We all know that it's best to use recycled paper for our copy needs at home, school and office. Until recently, purchasing recycled paper was a little difficult for Coloradans.
You can now purchase 100% Recycled Paper from Staples and Office Max. Probably from Office Depot, also. Previously, you could pick up partially recycled paper (around 30%).
The price is reasonable, too.
100% recycled copy paper uses 100% fewer trees, 43% less energy used, 36% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and 49% less water used!
What's not to like?
Monday, August 27, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
Water Facts from the EPA
Drinking Water Facts and Figures:
* 66% of the human body is water; 75% of the human brain is water. (Ever wonder why you get a headache when you've exerting yourself in hot weather?)
* 75% of a chicken, 80% of a pineapple, and 95% of a tomato is water.
* A person must consume 2.5 quarts of water per day from all sources (drinking, eating) to maintain health.
* Water regulates the earth's temperature. It also reguates the temperature of the human body, carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells, cushions joints, protects organs, and removes wastes.
* It is possible for people today to drink water that was part of the dinosaur era.
USAGE
* Industries as well as people need water. It takes on average, 39,090 gallons of H2O to manufacture a new car and it's 4 tires. 62,600 gallons of water are needed to produce one ton of steel; 1,500 gallons to process one barrel of beer; and 9.3 gallons to process one can of fruit or vegetables.
* On average, 50-70% of household water is used outdoors (water lawns, washing cars, etc)
* The average American uses over 100 gallons of water per day; the average residence uses over 100,000 gallons during a year.
* Americans drink more than 1 Billion glasses of tap water per day. (MAS note: this needs updating; not sure what the stats are on our bottled water usage are.)
INFRASTRUCTURE
* The average cost for water supplied to a home in the U.S. is about $2.00 for 1,000 gallons, which equals about 5 gallons for 1 penny.
* It costs over $3.5 billion to operate water systems throughout the U.S. each year.
MINIMIZE PRODUCTION OF WASTE
* Learn who your water supplier is, where the water comes from, whether shortages have occured in your community.
* Repair leaking faucets and toilets. (MAS note: Many water suppliers can provide you leak testers and other items, such as low-flow faucets, for free)
* Take short showers. (MAS note: you can reduce the water that goes down the drain by installing low-flow showerheads, or installing a simple water cutoff to use when you are soaping up.)
* Turn off water while brushing your teeth. (MAS note: Capture the water you are warming up, too. Use it to wash your toothpaste spit down the drain.)
* Turn off the hose while washing your car.
* Be careful and prudent with your water use outside. (MAS note: use soaker hoses or drip systems; water in early morning or early evening to reduce evaporation. Also, your hoses may need new gaskets; the little rubber things you find inside the hose. If they are old, they'll leak.)
* MAS note: In the winter, protect your water line by blanketing the outside faucets; this can help prevent a rupture.
For more information: call Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or visit the safewater web site at www.epa.gov/safewater.
Source: EPA Handout "Water Facts," 2004.
* 66% of the human body is water; 75% of the human brain is water. (Ever wonder why you get a headache when you've exerting yourself in hot weather?)
* 75% of a chicken, 80% of a pineapple, and 95% of a tomato is water.
* A person must consume 2.5 quarts of water per day from all sources (drinking, eating) to maintain health.
* Water regulates the earth's temperature. It also reguates the temperature of the human body, carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells, cushions joints, protects organs, and removes wastes.
* It is possible for people today to drink water that was part of the dinosaur era.
USAGE
* Industries as well as people need water. It takes on average, 39,090 gallons of H2O to manufacture a new car and it's 4 tires. 62,600 gallons of water are needed to produce one ton of steel; 1,500 gallons to process one barrel of beer; and 9.3 gallons to process one can of fruit or vegetables.
* On average, 50-70% of household water is used outdoors (water lawns, washing cars, etc)
* The average American uses over 100 gallons of water per day; the average residence uses over 100,000 gallons during a year.
* Americans drink more than 1 Billion glasses of tap water per day. (MAS note: this needs updating; not sure what the stats are on our bottled water usage are.)
INFRASTRUCTURE
* The average cost for water supplied to a home in the U.S. is about $2.00 for 1,000 gallons, which equals about 5 gallons for 1 penny.
* It costs over $3.5 billion to operate water systems throughout the U.S. each year.
MINIMIZE PRODUCTION OF WASTE
* Learn who your water supplier is, where the water comes from, whether shortages have occured in your community.
* Repair leaking faucets and toilets. (MAS note: Many water suppliers can provide you leak testers and other items, such as low-flow faucets, for free)
* Take short showers. (MAS note: you can reduce the water that goes down the drain by installing low-flow showerheads, or installing a simple water cutoff to use when you are soaping up.)
* Turn off water while brushing your teeth. (MAS note: Capture the water you are warming up, too. Use it to wash your toothpaste spit down the drain.)
* Turn off the hose while washing your car.
* Be careful and prudent with your water use outside. (MAS note: use soaker hoses or drip systems; water in early morning or early evening to reduce evaporation. Also, your hoses may need new gaskets; the little rubber things you find inside the hose. If they are old, they'll leak.)
* MAS note: In the winter, protect your water line by blanketing the outside faucets; this can help prevent a rupture.
For more information: call Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or visit the safewater web site at www.epa.gov/safewater.
Source: EPA Handout "Water Facts," 2004.
Back to School !! For Parents, Students and Teachers
Soon the kids will be back at school. As every parent knows, you have to work your way through a sometimes bewildering list of items to purchase for your child to bring to school. Teachers and administrators also have to load up on supplies. Here are some ideas to help you reduce the drag on the environment when you do this. Please provide any other ideas you may have.
Per the EPA handout:
"Students, educators, and school administrators can all play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions."
1. Reduce/reuse and recycle: Try to purchase less. Does your child need all 10 of those nifty sparkly notebooks? Try to purchase supplies made with recycled content.
2. Do you have items left over from the prior school year? If your returning student can use them, please do so. If not, consider donating them to the school, as there will be children who have less than yours does.
3. All schools have limited budgets. You can help your schools reduce their energy consumption, which will reduce their overall costs. Turn off computers, lights, and other devices that use energy when no one is in the classroom (make sure OK with teacher; teacher could ask a volunteer to do this). Turning off just one 60-watt incandescent bulb that would otherwise burn 8 hours a day can save about 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide over the lifetime of the bulb.
4. Learn about climate change science, impacts, and solutions. Explore the many resources available to learn about climate change. Investigate what other schools and organizations are doing to educate their audiences on climate change. EPA's Climate Change Web site provides educational resources on the "What You Can D At School" page.
5. Calculate your school's carbon footprint. Use EPA's Climate Change Emission Calculator Kit (Climate CHECK for high schools) or EPA's Global Warming Wheel Card Kit (for middle schools) to investigate the link between everyday actions at your school, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change. These interactive tools help students learn about climate change and how to address it.
6. Ask your school administrators if your school has earned the Energy Star. The least efficient schools use 3 times more energy than the best energy performers. By partnering with ENERGY STAR for K-12 program, school districts can serve as environental leaders in their community, become energy efficient, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save 30% or more on energy bills.
7. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Recycle school or classroom paper, newspapers, beverage containers, electronic equipment, and batteries. Using these "Eco-3 R's" helps conserve energy, minimize pollution, and reduce greenhouse gases. You can practice the "Eco-3 R's" by using two-sided printing and copying, buying supplies made with recycled content, and recycling used electronics and printer cartridges.
EPA's Climate CHECK Tool: www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/downloads/ClimateCHECK_1.0 zip
EPA's Global Warming Wheel Card Kit: www.epa.gov/climatechange/downloads/ActivityKit.pdf
Energy Star for K-12 School districts:
www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=k12_schools.bus_schoolsk12
EPA's Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Website: www.epa.gov/msw/reduce.htm
EPA's Climate Change: What You Can Do at School Web site: www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/school.html
EPA's Climate Change Kid's Web site: www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/
Per the EPA handout:
"Students, educators, and school administrators can all play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions."
1. Reduce/reuse and recycle: Try to purchase less. Does your child need all 10 of those nifty sparkly notebooks? Try to purchase supplies made with recycled content.
2. Do you have items left over from the prior school year? If your returning student can use them, please do so. If not, consider donating them to the school, as there will be children who have less than yours does.
3. All schools have limited budgets. You can help your schools reduce their energy consumption, which will reduce their overall costs. Turn off computers, lights, and other devices that use energy when no one is in the classroom (make sure OK with teacher; teacher could ask a volunteer to do this). Turning off just one 60-watt incandescent bulb that would otherwise burn 8 hours a day can save about 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide over the lifetime of the bulb.
4. Learn about climate change science, impacts, and solutions. Explore the many resources available to learn about climate change. Investigate what other schools and organizations are doing to educate their audiences on climate change. EPA's Climate Change Web site provides educational resources on the "What You Can D At School" page.
5. Calculate your school's carbon footprint. Use EPA's Climate Change Emission Calculator Kit (Climate CHECK for high schools) or EPA's Global Warming Wheel Card Kit (for middle schools) to investigate the link between everyday actions at your school, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change. These interactive tools help students learn about climate change and how to address it.
6. Ask your school administrators if your school has earned the Energy Star. The least efficient schools use 3 times more energy than the best energy performers. By partnering with ENERGY STAR for K-12 program, school districts can serve as environental leaders in their community, become energy efficient, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save 30% or more on energy bills.
7. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Recycle school or classroom paper, newspapers, beverage containers, electronic equipment, and batteries. Using these "Eco-3 R's" helps conserve energy, minimize pollution, and reduce greenhouse gases. You can practice the "Eco-3 R's" by using two-sided printing and copying, buying supplies made with recycled content, and recycling used electronics and printer cartridges.
EPA's Climate CHECK Tool: www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/downloads/ClimateCHECK_1.0 zip
EPA's Global Warming Wheel Card Kit: www.epa.gov/climatechange/downloads/ActivityKit.pdf
Energy Star for K-12 School districts:
www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=k12_schools.bus_schoolsk12
EPA's Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Website: www.epa.gov/msw/reduce.htm
EPA's Climate Change: What You Can Do at School Web site: www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/school.html
EPA's Climate Change Kid's Web site: www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/
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