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Thursday, 19 March 2009 15:05
  • The garbage in a landfill stays for a for about 30 years.
  • In 1995 over 200 of the world landfills were full.
  • Each person throws away approximately four pounds of garbage every day.
  • One bus carries as many people as 40 cars!
  • More than 1/3 of all energy is used by people at home
  • Most families throw away about 88 pounds of plastic every year
  • We each use about 12,000 gallons of water every year
  • 1/3 of all water is used to flush the toilet.
  • The 500 million automobiles on earth burn an average of 2 gallons of fuel a day.
  • Each gallon of fuel releases 20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air.
  • Approximately 5 million tons of oil produced in the world each ear ends up in the ocean.
  • The energy we save when we recycle one glass bottle is enough to light a traditional light bulb for four hours
  • For every 2000 pounds of paper (1 ton) recycled, we save 7,000 gallons of water free from chemicals.
  • Recycled paper requires 64% less energy than making paper from virgin wood pulp, and can save many
  • trees
  • Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees
  • The amount of wood and paper we throw away is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years
  • Earth is 2/3 water. but all the fresh water streams only represent one hundredth of one percent.
  • 14 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the ocean every year
  • It takes 90% less energy to recycle aluminum cans than to make new ones
  • 5 billion aluminum cans are used each year
  • 84 percent of all household waste can be recycled.
  • Computers pose an environmental threat because much of the material that makes them up is hazardous. A typical monitor contains 4-5 pounds of lead.
  • Each year billions of used batteries are thrown away in the United States. This constitutes 88% of the mercury and 54% of the cadmium deposited into our landfills
  • Approximately only 10 percent of every landfill can be cleaned up.
  • Ivory comes from dead elephants, its best not to buy it.
  • Fur coats often come from endangered animals, it's best not to buy them.
  • One gallon of motor oil can contaminate up to 2 million gallons of water. so dispose of properly!
  • Here is an example of the water we use everyday:

3-7 gallons for toilet,
25-30 gallons for tub,
50-70 gallons for a 10 minute shower,
1 washing machine load uses 25-40 gallons,
1 dishwasher load uses 9-12 gallons

  • Here is an example of how long it takes some things take to break down:

plastics take 500 years,
aluminum cans take 500 years,
organic materials, take 6 months,
cotton, rags, paper take 6 months.

 

  • Air pollution may cause up to 3,000 deaths in the United States Each Year.
  • 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature rise scientists predict will occur in the next 50 years.(1 p. 20)  Sea levels would begin to rise with a 1.8 degree Fahrenheit rise.
  • The world's largest wind farm (in Altamont Pass, CA) has 6,000 windmills!  The cost of wind energy has dropped 90% in the last 20 years.
  • Every time you take a shower, you can use 9 gallons of water!
  • It takes 8,000 gallons of water to make a car.
  • More than 1/3 of garbage in the U.S. comes from paper and cardboard.
  • 9/10 newspapers are thrown away instead of recycled.
  • U.S drivers use 43% of the world's fuel to power 5% of the world's car.
  • 250,000 years later, some radioactive projects can still have carcinogenic effects.
  • 15 million children under the age of five die each year because of diseases caused by drinking unclean water.
  • If 10,000 schools turned off their lights for one minute they would save $81,885.  If those same schools turned out their lights every time they went to recess, they would save over $4.9 million.
  • The average U.S. family spends close to $1,300 each year in utility bills.
  • The average home contributes more air pollution than does the average car!
  • Recycle used paper. It takes 10 times as much energy to produce a new piece of paper than it does to make a copy on the second side.

 

 

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