Earth Day may fall on a Tuesday this year — a work day, a school day -- but
momentum’s been building in the weeks and months leading up to April 22,
the date on which people around the world pause to appreciate their fragile planet.
For several decades, ever since the inaugural Earth Day on April 22, 1970, environmental
leaders, students, educators, government officials, entertainers and just plain folk have
taken part in all kinds of activities to learn how human behavior impacts the Earth.
This year, the focus shifts from building awareness of the problem to educating people about
climate change solutions that anyone can adopt.
“We have a broad focus on how to solve the crisis as opposed to educating people
what it’s all about. I think we are past that,” said Kathleen Rogers, president
of Earth Day Network, a U.S.-based nonprofit founded by organizers of the first Earth Day.
Earth Day Network does not govern Earth Day activities -- no single organization or governmental
body does. However, many look to the group for guidance on news, legislative developments and Earth
Day activities and events.
On the Sunday before Earth Day, April 20, daylong free festivals will get under
way in park settings across eight cities: New York, Washington, D.C., Miami, Chicago,
Denver, Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. At the flagship venue, the National Mall
in Washington, D.C., elected officials and candidates, community speakers and celebrities
will be on hand along with musical performers.
Billed as the nation’s largest carbon-neutral gathering, the multi-city event
is expected to draw 500,000 people and leave only a limited carbon footprint through
the use of alternative fuels, paperless administration and diligent waste management.
Inevitably, some greenhouse gases will be produced during the event, and organizers
Green Apple Festival will offset those emissions by investing in programs that help
restore the environment.
www.greenapplemusicfestival.com
Worldwide, Earth Day events are planned across Europe and Canada, and in far-flung
cities in Africa, South America, Australia and Asia.
“We are certainly hopeful that people will create their own
Earth Day events. I don’t care if it’s an Earth Day
meal,” said Rogers. She hopes to see more “greening’
of schools and involvement among young children. “Even if you are
planting bulbs with them or taking them for a walk, that’s good
enough for me. Children are amazed at nature.”
Environmental consciousness among high school and college students
is on the rise, said Sean Miller, director of education, Earth Day
Network. “Five years ago, the campus sustainability movements,
as well as the green school movement, were virtually nonexistent,
” he said. “Now, organizations like the Campus Climate
Challenge exist on over 600 campuses across North America. There are
over 80 certified green schools now, with about 600 on the waiting list.”
Rogers said Earth Day Network’s own “Call to Climate”
theme is designed to spur action, to encourage people to modify their habits to
protect the environment and voice their concerns to government leaders.
Among the climate change solutions anybody can adopt:
Knock It “Off”! Unplug computers, TVs, VCRs and household
appliances when not in use. An estimated 5 percent of your energy bill is wasted
on this so-called vampire power that is drained when appliances are powered off
but plugged in. That adds up to $4 billion in U.S. wasted energy a year.
Hoof It: Walking and cycling are good for you, too. Use public transportation
whenever possible.
Double Duty: Set the computer printer to print on both sides of a
sheet of paper. That’ll save trees and paper costs.
Go Low: Buy low-flow showerheads, set the dishwasher on efficiency mode
and the clothes washer to a lower temperature. If every American home replaced
just one energy-hog light bulb with an Energy Star-qualified bulb, that would
save enough energy to illuminate more than 3 million homes for a year, more than
$600 million in annual energy costs and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to
the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.
www.energystar.gov
Do Your Homework: Many utility companies offer free energy audits of your
home and make energy-saving recommendations that could earn you rebates. Calculate
your personal carbon footprint
www.nature.org/initiatives/climate change/calculator.
Then, learn how to reduce it www.eeweek.org and
offset it by planting a tree or contributing to organizations that will do it for you.
Boast about your Earth-friendly contributions
and stir up some friendly competition among others to “outgreen” you.
Paper, Plastic or… Reusable?
Supermarket shopping has always been filled with choices.
For customers wanting to do the right thing for the environment
there is one more choice to make at the checkout -- the choice
between paper or plastic. The question of which bag is “best”
for the environment is top of mind in a world of growing environmental
awareness.
For many, choosing paper
seems like the best and most obvious decision because of its solid reputation as
a great recycled product. Plastic bags on the other hand have garnered
somewhat of a negative reputation because they are generally made from non-renewable
resources such as petroleum or natural gas. But is plastic really as environmentally
unfriendly as it seems? Is paper really the better way to go?
According to the American
Chemistry Council (ACC) plastic grocery bags require 40 percent less energy and
4 percent less water to manufacture than paper, weigh less, saving fuel
in the delivery process, and are completely recyclable. The good news is that
plastic bag recycling is on the rise.
According to the 2006 National Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Bags and Film
Report conducted by Moore Recycling Associates, Inc. of Sonoma, California,
plastic bags and film recycling increased 24 percent across the U.S. reaching
a record high.
“More Americans are recycling plastic bags and film than ever before,
driven by a growing recognition that plastic is a valuable resource
— too valuable to waste,” said Steve Russell, managing director
for ACC’s Plastics Division. “Working with retailers, recyclers
and communities around the country, the ACC is working to promote plastic
recycling and drive even higher rates for the future. Plastic bags can be
recycled into many valuable products, including durable decking and new bags.”
For ShopRite, 2007 was a record year with more than 1,700 tons of plastic
bags and film recycled by its stores and customers. ShopRite’s plastic
recycling program has been in place since 1977 and its recycling facility, which
process both plastic and cardboard, operates 16 hours-a-day, six days-a-week.
A Third Choice
When it comes to the question of paper or plastic the Sierra Club
(www.sierrclub.org) says that
neither is the answer. The best choice is reusable bags.
“For those customers worried about the impact both bags have
on the environment, a reusable bag is the way to go,” said
Karen Meleta of ShopRite. “ShopRite offers a variety of bag
styles including an insulated bag for chilled or frozen foods.”
The durable, reusable bag is sold for $.99. According to the Sierra
Club, a sturdy, reusable bag need only be used 11 times to have a
lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags.
Customers who reuse a bag or bring their own bag to ShopRite get
2 cents per bag off their shopping order. In 2007 ShopRite
customers reused 7.4 million bags saving $148,000 off their
grocery bill. That means 7.4 million bags were kept out of landfills
and fewer resources needed to create new bags.
Landfills: Making The Grade
Peer into the depths of a landfill and prepare for some surprises.
A well-preserved, five-year-old head of lettuce, 15-year-old hot dogs
and 40-year-old newspapers were among the treasures archeologist
William Rathje found when he and his research team dug into
21 landfills. The project unearthed a big myth: organic waste like
tablescraps and grass clippings don’t break down in landfills
as fast as once thought. Deprived of air, light and moisture, waste
buried in a landfill degrades very slowly, making landfills modern-day
mummifiers.
Still, landfills will continue to play a key role in waste management.
It’s helpful to understand how they work — and their
limitations — to appreciate the importance of recycling and
reducing the volume of trash we generate. According to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, each American generates about
4.6 pounds of waste every day.
And, while estimates vary, there’s no doubt that we are big
wasters of food. The U.S. government says one-quarter of our food is wasted
and those table scraps occupy a lot of space in landfills --
12.4 percent. A University of Arizona study puts food waste at nearly
50 percent and found that perception is a key source of the problem. While
families estimate their food waste at about 1 percent, the study found an
average household’s food waste is closer to 14 percent.
How Landfills Work
Landfills are thoughtfully designed engineering wonders that are costly to
build. Today, there are about 1,700 landfill sites in the United States, down
dramatically from 20 years ago, when there were nearly 8,000.
Landfills are built into the ground, surrounded by shielding that prevents soil
and ground water from contamination. That protective barrier consists of
compacted clay and a plastic liner.
Rainwater that falls upon the landfill and seeps into the compacted waste becomes
contaminated and produces what is called “leachate.” A built-in
system of pipes collects the leachate and moves it to a treatment facility.
Another important component of a landfill is the methane gas recovery system.
Decaying garbage releases methane, a hazardous greenhouse gas that must be
managed carefully either by burning it or reusing it as an energy source.
The biggest part of a landfill is the garbage storage area. It’s not one
big hole in the ground; rather, the garbage storage area is partitioned off each
day into a smaller “cell.” Once a day’s garbage fills up a
cell, that cell is covered with compacted soil to control odors and vermin.
Garbage is not left exposed overnight. The following day, another cell is opened
up and all garbage trucks are directed to dump into that designated cell.
Once a landfill’s cells are filled up, a final protective cover of clay,
plastic liner and soil is applied and the landfill is officially closed. Operations
do not halt after the closure, however, as landfill operators must continue to
pump leachate and monitor the safety of the site for some 30 years.
While recycling goes a long way toward diverting trash to the nation’s
landfills, reducing the volume of trash we generate is just as critical. In
his book, “Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really
Are,” Rathje makes a number of suggestions anyone can adopt. For
example, wrapping presents in the newspaper’s colorful comics section
and reusing gift bags reduces the volume of waste generated. Buying concentrates,
refills and bulk items also pares back on product packaging destined for landfills.
Composting is
another good tactic and leaves behind no toxic residue. Coffee grounds, eggshells,
fruit and vegetable scraps along with yard waste are ideal for composting. As the
material decays, it produces a rich nutrient that improves soil and its ability to
hold moisture. Items described as “biodegradeable” break down
also, although not necessarily as quickly as compostable matter, and biodegradable
products may produce toxins. Some plastics are described as “photodegradeable,”
which means they can be chemically broken down with exposure to ultraviolet light.
However, once buried deep in a landfill, such plastics are deprived of sunlight and
will not break down.
Earth Day may fall on a Tuesday this year — a work day, a school day -- but
momentum’s been building in the weeks and months leading up to April 22,
the date on which people around the world pause to appreciate their fragile planet.
Worldwide, Earth Day events are planned across Europe and Canada, and in far-flung
cities in Africa, South America, Australia and Asia.
Supermarket shopping has always been filled with choices.
For customers wanting to do the right thing for the environment
there is one more choice to make at the checkout -- the choice
between paper or plastic. The question of which bag is “best”
for the environment is top of mind in a world of growing environmental
awareness.
For many, choosing paper
seems like the best and most obvious decision because of its solid reputation as
a great recycled product. Plastic bags on the other hand have garnered
somewhat of a negative reputation because they are generally made from non-renewable
resources such as petroleum or natural gas. But is plastic really as environmentally
unfriendly as it seems? Is paper really the better way to go?
When it comes to the question of paper or plastic the Sierra Club
A well-preserved, five-year-old head of lettuce, 15-year-old hot dogs
and 40-year-old newspapers were among the treasures archeologist
William Rathje found when he and his research team dug into
21 landfills. The project unearthed a big myth: organic waste like
tablescraps and grass clippings don’t break down in landfills
as fast as once thought. Deprived of air, light and moisture, waste
buried in a landfill degrades very slowly, making landfills modern-day
mummifiers.
Landfills are thoughtfully designed engineering wonders that are costly to
build. Today, there are about 1,700 landfill sites in the United States, down
dramatically from 20 years ago, when there were nearly 8,000.
Composting is
another good tactic and leaves behind no toxic residue. Coffee grounds, eggshells,
fruit and vegetable scraps along with yard waste are ideal for composting. As the
material decays, it produces a rich nutrient that improves soil and its ability to
hold moisture. Items described as “biodegradeable” break down
also, although not necessarily as quickly as compostable matter, and biodegradable
products may produce toxins. Some plastics are described as “photodegradeable,”
which means they can be chemically broken down with exposure to ultraviolet light.
However, once buried deep in a landfill, such plastics are deprived of sunlight and
will not break down.
