall of paper from New York to Seattle.

Making paper from recycled paper reduces contributions to air pollution by 95%.

Recycling a 3 foot tall stack of newspapers saves a tree.

Glass can be recycled an indefinite number of times.

Making glass from recycled materials cuts related water pollution by 50%.

By recycling 1 glass jar you can save enough electricity to light a conventional 60-watt bulb for 4 hours, or an 11-watt CFL (compact fluorescent light-bulb)for 20 hours.

 --National Recycling Coalition

Top 10 Reason to Recycle brought to you by the National Recycling Coalition

America Recycles Day

1. Good For Our Economy
American companies rely on recycling programs to provide the raw materials they need to make new products.

2. Creates Jobs
Recycling in the U.S. is a $236 billion a year industry. More than 56,000 recycling and reuse enterprises employ 1.1 million workers nationwide.

3. Reduces Waste
The average American discards seven and a half pounds of garbage every day. Most of this garbage goes into to landfills, where it's compacted and buried.

4. Good For The Environment
Recycling requires far less energy, uses fewer natural resources, and keeps waste from piling up in landfills.

5. Saves Energy
Recycling offers significant energy savings over manufacturing with virgin materials. (Manufacturing with recycled aluminum cans uses 95% less energy.)

6. Preserves Landfill Space
No one wants to live next door to a landfill. Recycling preserves existing landfill space.

7. Prevents Global Warming
In 2000, recycling of solid waste prevented the release of 32.9 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCE, the unit of measure for greenhouse gases) into the air.

8. Reduces Water Pollution
Making goods from recycled materials generates far less water pollution than manufacturing from virgin materials.

9. Protects Wildlife
Using recycled materials reduces the need to damage forests, wetlands, rivers and other places essential to wildlife.

10. Creates New Demand
Recycling and buying recycled products creates demand for more recycled products, decreasing waste and helping our economy.      

--National Recycling Coalition

                                                               

So, what's it all about?

Random Acts of Environmental Awareness is my course project about becoming more aware of the environment. But what's that really mean? Well for me it means several things. 

It's about understanding the scientific data about environmental issues like Global Climate Change. Be warned that the IPPC reports are a beast to get through, but they hold a wealth of information. 

It's about becoming aware of the real affects that global climate change and other environmental issues are having on the planet. The current course reading, Eaarth by Bill McKibben, is putting into harsh reality the scientific data presented in the IPPC reports. Reading the entire novel seems like it's going to be an arduous task, as the first chapter "A New World" has left me utterly deflated and depressed. I think I'm going to need a chocolate bar the size of my head, a stock of funny YouTube videos and a David Sedaris novel to get me through Eaarth.

Starting Small.

Discovering local issues is one important step. For example my town is debating whether or not to change city ordinances to allow chickens. Try not to fall over with laughter when I tell you the old ordinance required 10 acres for 1 chicken. I'm not joking. You can have a horse on 5 acres, but if you want a chicken you need 10 acres!? That's one free-range chicken.

Start out with simple and easy changes like unplugging your unused appliances, switching out your light bulbs, turning of the water while you brush your teeth, and recycling. Small changes add up and they can have a big impact.

Perhaps one of the most important thing you can do is get outside! How are you going to care about the environment or global environmental issues if you stay inside all day? Take time to do any outdoor activity--whatever it is you like to do--go for a walk with your dog, go to a local park or trail, go bike riding, go hiking, go outside and start a garden. While I try to garden, it's only a three month activity in MI and I've found a limited number of plants I cannot kill, lilies and hostas. But, I do love going for walks with my sister and our dog. Going out to different parks, taking my camera and discovering new things with each place we go to.

In summary, this blog is about awareness. Becoming more aware of the environment and environmental issues is the first step toward change. Hopefully, you'll learn something, try out some simple and easy changes, and get outdoors. 

-- in media res