From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, household waste increases by more than 25 percent, and this extra trash — mostly food, shopping bags, product packaging and wrapping paper — adds up to an additional 1 million tons of waste a week that’s sent to U.S. landfills, according to the EPA.
Bottled water is a convenience most Americans are increasingly enjoying, with about 10 billion gallons being produced in the United States alone. Yet few realize most bottled water comes from some of the most drought-ridden places in the country and causes substantial harm to the environment. Even fewer realize where their water actually comes from … Continue reading
Most people have, at the very least, a basic understanding of what’s acceptable to be recycled in a curbside bin and what is not. The most obvious recyclable items are paper products, glass bottles and aluminum cans. Plastics are commonly known to be recyclable as well, but they’re a little trickier. Plastics like polyethylene terephthalate … Continue reading
Fundraising for schools and field trips is a useful way to bring in money and introduce students to civic involvement. Unfortunately, some of the most common school fundraisers – like selling wrapping paper and bake sales – aren’t eco-friendly. There’s good news, though – it’s actually quite easy to raise money for your school without … Continue reading
Recycling is necessary if we’re to preserve our planet, but when recycling becomes a hassle, many people say, “forget it.” For example, cigarette butts are recyclable, and although the process is fairly simple (collect cigarettes, seal them in proper packaging, and ship to TerraCycle), the vast majority of smokers don’t bother to recycle their butts. … Continue reading
Hybrid vehicles were dubbed the future of the automobile industry at the turn of the 21st century, and although over 2.5 million hybrids have been sold since 1999, they’re still not where many anticipated they’d be in terms of sales. Hybrids account for 3 percent new car sales while electric vehicles are responsible for just 0.1 … Continue reading
A Fashion Staple’s Heavy Impact on the Global Environment It’s winter again. Time to pull out your heavy wool sweaters and pack away those T-shirts. We all have our favorites – in fact, most of our T-shirts are probably piled in a closet, jammed in the bottom of drawers, emblazoned with logos from sporting events … Continue reading
Halloween is approaching. According to the National Retail Federation, seven in 10 Americans will be in a haunting mood this Halloween, with over 170 million people celebrating the holiday in some form. Think of all of those costumes, candies and decorations used – and all of the waste associated with the packaging and old costumes. … Continue reading
It’s a shame, isn’t it – some technological advances that make our lives easier are often harmful to the environment and to our well-being. Most people dread the thought of raking leaves. Leaf blowers do the job many times quicker and without the back pain, but these convenient machines also annually pollute as much as … Continue reading
Gas prices always seem to increase. As a nonrenewable energy resource, it’s hard to believe that oil will ever decrease in price again. According to The Daily Green, if the average American commutes to work 16 miles each way and the average car gets about 23 miles per gallon, and with a gas price of … Continue reading
