GOING GREEN FOR BEGINNERS a totally painless introduction to reducing our environmental footprint Becky Haltermon, Boone County Solid Waste Becky Haltermon Boone County Public Works, Division of Solid Waste Management [email protected] 859-334-3151 5645 Idlewild Road Burlington, KY 1 DISCLAIMER * Disclaimers are never a good sign … I have to admit that I really don’t like the term “going green.” It implies a fad or a small segment of your life when making a real change is neither ephemeral or restrained. Making a real change begins with the way we see our lives as a whole … 2 I want you to be happy. • Let‟s discuss • Health • Dollars • Happiness • “We hope that students will appreciate that the good life is more than having more stuff and more money…” – Barbara Duncan, The Vermont Earth Institute I am not trying to harsh on your happiness by promoting environmental ideals. I am trying to make your life happier. Everything that is important to us is effected by the world we live and the systems on this planet. Everything that we care about can be positi vely impacted by a healthier planet. Environmental Health Concerns: Air quality, including both ambient outdoor air and indoor air quality. Climate change and its effects on health. Disaster preparedness and response. Food safety, including in agriculture, transportation, food processing, wholesale and retail distribution and sale. Hazar dous ma ter ia ls managemen t, incl udi ng hazar dous was te managemen t, con tam ina te d s ite remedi a tion, the preventi on of l eak s from underground storage tanks and the prevention of hazardous materials releases to the environment and responses to emergency situations resulting from such releases. Land use planning, including smart growth. Liquid waste disposal, including city wastewater treatment plants and on-site waste water disposal systems, such as septic tank systems and chemical toilets. Medical waste management and disposal. Noise pollution control. Recreational water illness prevention , including from swimming swimming pools, spas and ocean and freshwater bathing places. Safe drinking water. Solid waste management, including landfills, recycling facilities, composting and solid waste transfer stations. Vector control, including the control of mosquitoes, rodents, flies, cockroaches and other animals that may transmit pathogens. Noise Pollution: “According to scientists, noise pollution can be just as deadly as chronic stress, leading to a slew of health problems including hypertension, hearing loss, heart attacks and general irritability. The noise pollution caused by car horns, loud music, elderly car engines and people shouting on the street is particularly harmful to pregnant women … According to environmental health expert Nagat Amer of the Egyptian National Research Centre, the cost of noise pollution can be measured in reduced worker productivity and absenteeism, as well as accidents and handicaps.” – Jesse Fox, http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/noise_levels_driving_cairo_residents_crazy.php Money: When we conserve resources, we also tend to conserve dollars. For example, the less electricity and gasoline we consume,the smaller our budget. 4 A little exercise … • Make a list of the top three most important parts of your life. • Example from Mary • My niece • My health • Inner peace • Take a minute … Think about it. 3 The Big Idea • The secret to ecological awesomeness is considering where everything we consume is coming from as well as where everything we consume is going. • Stuff • Energy • Water • Tips vs. Lifestyle Suggesting small ways to make change is totally important but what is even more important is taking a look at the way we live every day. Smaller Planet: “As globalization makes the world become smaller, it becomes increasingly easy to see how the lives of people (and plants and animals and ecosystems) everywhere are closely synced up with one another. So toys made in China can affect the quality of life in Europe, pesticides used in Argentina can affect the health of people in the U.S., and greenhouse gas emissions from Australia can affect a diminishing rainforest in Brazil.” - Collin Dunn, Why to Go Green, http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/ultimate-go- green/index.html Bigger Population: World population is about 6.7 billion, projected to be 9.2 billion in 2050 accordinggpgpppp to the UN http://www.un.org/esa/population/unpop.htm The bad news: Everything we do has an effect on the planet. The good news: We can improve the planet in everything we do! 5 Now, to quote Captain Planet… • “Our ways of thinking determine the kind of political, economic and social structures we build, and those, in turn, create the patters of events we see in the world and study in our classrooms. If we want to change those events, we must change the structures that create them, which means we must learn to change the way we think, and to communicate that learning effectively.” – John Goekler, Change Factors 6 Awesome Thoughts: A Use-Less-Power Trip • Drive less often • Fly less • Turn off lights • Vacation closer to home • Recycle • Everyday • Electronics Saving energy saves you money! “A great deal of the resources we use and the waste we create is in the energy we consume. Look for opportunities in your life to significantly reduce energy use…” – Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff Fossil Fuel & Carbon: “…Light-duty vehicles -- that's passenger cars, vans, minivans, SUVs, and pickup trucks -- account for 62 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., says the EPA. Passenger cars alone are responsible for 35 percent of that, and are the largest contributor of any vehicle category, above even heavy-duty vehicles and aircraft. Consider now that for each gallon of gas a car burns, it emits about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. Multiply that by a daily commute of 40 miles for a car that gets 24 miles per gallon, and you have a car that's spewing out more than 8,000 pounds of CO2 for its commute each year. Saving just a few gallons of gas each week can really add up.” - http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go- green/commuting/index.html Aggressive Driving/Speeding: Driving aggressively has a big impact on fuel economy, lowering gas mileage by five percent in city driving and thirty-three percent on the highway. When drivers stomp on the gas, slam on the brakes, rev up, and increase speed on an incline, they’re decreasing the efficacy of their engines. Similarly, vehicles are built to run most efficiently at speeds around fifty-five miles per hour. We can estimate that for every five miles above sixty miles per hour, the vehicle is wasting seven to twenty-three percent more fuel. www.fueleconomy.gov Excess Weig ht: For every one hun dre d poun ds o f extra we ig ht on a ve hic le, m iles per gall on are red uced b y two percent. www.f ueleconomy.gov Cruise Control: Using cruise control on roads that are somewhat flat helps to keep speeds constant and in turn, uses less fuel. However, it should not be used on hilly terrain because it causes the engine to rev up faster than if the driver were controlling the speed. www.fueleconomy.gov Air Conditioning: For city driving, using the A/C can lower fuel economy by about a mile per gallon. At speeds of fifty-five mile per hour and higher, however, open windows create drag and can actually reduce fuel economy even more than the A/C. To maintain optimum fuel efficiency, the A/C should be used only on highway driving and rolling down the windows is best in stop and go traffic. www.fueleconomy.gov Combining Trips According to the Department of Energy, “several short trips, each one taken from a cold start, can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.” www.doe.gov; ClWhihIClSiiRihfY?h//ldiCarpool: Which Internet Carpool Service is Right for You? http://planetgreen.discovery.com/ /kwork-connect/internet-carpool-site-revihliew.html; www.carpoolworld.com Biking is energy efficient: “Bicycling is the most energy efficient form of transportation ever invented.” – The International Bicycle Fund; “…The WorldWatch Institute published some intriguing figures on cycling. Comparing energy used per passenger-mile (calories), they found that a bicycle needed only 35 calories, whereas a car expended a whopping 1,860. Bus and trains fell about midway between, and walking still took 3 times as many calories as riding a bike the same distance.” - Warren McLaren http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/world_most_ener.php Biking will make you healthier: “Regular bicycling helps with personal weight management -- new full-time bicycle commuters can expect to lose an average 13 pounds their first year of bicycle commuting if they maintain the same eating habits.” Other benefits are stress reduction, a stronger cardio-vascular system, better muscle tone, bone mass improvement, clearer skin. – International Bicycle Fund http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/benefits.htm Hybrids: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybrid_sbs.shtml – Compare hybrids side-by-side, find out how they work, get news and info 7 Awesome Thoughts: A Use-Less-Power Trip • Buy local seasonal food (food takes energy to grow, package, store and transport) • Wear a sweater instead of turning up the heat • Use a clothesline instead of a dryer • Buy used or borrow things before buying new “About half of all emissions from buildings, 21% of the nation's total output, stem from home-energy consumption. (Think oil-fired furnaces and electrically powered air conditioning.)” … “Heating and cooling … together account for 41% of energy usage in a typical home” - Real deal: Save Money Saving the Planet, The Christian Science Monitor 8 9 Awesome Thoughts: Don’t Be So Trashy • Use both sides of the paper • Carry your own mugs, shopping bags, hankies • Compost food scraps • Avoid bottled water and other over packaged products • Upgrade computers rather than buying new ones “Per capita waste production in the U.S.