GASOLINE
Not every gas
company is equal. Go to the Better World Handbook web page
to see a comprehensive rating of the environmental and
social record of the major corporations. No gas company is
good for the environment, but check out
http://www.betterworldhandbook.com/
and click on
Better Gas Stations.
Note: driving on
under-inflated tires greatly reduces gas mileage. Check the
pressure every other fill-up.
For a list of
current fuel-saving tires from major manufacturers, visit
Green Seal’s “Choose Green Report on Low-Rolling Resistance
Tires” at
www.greenseal.org
Why not Ethanol?
Visit http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0408.html
PAPER
The paper industry
is the third-largest source of greenhouse gases (420 million
metric tons); these emissions are expected to increase 100
percent by 2020. The industry is the fourth-largest source
of dioxin emissions and releases 2,277 pounds of mercury and
38,600 pounds of lead a year. Paper production is the
largest consumer of fresh water on earth, requiring 1.2
trillion gallons of water. It produces 1.6 billion gallons
of wastewater, including 16.5 million pounds of toxic
pollutants.
Source: Natural
Resources Defense Council
Canada's
boreal forest stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Alaskan border. Its health is crucial to the survival of
almost half of North America's
bird species. More than 300 bird species breed in the North
American boreal. 40 percent of North America's
waterfowl breed on boreal lakes. Boreal muskeg soils
contain the highest concentrations of carbon on earth, of
critical importance in slowing climate change.
Half the paper used
for magazines, newsprint and the 17 billion catalogues
produced annually in the U.S. are made from boreal trees.
Less than 5 percent of magazine paper contains recycled
fiber. Kimberly Clark products, Charmin, Puffs, Kleenex and
Bounty brands consume 2.5 million tons of boreal pulp
annually and rarely use recycle content.
Producing
one pound of virgin office paper requires 6.5 pounds of
wood.
Boreal forests are
razed at a rate of five acres a minute in clear cuts as big
as 30 square miles. At least 40 percent of the terrestrial
species using the boreal are on the decline.
WHAT
YOU CAN DO
Conserve, Conserve, Conserve.
Feed used sheets into your printer for everything but
official business. Always photocopy on both sides of the
sheet. Don’t reprint an entire document because of a small
error. Proof on the screen before making a copy.
Cancel your
catalogue subscriptions and shop online.
Buy paper products
with high amounts of post-consumer recycled content.
Printer paper should be at least 30 percent post-consumer
content. (Office Depot sells and uses 35 percent
post-consumer content).
For a list of
ecologically friendly paper products, visit the Natural
Resources Defense Council's
website at www.nrdc.org/land/forests/gtissue/asp
or
www.conservaatree.com/paper/PaperGuide/Tissue/consumerbath.shtml
sources: Jeff Hull,
The Final Frontier, Audubon Magazine, Sept-Oct 2005;
NRDC
PLASTIC
Each of us uses
about 200 pounds of plastic per year. About 60 pounds of it
is packaging, which we simply throw away.
- On average, half
the cost of a product is packaging.
- Americans use 2.5
million plastic bottles every hour and throw away 25 billion
Styrofoam cups a year.
- Only one percent
of plastics can be economically recycled.
- Plastic production
uses petroleum and is the most polluting manufacturing
process.
- Plastic does not
decompose, is found in the most remote places on the planet
and kills wildlife.
- Phthalates given
off by plastic are harmful to humans and other animals.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Avoid single-serving
packages and single-use items such at bottled water,
disposable razors, disposable cameras, etc.
- Avoid
over-packaged goods (a box in a box in wrapping; food or
candy in elaborate containers, pre-packaged lunches, etc.)
- Buy beverages in
glass or aluminum and recycle them.
- Avoid disposable
plates and utensils and patronize restaurants that serve
with the real thing.
- Buy food in glass
or steel containers and recycle them.
- Buy eggs in
cardboard cartons.
- Buy produce loose,
not in plastic, and avoid plastic vegetable bags when
possible.
- Carry your own
cloth shopping bag.
ELECTRICAL
Replace just five
incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent and save money
($25 during the lifetime of each bulb), carbon dioxide
emissions (900 pounds each year), and effort (they last much
longer).
The yearly pollution
from one gas lawn mower is equivalent to 43 new cars driving
1,200 miles each. The solution is to reduce lawn size and
use an electric mower.
Sign up to get part
of your electrical power from renewable sources. If you
live in Denton, go to
http://www.dmepower.com/GreenSense.cfm
For lots more
suggestions, visit www.energystar.gov
For an excellent
article on the renewable industry visit E Magazine at
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?2176&src'
And visit the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory at http://www.nrel.gov/
CLEANING PRODUCTS
The average American
household uses 40 pounds of chemicals a year as cleaners,
polishes, stain removers and personal care products.
Because ingredients are often trade secrets we have little
to go on beyond mandated signal words like danger,
warning, and caution. These words tell us what
will happen with acute exposure, but nothing about long-term
exposure, which can cause serious illness. There are many
low-tech solutions, many involving simple ingredients such
as vinegar and baking soda.
A good source of
information is Green Clean: the Environmentally Sound
Guide to Cleaning Your Home, by Linda Mason Hunter and
Mikki Halpin. Melcher Media
SEAFOOD
You
have the power to make a difference. Buy only seafood
species that have not been over fished or are caught in
environmentally destructive ways. Go online to download a
guide to carry in your wallet so you always have the
information you need to make wise choices. Get the Monterey
Bay Aquarium printable pocket sized guide at
http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp
For two excellent
articles on the state of the ocean and fisheries, visit
http://www.motherjones.com/news/featurex/2006/03/oceans_index.html
CLOTHING
There are ways to be
well clad while being conscientious. But getting there takes
smart shopping, and the mantra
natural good, synthetic bad
can be misleading.
Cotton is the second
most pesticide-laden crop in the U.S., using 25 percent of all
insecticides produced annually. Workers risk bronchitis and
emphysema from cotton dust. Organic cotton costs textile
manufacturers twice as much.
Wool relies on
chemicals at every stage: sheep are dipped in pesticides, fleece
is scoured with petroleum-based detergents, yarn is died with
heavy-metal-based dyes, and wastewater pollutes streams.
Workers exposed to dip can suffer neurological damage.
Miracle fabrics like
polyester are made from polluting petrochemicals, are hard to
recycle and not biodegradable, so they end up in landfills or
burned.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
