Ok, So I\’ll be the first to admit I haven\’t been keeping up to date with my blogs. However their is a positive side to this. During the holiday break I began to actually work on my project. I\’m not sure if it is on a large scale but I think it made a difference among those that really matter. Initially, when I began to work on this project. I talked about how hard it was going to be to get people to participate and understand how critical it is that we all begin to care a little more about our planet. Then suddenly it dawned on me. Where\’s the best place to make an impact. An area that will continue to produce and outcome. Children. THey\’re willing to help and are easier to explain things to than anyone else.
I got the initial idea from my cousins. THey visited my grandma\’s for Thanksgiving and were bored. (Not to mention harassing me , while I was trying to do my homework) So, I decided to put them to work. After a quick briefing of the pollution issue in kid terms. I managed to persuade them to help me think of a project to do over the holidays here is what we came up with. Play by play.

Saturday , November 20, 2004

Today every body began dropping by. I think this Thanksgivings going to be a little crowded. However their is an interesting flip side to this coin. Somehow I\’ve gotten my family to pitch in on my bloggin mission. I talked to my little cousins and we decided to make our family thanksgiving enviromental aware. Just to give my cousins something to
do I put them to work making signs and decorating boxes. (Old boxes of course and recycled paper, don\’t wanna make any steps in the wrong direction.) You should see the signs they are awsome, who knew my little cousins had such talent.

Sunday, November 21

You know what maybe this project wasn\’t such a good idea. Everytime I turn around their is paint on my floor or marker on my wall. Why are little kids so complicated?

Monday, November 22

The signs are finally finished. We\’ve got 2 don\’t pollute signs and 3 Trash is bad signs. (Oh, yeah and one that my little cousin Cheyenne says reads \”Keep trash out\” but it looks like hadf to me , she\’s 4. She tried though. Today we put the signs around the house 2 in the kitchen and one outside in the yard. Hopefully the rest of the family will have the get up and go spirit my cousins have adopted. The boxes are in the kitchen too, I think my grandma\’s a little upset that we\’ve taken over the kitchen. But she\’s glad that the kids are busy.

Tuesday November 23

I had to go to work today . So who knows what those little one\’s did. I called my day today and told him what I was trying to do. He said he would take a box to work since their is alot of recyclables around. Good ole dad, right. Now my projects going world wide. All the way in Georgia, (that\’s where my dad is) He can be so helpful sometimes. He had to work for THanksgiving so he won\’t be able come but he promised to give the report on his trash collection when he calls me later.

Wednesday, November 24

I worked again today. But I called my aunt to see if she would do the same thing my dad was doing . They tend to be competative so this should be fun.

Thursday November 25,

TUrkey, Turkey, TUrkey

Friday, November 26,

Today we counted up all the recyclables we collected. Hate to say the majority of it came from beer bottles and cans. We got 15 beer cans and 12 beer bottles , 4 news papers and a couple of those plastic things you keep on beer cans, the rings or whatever. My cousins are excited. THey go home tommorow but I think this will be something they\’ll take with them. Maybe they\’ll recycle on their own. See worldwide.

Sat-Sun (break)

Monday, November 29

I got great news today. My friends back home recycled for their Thanksgiving too. See word of mouth is awsome. All you nee d is on person to start the wheels turning and poof, it turns into something awsome. They asked thier parents to take a bin to work and they collected newspapers and bottles at their Thanksgiving dinners. So from back home we\’ve got 20 newspapers , 40 cans/bottles and those rings things. I\’m so proud of my friends. Isn\’t it nice to spread the love. I\’m still waiting on my dad and aunt to call me and tell me their result so I can tally it all up.

It\’s taking these people forever to send the information. I\’ll post it in another blogg and just finish this one off with addition research information I\’ve found.

Recent Additions | Contact Us | Print Version Search:

EPA Home > Prevention, Pesticides & Toxic Substances > Pollution Prevention > About P2 > P2 Tips

About P2
Policy
Programs
Grants
Technical Assistance
Resources

P2 Tips for You
Air
Dealing With Pests
Eating
Electronics
Energy
Landscaping
Paper
Shopping/Products
Travel
Vehicles
Water
Waste Minimization/Recycling
General Tips, Facts and Information

Air
Leave your car at home two days a week (walk, bike, or take the bus or subway to work instead). You\’ll reduce carbon dioxide emissions. More clean air tips:

http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/ActionsIndividualMakeaDifferenceRoad.html

http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=air/cleanairtips.inc

http://www.deq.state.id.us/air/airP2Tips.htm

[top]

Dealing with Pests
Storing pesticides and other chemicals up high in a locked cabinet — out of reach of small children — is an effective way to ensure that kids do not mix with dangerous chemicals.

More information:

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/store.htm

http://www.epa.gov/newsroom/headline2_073103.htm

Before using insect repellants on your skin or in your yard, read the label first!

Outsmart and prevent pests by removing sources of food, water, and shelter before deciding to use a pesticide.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/controlling/index.htm

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard/PestMgt.html

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/skeeters.htm

[top]

Preventing Harm to the Environment - Do not dispose of gasoline, oil, or weed killers and other lawn and garden pesticides down the drain, into surface water, onto the ground, or in the trash. Check with your local household hazardous waste collection agency for safe disposal for these types of products.

Crowd out weeds the natural way- Keep your grass long. Over-seed your lawn each Fall for a thicker lawn in the Spring. Slightly longer grass, around 2½ to 3½ inches, is healthier and drought-resistant with fewer pests and weeds, which have a hard time taking root.

Many plants and insects can serve as nontoxic, natural deterrents to weeds and garden pests. Introduce ladybugs to eat aphids, plant marigolds to ward off beetles, and look for quick-sprouting plants to block weed growth.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/disposal.htm

http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/househld/hhw.htm

[top]

Eating
Eat fewer fatty fish, such as lake trout, or fish that feed on the bottoms of lakes and streams such as catfish and carp. These fish are more likely to contain higher levels of chemical pollutants.

Eat a locally produced diet. Grow your own food or support local farmers, natural food stores and food co-ops. You\’ll save money, eat quality foods, create jobs, increase farmlands, and strengthen your community. You also reduce pollution generated by transportation and energy costs from shipping food.

Buy domestically-produced, certified organic food. Organic farmers don\’t use toxic chemicals, or harmful pesticides or fertilizers. Buying locally produced food decreases on the environmental impacts of transporting food.

[top]

Electronics
Buy Energy Star electronic equipment from manufacturers with take-back programs.

Recycle your computer.

More tips and information :

http://www.energystar.gov

http://www.eiae.org

http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=electronics/elec_index.asp

[top]

Energy
Ask your power company to switch all or some of your electricity to green power.

Look for the Energy Star label on products and equipment, you can reduce your energy bill by 30 percent and your electric lighting charges by 40 percent while cutting pollution.

Get a programmable thermostat and set the temperature up in the summer and down in the winter while you are at work.

Turn your water heater down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. You\’ll cut your water-heating costs by 6-10 percent.

Keep your home appliances running at peak efficiency to save electricity, conserve resources and reduce global warming. Remove lint and dust from your refrigerator coil and freezer. Clean up lint around your dryer, furnace, and any vents leading to or from them. Change or clean the filter in your air purifier or furnace.

Paint your exterior and interior walls in a light color so more light is reflected. Paint the edges of the window in white so more light reflected inside. During the day, open blinds to bring in natural light instead of turning on lights.

More tips and information:

http://www.energystar.gov

http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/p2home/aboutp2/energy.htm

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=heat_cool.pr_consumer_cool_change

[top]

Landscaping
Doing major landscape renovation, time the grading and excavating projects when rain is less likely to prevent erosion and contamination of run-off water. Cover excavated materials, dumpsters, and stockpiles of asphalt, sand, and yard clippings to prevent contaminants from getting into storm drains.

More tips and information:

http://www.epa.gov/reg3esd1/garden/index.htm

Paper
Using double-sided coping, reusing single-sided paper, using electronic mail, and circulating documents with routing slips, an organization can save a significant amount of energy and natural resources. One ton of waste paper saves enough energy to power an average home for 6 months not to mention the monetary savings from purchasing less paper.

One ton of recycled paper uses: 64% less energy, 50% less water, 74% less air pollution, saves 17 trees and creates 5 times more jobs than one ton of paper products from virgin wood pulp.

Purchase paper products containing post-consumer recycled paper.

Shopping/Products
Use a baking soda paste as a general stain remover. Rub chalk on grease stains prior to washing. Apply butter or margarine to chocolate stains, let set at least 15 minutes and wash.

Use herbs, set out a small dish of vanilla or leave an open box of baking soda in the room as an air freshener.

Use cat litter or sand instead of salt on icy walks.

Buy products that contain recycled materials.

Buy food and other products with reusable or recyclable packaging instead of those in nonrecyclable packaging. It can reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a green house gas that is potentially harmful to the envirnment.

Buy in bulk when you can and avoid excess packaging. Even recyclable packaging requires energy and resources to create. Also look for refillable containers. Seek out concentrated products which use far less packaging.

Choose low or no-VOC paints, water-based floor sealers, and wood products from certified sustainable forests.

When asked whether you want paper or plastic bags, select the type you are more likely to reuse for other purposes, such as trash can liners, newspaper recycling or future shopping.

Some retailers like Home Depot offer suggestions for buying \”green\” products: ask them about it.

More tips and information:

Learn about Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP)

What Environmentally Preferable Products are out there?

http://www.newmoa.org/Newmoa/htdocs/prevention/p2week/2001/index.cfm#tips

http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=shopsmart/shop.inc

Travel
Next time you travel, look for lodging that practices conservation.

Use e-ticketing to reduce paper usage.

More tips and information:

EPA\’s Green Meetings Guide

http://www.greenhotels.com

[top]

Vehicles
If you change your own motor oil, recycle it at a \”quick lube\” shop, gas station, or auto store that accepts used motor oil for recycling.

Check out EPA\’s Green Vehicle Guide. You may be surprised to know that you have cleaner more fuel-efficient choices in any vehicle size you need, even an SUV.

Keep tires properly inflated and wheels aligned to reduce tire drag on the road. Gas mileage drops 1% for every pound below the recommended level.

Don\’t top off the gas tank. This allows harmful chemicals to escape into the air.

Water
Think before you pour. Many hazardous products flow from household drains through sewage treatment plants and into coastal water bodies.

Install a water-efficient shower head (2.5 gallons or less per minute), it reduces water consumption and energy used to heat the water. They pay for themselves in only four months.

Only run full loads in the washing machine or dishwasher.

Turn off water while brushing teeth and shaving.

More water saving tips: http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/p2home/aboutp2/water.htm

virtual house http://www.h2ouse.net/

Waste Minimization/Recycling
In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his or her adult weight in garbage. This means that each adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 lbs. of trash for his or her children.

Recycling all of your home\’s waste newsprint, cardboard, glass, and metal can reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a green house gas, by 850 pounds a year.

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV set for three hours or to light one 100 watt bulb for 20 hours.

The energy required to replace the aluminum cans wasted in 2001 was equivalent to 16 million

barrels of crude oil: enough to meet the electricity needs of all the homes in Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Between 1970 and 2003, one trillion aluminum cans were sent to landfills worth well over $15 billion.

Americans throw away enough aluminum every three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet.

Five recycled plastic bottles make enough fiberfill to stuff a ski jacket.

Improving or remodeling your home, try to buy recycled products. It reduces the amount of material going to landfills. Flooring, insulation, plastic lumber, woodwork, shingles, and many garden/lawn products are made from recycled materials.

Buy carpet made from recycled drink bottles (polyethylene terephthalate fiber). This recycled-content carpet is durable, resists moisture and staining, and requires no additional chemicals for its manufacture.

More tips and information:

EPA\’s Consumer\’s Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste

General tips, facts, and information for consumers:
The average American needs twenty-five acres of ecologically productive land to support thier lifestyle. That\’s three times the world average. Want to know your ecological footprint (amount of land needed to provide all the resources and space you use, directly or indirectly, including the amount for storing and absorbing your waste and pollution)?

This entry was posted on Monday, November 29th, 2004 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Project Progress, Week 09: Implementation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.