Home Ecology"Fossil fuels are limited, and nuclear power has great problem. Why, then, are we not using the resources which the Earth gives us - the power of the waves or the wind? We must look ahead, and there is no time to waste. If

we can split the atom, we can surely harness the tide!“

-Patrick Moore - British astronomer, broadcaster, musician and composer.

Recycling

• The first step in finding out what you can recycle is contacting your hauler and asking them what materials are accepted for recycling. – Do you currently recycle? – Why do you recycle? City laws, personal?– Examples?

What Can Be Recycled In your area?

• Can Be Recycled– Newspaper, paperboard– Telephone books,

magazines, paper bags, computer paper

– Plastics (coded #1-#5)– Glass Bottles- clear,

green, and brown bottles

– Food and drink cans- all beverage cans and food cans

• Cannot be Recycled– Window glass, light

bulbs, plates– Scrap aluminum or Steel– Oil containers, plastic

grocery bags– Styrofoam or packing

peanuts– Chemicals containers,

Paint cans, aerosol cans, and pesticide cans

Fluorescent Light Bulbs

• If every American home replaced just one light with an ENERGY STAR light, – We would save enough energy to light more than 3 million

homes for a year, – Save $700 million in annual energy costs,– Prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per

year, equivalent to the emissions of about 800,000 cars.• An ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light

bulb (CFL) will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months. It uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

Recycling Impact on the Environment

• Reduction of Global Warming – Scientist have estimated the polar ice caps have reduced in size by 33% during the past century.– Causes for global warming

• High amounts of carbon (Carbon Footprint)– Major cause by burning fossil fuels

• Deforestation of Rain forests (Reducing the size of the rainforest decreases the amount of H2O in the atmosphere.

– If we reduce our carbon foot print, we can decrease the threat of global warming.

Animal Conservation• Tigers - There are as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild, and they are being

threatened by deforestation, poachers, illegal trafficking and other factors.• Rhinos - Very few rhinos now survive outside national parks and reserves.• Mountain Gorilla - Humans and gorillas are 98% genetically identical so

they are also exposed to human disease. This is the most endangered of the gorilla subspecies, only about 700 mountain gorillas remain in the wild.

• Black Footed Ferret - This is one of the most endangered mammals in North America. Loss of habitat is the primary reason black-footed ferrets remain near the brink of extinction.

• Loggerhead Turtle – Caught in fishing nets and in Turkey, large hotels have been built directly on its breeding grounds hindering the survival of this great reptile.

• Polar Bear - Currently there are 22,000 in the world. Estimated to become extinct in the next century due to loss of Ice Caps.

Be an Informed Consumer

• Understand the effect your purchases have on the environment. – ENERGYSTAR ratings

• The ENERGYSTAR evaluates a wide range of consumer products for their energy efficiency, awarding the ENERGYSTAR label to those that top the list.

– Hybrid cars- understand the mpg not just the hybrid label.

– Carbon footprint – measurement of the total amount of greenhouse gasses given off during a year.

Why Should the US get involved in Global Warming?

• New Technologies - ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ – Developing new technologies will help the US

in becoming more competitive with other growing countries. • Windmill Technology• Hybrid Cars

• Increased Independence - Reducing our dependencies for foreign oil

Blue Ocean Strategy

The New World Wealth?

Not Yet!