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| Dear Planet Earth... |
| Facts about our environment If you throw away 2 aluminum cans, you waste more energy than 1,000,000,000 (one billion) of the world's poorest people use a day. More than 1,000,000,000 (one billion) trees are used to make disposable diapers every year. In one minute, 50 acres of rainforest are destroyed. Some rain has a pH of 3 or 4. (which is pretty acidic, considering 7 is neutral, not acidic, and battery acid has a pH of 1). Some fish, such as lake trout and smallmouth bass, have trouble reproducing at a pH of 6, which is only slightly acidic. Some clams and snails can't survive at all. Most crayfish are dead at a pH of 5. You can see how bad this is for the environment. About 90% of the energy used in lighting a standard (incandescent) light bulb is lost as heat. Air conditioning uses 10 times more energy than a fan, therefore, it creates 10 times the pollutants. Cars and pick-up trucks are responsible for about 20% of the carbon dioxide released into the air. There are about 500 million automobiles on the planet, burning an average of 2 gallons of fuel a day. Each gallon releases 20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air. About 80% of our trash goes to landfills, 10% is incinerated, and 10% is recycled. Since there is little oxygen underground, where we bury our garbage, to help bacteria eat the garbage, almost nothing happens to it. Scientists have dug into landfills and found ears of corn still intact after 20 years, and newspapers still readable after 30. |
| What can we do to help? Turn off lights. Turn off other electric things, like TVs, stereos, and radios when not in use. Use rechargable batteries. Do things manually instead of electrically, like open cans by hand. Use fans instead of air conditioners. In winter, wear a sweater instead of turning up your thermostat. Insulate your home so you won't be cold in winter. Use less hot water. Whenever possible, use a bus or subway, or ride your bike or walk. Try to buy organic fruits and vegetables if you're concerned about pesticides. (Organic food is grown without man-made fertilizers and/or pesticides). Don't waste products made from forest materials. Use recycled paper and/or recycle it. Reuse old papers. Don't buy products that may have been made at the expense of the rainforest. Support products that are harvested from the rainforest but have not cut down trees to get it. Plant trees, espessially if you have cut one down. Get other people to help you in your cause. Make and/or join an organization. Avoid products that are used once, then thrown away. Buy products with little or no packaging. Encourage your grocery store sell environmentally friendly cloth bags for people to use when they shop, or bring your own. REDUCE, REUSE, & RECYCLE. Compost. Buy recycled products. Don't buy pets taken from the wild. If you have a good zoo nearby, (if the animals are healthy and the zoo takes care of them), support it! Espessially if they help breed endangered animals. Don't buy products if animals were killed to make it. Cut up your six-pack rings before throwing them out. |
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| We have no idea what we do to our planet earth. Or maybe we do but we just decide to ignore it. Some of us say that we don't have to be preoccupy by the consequences of our actions because it will happen in many years and we won't be alive... This is indifference. |