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.