tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62709777021038030152024-02-08T04:54:58.514-05:00Green FactoidsThere is a lot of terrifying news out there about the environment, news which can leave us feeling helpless. I find factoids about the effects of positive environmental choices to be a simple way to motivate myself to make changes. This blog looks at many sides of our efforts to go green: factoids, green tips, individual success stories, bad habits we can’t seem to kick, helpful companies and resources, and so on. Please let me know about your own efforts to go green.Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-64529882343723987712008-04-19T14:48:00.001-04:002008-04-19T14:49:16.402-04:00"Gray Power"Great article from the Atlantic on how companies can recycle energy and save millions:<br /><br />http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200805/recycled-steamLindsay Sturmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11273100898752918734noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-69986945079921852732008-03-25T01:54:00.003-04:002008-03-25T02:03:00.339-04:00Trash pickers save the environment<h1 class="headline">"Scorned trash pickers become global environmental force"<br /></h1><br />Here's a great story about how countries around the world are recycling at extremely high rates, not thanks to government policy but to "trash pickers" in impoverished urban centers. Here's the story, thanks to the Huffington Post:<br /><br />http://www.mcclatchydc.com/staff/jack_chang/story/31468.htmlLindsay Sturmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11273100898752918734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-46147475430697886812008-03-19T21:07:00.000-04:002008-03-19T23:45:00.841-04:00Recycling: Office PaperIn 2003, only 48.3% of office paper was recovered for recycling.<br /><br />From<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>"15 Facts about the Paper Industry, Global Warming and the Environment"<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>at <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/7447">The Daily Green.</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-67462671124541934082008-03-14T10:47:00.001-04:002008-03-14T10:47:47.604-04:00Recycling Rates of Different Materials52 percent of all paper, 31 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled.<br /><br />From the <a href="http://www.epa.gov/msw/recycle.htm">EPA.</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-57066854280503033352008-03-12T12:53:00.000-04:002008-03-12T12:54:04.530-04:00Recycling Factoids: Curbside ProgramsBy 2006, about 8,660 curbside collection programs served roughly half of the American population.<br /><br />From the <a href="http://www.epa.gov/msw/reduce.htm#recycle">EPA.</a><br /><br />That's up from only one program twenty years ago, which is very impressive, but what about the half of the population without access to curbside recycling?Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-12674489288926422982008-03-11T09:00:00.000-04:002008-03-11T09:15:46.234-04:00The Growth of Recycling ProgramsRecycling, including composting, diverted 82 million tons of material away from landfills and incinerators in 2006, up from 34 million tons in 1990.<br /><br />From the <a href="http://www.epa.gov/msw/reduce.htm#recycle">EPA.</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-16413120648395255132008-03-07T10:47:00.000-05:002008-03-07T10:48:49.335-05:00Recycling Factoids: Recycled PaperMaking paper from recycled paper reduces air pollution by 95%.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nrc-recycle.org/recyclingcalculator.aspx">National Recycling Coalition</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-35297674669076560172008-03-06T13:01:00.000-05:002008-03-06T13:01:24.334-05:00Recycling Factoids: GlassThis post kicks off our March focus on recycling. <br /><br />From <a href="http://earth911.org/energy/energy-costs-and-conservation-facts/">Earth 911</a>:<br /><br />Recycled glass saves 50% energy vs. virgin glass (Center for Ecological Technology)<br /><br />Recycling of one glass container saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 4 hours (EPA)<br /><br />Recycled glass generates 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution (NASA)<br /><br />1 ton of glass made from 50% recycled materials saves 250 lbs. of mining waste (EPA)<br /><br />Glass can be reused an infinite number of times; over 41 billion glass containers are made each year (EPA)Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-37155865992939596502008-02-29T09:53:00.001-05:002008-02-29T09:53:44.225-05:00Paper Factoids: Water Use in Paper Manufacturing<p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The pulp and paper industry is the single largest consumer of water used in industrial activities in OECD countries and is the third greatest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, after the chemical and steel industries </span><span style="font-size:100%;">(OECD <span style="font-style: italic;">Environmental Outlook</span>, p. 218)</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;">From the <a href="http://www.environmentalpaper.org/PAPER-statistics.html">Environmental Paper Network</a><br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"></p>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-45867770344078500812008-02-27T09:25:00.002-05:002008-02-27T09:27:10.774-05:00What we throw away and what we recycle<div class="imgcontainer-l"> <a href="http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts-text.htm#chart1"><img src="http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/images/piechart2.jpg" alt=" Total Waste Generation - Click on Chart to View Information in Text Format" border="0" height="171" width="295" /></a></div> <br /><div class="imgcontainer-l"> <a href="http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts-text.htm#chart4"><img src="http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/images/barchart.jpg" alt="Recycling Rates of Selected Materials - Click on Chart to View Information in Text Format" border="0" height="250" width="416" /></a></div> <a name="chart4" id="chart4"></a><br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm">EPA</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-20798348955478080032008-02-26T09:31:00.002-05:002008-02-27T09:28:25.826-05:00Paper Factoids: Paper in our LandfillsPaper accounts for <strong>25%</strong> of landfill waste (and <strong>one third</strong> of municipal landfill waste). Municipal landfills account for <strong>one third</strong> of human-related methane emissions (and methane is <strong>23-times</strong> more potent a greenhouse gas than is carbon dioxide).<br /><br />From<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>"15 Facts about the Paper Industry, Global Warming and the Environment"<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>at <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/7447">The Daily Green.</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-29059921975916749872008-02-25T10:22:00.000-05:002008-02-25T10:23:10.611-05:00Recycling and Global Warming<span class="boardHeader"></span>In 2000, recycling of solid waste prevented the release of 32.9 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCE, the unit of measure for greenhouse gases) into the air.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nrc-recycle.org/top10reasonstorecycle.aspx">National Recycling Coalition</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-86614679880253316842008-02-21T08:56:00.000-05:002008-02-21T09:06:52.420-05:00Paper Factoids: NYC Recycles?Each year in New York City we throw away 400,000 tons of recyclable paper.Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-27000307023344789862008-02-20T09:05:00.001-05:002008-02-20T09:08:05.787-05:00Campaign to Reduce Paper: Change the MarginsThe Campaign To <a href="http://changethemargins.com/">Change the Margins</a>:<br /><br />Tamara Krinsky has devised an elegantly simple campaign that should warm the heart of anyone trying to promote sustainable living: reduce the default margin setting on your word-processing program. She has helpfully tallied up some of the environmental benefits if every American reduced the margin setting to .75" on all sides of their documents (from the current default of 1.25").<br /><br />we would save:<br /><br />-6,156,000 trees<strong></strong><br /><p>-9,840,368 million British thermal units (Btus), which is enough energy to provide power to 108,136 homes</p> <p>- 1,459,535,366 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to the emissions of 132,528 cars</p> <p>-584,396,539 lbs of solid waste, which is the equivalent of 20,871 fully loaded garbage trucks</p> <p>- 4.8 billion gallons wastewater, which is enough to fill 7,408 Olympic-sized swimming pools</p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Comment</span>:<br />Tamara Krinsky's site should serve as a model for those trying to devise green campaigns. She has a very specific proposal that could not be simpler to implement. It will yield significant cost savings in addition to the environmental benefits. It does away with a usually invisible form of waste, for which there is no benefit: having extra white space surrounding your documents does nothing to improve them, and eliminating it will not affect any conceivable performance measure.<br /><br />She has also focused on a handful of corporate and institutional targets who could serve as a first wave in the widespread adoption of this measure. Her site includes a petition to Microsoft to adjust the default settings on their software, which would probably accomplish the goals of her campaign without the necessity of persuading a single word-processor--for how many people would go back and change the settings? Until then, however, it is up to us to put in place her excellent recommendations and spread the word to our friends and colleagues.<br /><br />See <a href="http://changethemargins.com/">Change the Margins</a> for more on the benefits of reducing the margins on your documents.Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-64762858569536367592008-02-19T11:20:00.006-05:002008-02-20T09:00:11.533-05:00Carbon Tax / Green Tax websitesThere is a growing movement (I hope!) recognizing the value of Carbon Taxes (aka, Green Taxes, Tax Shifting). The basic idea is we should tax the stuff we hate (pollution, carcinogens) and stop taxing things we want more (employment).<br /><br />There are a few great sites on the web -- some that just popped up recently -- explaining the issue. Here are the links:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.carbontax.org/">http://www.carbontax.org/</a><br /><br /></span><br /><a href="http://www.sightline.org/research/taxes"><span style="font-weight: bold;">http://www.sightline.org/research/taxes</span></a><br />Run by Alan Durning, author of a great book on the topic, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tax-Shift-Economy-Improve-Environment/dp/1886093075/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203440489&sr=8-5">"TAX SHIFT"</a>:<br /><br /><a href="http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/10/pigou-club-manifesto.html"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/10/pigou-club-manifesto.html</span><br /></a>Run by Economist Greg Manciw, it is a conservative economists' argument for Green Taxes.<br /><br />The Libertarian/Conservative argument for Green Taxes:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.holisticpolitics.org/GlobalWarming/ConservativeCase.php"><span style="font-weight: bold;">http://www.holisticpolitics.org/GlobalWarming/ConservativeCase.php</span></a><br />Great quote in favor of replacing Income Taxes with Carbon Taxes: <i style="font-style: italic;">"Real conservatives really </i><span style="font-style: italic;">hate the income tax—even more than they hate hippie environmentalists. This should be an easy sell."<br /><br /></span>The Liberal/Environmentalist argument:<br /><br />Friends of the Earth:<br /><a href="http://www.foe.org/camps/eco/taxreform/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">http://www.foe.org/camps/eco/taxreform/index.html</span></a>Lindsay Sturmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11273100898752918734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-3537829705073542432008-02-15T08:53:00.000-05:002008-02-15T08:53:15.582-05:00Paper Factoids: Paperless BillsAccording to <a href="http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/study-online-bankings-environmental-benefits-1199/">Javelin Strategy and Research</a>, here are some of the benefits if all U.S. households viewed and paid bills online:<br /><br /> o Saves 2.3 million tons of wood, or 16.5 million trees.<br />o Reduces fuel consumption by 26 million BTUs - enough energy to provide residential power to San Francisco for an entire year.<br />o Decreases toxic air pollutants by 3.9 billion pounds of CO2 equivalents (greenhouse gases), akin to having 355,000 fewer cars on the road.<br /> o Reduces toxic wastewater by 13 billion gallons, enough to fill almost 20,000 swimming pools.<br /> o Lowers solid waste generated by 1.6 billion pounds - equal to 56,000 fully loaded garbage trucks.<br />o Removes 8.5 million particulates and 12.6 million nitrogen oxides from the air - on par with taking 763,000 buses and 48,000 18-wheelers off the streets.Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-72848823954626700852008-02-13T11:15:00.000-05:002008-02-13T12:24:19.916-05:00Paper Factoids: Recycling in NYCRecyclable paper makes up about 15% of New York City’s refuse—materials put out for regular garbage collection instead of recycling.Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-14880828153526634942008-02-12T09:00:00.000-05:002008-02-12T08:56:24.059-05:00Paper Factoids: Recycled Vs. VirginCompared to using virgin wood, paper made with 100% recycled content uses 44% less energy, produces 38% less greenhouse gas emissions, 41% less particulate emissions, 50% less wastewater, 49% less solid waste and -- of course --uses 100% less wood.<br /><br />From<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>"15 Facts about the Paper Industry, Global Warming and the Environment"<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>at <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/7447">The Daily Green.</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-42594963154381135362008-02-08T18:30:00.000-05:002008-02-08T18:33:23.487-05:00Paper Factoids: Recycled Content of Different Types of PaperRecovered paper accounts for <strong>37%</strong> of the U.S. pulp supply. Printing and writing papers use the least amount of recycled content -- just <strong>6%</strong>. Tissues use the most, at <strong>45%</strong>, and newsprint is not far behind, at <strong>32%</strong>.<br /><br />From<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>"15 Facts about the Paper Industry, Global Warming and the Environment"<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>at <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/7447">The Daily Green.</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-73739126153891853902008-02-06T11:00:00.000-05:002008-02-06T12:57:07.703-05:00Paper Factoids: Office Paper UseThe average office worker uses 10,000 sheets (20 reams) of copy paper each year.<br /><br />Office Paper at <a href="http://www.reduce.org/">reduce.org</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-29863510872882333102008-02-05T12:46:00.000-05:002008-02-05T12:53:16.007-05:00Paper Factoids: Electricity Needed to Make PaperProduction of 1 ton of copy paper uses 11,134 kWh (same amount of energy used by an avg household in 10 months)<br /><br />1 ton of paper = 400 reams = 200,000 sheets<br /><br /><a href="http://www.printgreener.com/earthday.html">GreenPrint</a><br /><br /><a href="http://printgreener.com/index.html">GreenPrint</a> is a software program that helps companies and individuals eliminate wasteful and unnecessary printing.Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-56399515928209159722008-02-04T09:09:00.000-05:002008-02-04T09:10:51.286-05:00Paper Factoids: Reducing Office PaperIf the United States cut office paper use by just 10% (or about 2 reams per office worker) it would prevent the emission of 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gases -- the equivalent of taking 280,000 cars off the road.<br /><br />From<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>"15 Facts about the Paper Industry, Global Warming and the Environment"<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>at <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/7447">The Daily Green.</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-90564030717916252772008-01-31T12:08:00.000-05:002008-01-31T13:44:40.520-05:00Paper Factoids: Deforestation and CO2 EmissionsDeforestation currently contributes about a fifth of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/science/earth/22conv.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin">The New York Times.</a>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-55817623770140004062008-01-30T09:23:00.000-05:002008-01-30T09:25:37.080-05:00Paper Factoids: Percentages of Different Kinds of Paper<p style="font-family: georgia;">From the <a href="http://www.environmentalpaper.org/PAPER-statistics.html">Environmental Paper Network</a></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#669966;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#669966;"><b>US Paper and Paperboard Production, 2000 (AF & PA)</b></span></span> </p><p> <img src="http://www.environmentalpaper.org/images/paper-stats-chart.gif" border="0" height="318" width="375" /></p>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270977702103803015.post-4212111856370501952008-01-29T11:25:00.000-05:002008-01-29T11:26:32.394-05:00Paper Factoids: Harvesting Forests<p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Most of the world’s paper supply, about 71 percent, is not made from timber harvested at tree farms but from forest-harvested timber, from regions with ecologically valuable, biologically diverse habitat. </span> <span style=";font-size:100%;" >(Toward a Sustainable Paper Cycle: An Independent Study on the Sustainability of the Pulp and Paper Industry, 1996)</span></p><p>From the <a href="http://www.environmentalpaper.org/PAPER-statistics.html">Environmental Paper Network</a>.<br /></p>Lilia Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04663935138935805768noreply@blogger.com0