How Can I Reduce My Impact? LESSON 3

Transcription

1 How Can I Reduce My Impact? LESSON 3

2 Reduce The most effective way of managing waste is to not produce it in the first place. Each of us can reduce our footprint by changing the way we think and act. There are numerous ways to reduce waste, including reducing the amount of packaging on materials, recycling, decreasing the amount of chemicals we put into our environment, reusing items, etc. We can also reduce our footprint by conserving water and electricity, as well as using cleaning items and other chemicals that are less harsh. So how can you make a difference? Start by taking a pledge to reduce your impact. Not only will you save money and time, you ll help the Earth at the same time! Pledge to: Reduce waste by purchasing reusable, refillable and recyclable packaging and avoiding overpackaged and disposable products. Reduce waste by recycling and composting materials. Reduce my impact by conserving power by turning off lights and other electronics when not in use. Reduce my impact by conserving water. Reduce waste by using the front and back of paper before getting a clean sheet and only printing items that are needed. Reduce waste by only packing or buying as much food as I will eat, and using reusable utensils and other lunch items instead of disposable ones. Reduce my impact by reading labels and choosing products that have less toxic materials/chemicals and that have been created using less raw materials. Make a difference by encouraging your friends and family to take the pledge. Did you Know? It takes more than 1½ cups of water to make one sheet of paper. More than 40 percent of wood pulp goes toward the production of paper. The United States alone, which has less than 5% of the world's population, consumes 30% of the world's paper. Approximately 48 million tons of food are thrown away in the United States each year.

3 Reduce Waste in Your Classroom Take a look around your school and your classroom you ll discover all kinds of ways to reduce waste and a variety of ways to be part of the solution. Instead of purchasing book covers, cover your textbooks with cut-up grocery or shopping bags. This helps reduce waste and keeps your books in good condition. Make it an art project by decorating them. Use durable products. Sturdy backpacks and other tough products can be used for years. For instance, three-ring binders can be reused and filled with recycled paper, but pocket folders won t last. Set printers, copiers, faxes, etc. to print on both sides of the paper. Also, make sure to use both sides of the paper instead of another sheet, and save old paper for scrap paper. Choose environmentally friendly cleaning products, art supplies and other classroom materials to reduce the amount of pollution to the environment. Create a no idling rule for buses and cars during drop-off and pick-up to reduce carbon emissions. Reduce your school s overall footprint create usable greenspace, gardens and naturalized outdoor areas. Save fuel and reduce your carbon footprint by riding the bus, carpooling, riding your bike or walking to and from school.

4 Be an Environmental Detective This checklist should give you some good ideas about all the little things you can do to help your environment. Some of these ideas can help you save money as well as resources. Recycle incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs. Fluorescent light bulbs use less energy and last 13 times longer. Turn off the light if no one is there. If possible, use sunlight to illuminate the room instead of lights. Buy recycled goods. Buying recycled goods creates a market for recycled products. Don t forget to check the label to see whether the product comes in recycled packaging. Create a compost pile. Don t throw away food; use it to start a compost pile. Remember, you can also compost yard waste! Plant a garden. Instead of buying your veggies at the store, plant a garden and learn about organic gardening. Use cloth rags instead of paper towels. Why waste money on paper towels when a clean cloth rag is more absorbent and reusable? Adjust the thermostat. Turn down the heat and wear several layers of light clothing in the winter, and turn up temperature in the summer. Also, close unused rooms to prevent wasted energy. Check the label on your laundry detergent. Make sure it is biodegradable and, if possible, dry your clothes on a clothes line.

5 Painting without a Brush In the mood to paint? Here s a way you can enjoy painting while reusing an old bed sheet from home. And you don t even need a brush! You Will Need: Old bed sheets Liquid acrylics or water paints Acrylic matte material Newspapers or a plastic painter s tarp Other painting tools, but not a brush First Assemble your painting tools. Things such as empty plastic glue bottles with nozzles, liquid dishwashing detergent bottles, mustard dispensers and turkey basters work great for squirting the paint onto the bed sheet, creating an abstract look. Even pieces of string or cord can be used to paint. Let your students imaginations run wild! And then Make sure the bottles and containers are cleaned thoroughly before feeling each of them with a different color of acrylic paint. You can thin the paint with acrylic medium or some water, and the watercolors can be used straight from the bottle. Finally Find a wide, open space on which your students can paint, and protect the area underneath the bed sheet with newspapers or painter s tarp. Once everything is set up, let your students begin painting and explain to them the importance of reusing things, even if it s to create a neat art project

6 Reduce Toxic Waste There are some materials in our homes that cannot be recycled and are dangerous for the environment if disposed of improperly. Some of these materials may be found in the puzzle below. They may appear forward, backward, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Caution - When a label says this, be careful. Corrosive - Something that is corrosive can eat through or burn through skin, clothes and even metals. Danger - Don t handle a product that says this. Get an adult to help. Directions - This is the explanation on how to use the product safely. Flammable - This means the material catches on fire. Hazardous - A material that is hazardous can be harmful to you and the environment. Ingredients - This is the part of the label that explains what chemicals and things make up the product. Label - Before handling or throwing away a product, always read the label. It tells you about the product. Poison - A material that can make you sick if swallowed is considered a poison. Toxic - A toxic material can cause sickness, or even death, if you swallow it or breathe in its fumes. Warning On the label, this that tells you what will happen if you use a product improperly.

7 Reducing Waste Let s get those creative juices flowing! Bring several items to class and see how many different ways to reuse the items your students can think up. Also, let your students devise ways to handle excessive waste and pollution. Here are a few suggestions of items you can bring to class: Various bottles (plastic and/or glass) Grocery bags (paper and/or plastic) Old newspapers, magazines and junk mail Clean, empty soup cans Other various cans (tin, aluminum and steel) Small bag of leaves, twigs and clippings Cardboard boxes Wallpaper scraps Old notebooks

8 Water Log Use Water Wisely Although water is the Earth s most abundant source, only 1 percent is available for drinking water. Most of the water on Earth is either saltwater or freshwater that is frozen in the polar ice caps. Population growth, manufacturing and agriculture all demand increasing amounts of freshwater. The amount of water on Earth is constant and recycled through time; this means that some of the water you drink is more than 20 million years old! Fast Facts on Water The bathroom accounts for about 65 percent of water used in the home. Some shower heads use 5-7 gallons per minute (gpm). That adds up to gallons when you are in the shower for 10 minutes! It takes about gallons of water to fill a bath tub and 12.5 gallons of water for a 5 minute shower. Reuse Water Did you know the average roof collects about 600 gallons of water for every inch of rainfall? Don't let all that water go to waste! You can use rainwater for gardening and watering household plants, washing cars and bathing pets. Collecting rain helps the environment by reducing the amount of water that has to be extracted from the earth or processed in water treatment facilities. You can reduce your carbon footprint and your water bills by using the rainwater you collect. Use the following experiment to see how much water you can save! 1. Use a clean bowl or bucket the next time it rains. Place it outside under the gutter on the side of your house and measure how much water is collected. 2. Use the water for gardening or for plants inside your home or to fill bird baths when the weather is hot and dry. 3. If you want to collect more rainwater, discuss with your family about building your own rainwater collecting system, using rain barrels, storage bins or buckets!

9 Reduce and Recycle Activities Conduct a Classroom Recycling Game Place recyclable items, such as pieces of paper, plastic bottles, empty aluminum cans, plastic spoons, pieces of aluminum foil, paper cups, an empty milk jug, etc. around the classroom along with the respective recycling bins. Have the students collect and put the items scattered throughout the room into the correct bins. Create Your Own Recycle-mobile Have your students make a recycle-mobile. Ask them to bring from home some kind of box or container that could be recycled, such as a cereal box or a plastic margarine container. Then ask them to come up with as many different other uses for the container as they can. The uses can be serious or silly. Next, have your students write the ideas on small squares of construction paper and attach the squares with yarn to the containers. Hang the recycle-mobiles around the room for all to enjoy and learn from. Create Bags for the Environment Have your students bring in their paper grocery bags. Students can decorate the bags with pictures of Earth and environmental messages. Then students return the decorated bags to the grocery store so that the bags can be distributed, full of groceries, to customers on Earth Day. Students can also take the bags home for family and friends or distribute the bags throughout the entire school and classroom. Create an Environment Bulletin Board Get children involved in caring for the environment. Have each child choose an activity to do and color. Some children can create their own weekly calendar of recycling duties and others can work on sorting trash into the proper recycle containers. When the projects are finished, display the finished pages on a bulletin board titled What We Did for the Environment.

10 Make Your Own Chandelier Decorate your toilet paper roll as you wish. Make it fun! Use markers, glitter, and ribbons to make your roll as unique as you like. When you re finished, use a hole puncher to make 2 holes at the top to hang your masterpiece by. Use your ribbon or string to attach the toilet paper roll to the wire ring and have an adult hang it from the ceiling. What You ll Need: - Toilet Paper Rolls - Wire - Strings - Scissors - Markers - Glue Glitter - Hole Puncher - Ribbon

11 How do you get around? The more we drive, the more we pollute. Vehicles produce about one-third of the pollution in the U.S. Every time we drive cars that depend on gasoline, smog, carbon monoxide and toxins are emitted into the air we breathe. There are many ways to reduce air pollution, and one is by changing how we travel. Here are some tips you and your friends can follow: Start a carpool. Instead of everyone riding to school separately, get your parents to alternate driving several kids to and from school. This reduces pollution and can be a great way to make more friends. Leave the car at home. If you live close to school, switch from four wheels to two ride your bike or even walk to school with classmates who live near you. This will help your carbon footprint as well as your heart! Take short cuts. Instead of taking the same way to and from school each day, try different routes to see if there are any shorter alternatives. You ll save time and gas and pollute less. Be an Inventor Everyday inventors come up with amazing new ideas that help our world be a better place. Can you come up with a new kind of Smart Car that will pollute less? What will it use for fuel? What will it look like? Come up with your design and share it with the class. You may find a way to help everyone pollute less and get around more effectively