Earth Hour March 27

Bulletin Green Tip #6: Conserve paper

As students, we come into contact with paper many times every day. Most people living in America come into contact with paper all the time, regardless of what type of job they have. Paper is everywhere and it isn't going away anytime soon. It comes from trees, can be composted and can also be recycled, which you probably already knew. Some things you may not know about paper:

According to DesignVitality.com, "the pulp and paper industry is the third largest consumer of energy and uses more water to produce a ton of product than any other industry. In 2005, out of 245,000,000 tons of waste 34.2% was paper according to the EPA. That is over 83,300,000 tons of paper that is wasted every year."

So we should reduce and conserve paper, which hopefully you already realized. But how do we do that?
When doing homework and classwork, be aware of the amount of paper you use. That is key. Awareness is really important in anything you do when trying to live a more caring, environmentally-conscious life.

- Use scratch paper whenever you can. If you're taking notes you won't be turning in, use the back of an 0ld quiz or assignment.

- Print on both sides of the paper and if you do print on only one side, when you're finished with it, save it for the future. I have a stack of papers by my printer that only have writing on one side. I print on the opposite side for many homework assignments or if I'm printing an article out to save, etc. "You can even use it to jot down notes for yourself instead of wasting Post it notes."

- Try to take up less space with your writing so you can use the paper to its full capacity. If you write small, then use that to your advantage to use the paper as efficiently as possible.

- Buy recycled paper to save trees and energy. When you make paper from old paper, it takes less energy than to create new paper from a tree. "According to the City of Seattle a ton of paper made from recycled paper, as opposed to virgin paper, saves the equivalent of 4,100 kilowatt hours of energy, 7000 gallons of water, 60 pounds of air emissions, and 3 cubic yards of landfill space."

- "Make sure to spell check your work, and even read over it on screen. Use the Print Preview feature to preview your work to make sure everything lines up correctly."

Have some other simple ways to reduce paper use? Post a comment!

Source of quotes: "7 Ways You Can Easily Save Paper and Avoid Killing the Environment."

Ways YOU can easily change the world

By Melissa, AVHS Environmental Club secretary. February 26, 2010.

Energy
According to the EPA, 75% of the electricity used to power electronics is consumed when they are turned off. Have your class/family members take turns being a weekly “energy monitor,” making sure electronics are off and unplugged when not in use.

- Turn off the lights and television when you leave the room, and make sure the lights are off in your house during daylight hours.

- Shut down the computer at night and unplug it to avoid wasting energy and vampire energy-sucking electronic cords.

- Use your cell phone and computer less to reduce energy consumption and increase time spent with family, friends or outside.

- Try to go stove and oven-free for a day and eat foods like hummus and pita bread, salad, veggies with dip, or plan to reheat leftovers in the microwave (microwaves aren’t the best alternative, but they use less energy than an oven).

- Take BART to the City instead of driving.

- Purchase fewer new products. Try to buy used, or don’t buy at all. Every time we purchase something new that could have been avoided, we encourage the continued production of that item. Often we buy things without really needing them and this wastes energy that could have been conserved or used for a better purpose.

- Shop at places like Plato’s Closet, the Discovery Shop, and thrift stores. Often these places have more unique clothing, books and other products than you’d find at the mall.

- Ride your bike at least once a week to school.

Paper
- Print double-sided to avoid wasting paper.

- Buy recycled paper products and always recycle paper when you’ve used it to its capacity.

- Write smaller, use the whole page and find creative ways to reduce the amount of paper you use.

- Save paper that has only been printed on one side and reprint on the back for school worksheets and printed things that can be less formal (use clean paper for nice projects, of course).

- Stop using paper towels and paper napkins and instead, use dishtowels and cloth napkins.

- Reuse wrapping paper.

- Buy brown paper for wrapping—it can be used for any occasion and it’s recyclable (most wrapping paper isn’t).

- Buy used books (the library sells some books for $0.50 - $1.00; The Bookstore on Hopyard has a neat selection of used books). Or reuse by borrowing books from the library or from friends.

- Avoid post-it notes—use old scrap paper instead.

- Bring a reusable mug to the coffee shop or fast food restaurant. Try to buy a metal-based coffee mug instead of plastic, since plastic is never a good choice.

Water
- Turn the water off when brushing your teeth and lathering your hands when washing them.

- Take shorter showers. Turn the water off while shampooing, etc.

- Instead of buying plastic water in a container from the store, invest in a water filter (Brita makes some great ones) that you can just pour cold tap water into. It filters out the bad stuff and leaves the water tasting great.

- Just drink tap water—a lot of the time it’s the same water you’re drinking from the bottle. Plus, plastic can leach into the bottles :(

Plastic
- Plastic doesn’t break down easily and it can cause many health problems. It’s also made from petroleum, which has causes pollution and other health problems. Plus, it’s a nonrenewable resource.

- Pledge to never again use plastic water bottles. Buy a reusable metal water bottle and never look back!

- Avoid food that comes in plastic. Often, the plastic can leach into the food.

- Avoid plastic baggies. Use Tupperware or glass jars (Anchor Hocking has great choices) instead.

- Say no to straws. If everyone used them as sparingly as possible, we’d save a lot of plastic from ending up in a landfill.

- Use old silverware instead of plastic utensils. Some companies make reusable wooden utensils that you can bring with you places.

- Any product (other than paper, for example)that is only used once should be a sign to any environmentally-conscious person…think about what the purpose of the product is and make a decision about using it or not based on how important using it is. There are almost always alternatives if the thing is truly necessary. People survived for thousands of years without plastic utensils or straws. Being able to see this—the concept of what is necessary versus what just makes my life easier (it takes planning to remember to bring your own utensils, so using a plastic one is easier, for example) is something that we all must think about if we really want to make a difference. Being aware is the FIRST step to changing your habits. Be always thinking about the impact of what you are doing.

- This may sound trivial, but it is something to think about: using a wooden pencil is a better choice than mechanical. In my opinion, plastic is never a better choice. Ever. Therefore, wooden pencils are a better choice.


Some more things to think about from EcologyCenter.org:
“Of all the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, 36% are emitted from industrial sources and product manufacture, 28% from commercial and passenger transportation, 18% from commercial business, and 18% from residential sources.5 Significant greenhouse gas reduction requires a reassessment of many of our everyday activities.”

“Be a critical consumer. Cut down on CO2 by selecting locally produced whole foods, thereby reducing energy for processing, transport, and refrigeration. Purchase products that are manufactured without large energy inputs. For example, buy recycled — it requires much less energy to make a product using recycled materials than using new, raw materials. Picking used goods keeps materials from going to the landfill and eliminates energy for new manufacture. Avoid products with excess packaging, which is wasted energy. Livestock is a major source of methane and requires lots of energy to produce — consider your meat intake. Buy less stuff.”

There are so many other ways to make a difference. Got some ideas? Post them here or on our Facebook group.

Bulletin Green Tip #5: Litter-free lunches

Let's talk trash!

We have already discussed reducing lunch waste this year (see the tip here). Our focus then was lunch bags and reducing our waste impact by bringing a reusable lunch box or bag.

For the next two weeks, though, we're going to try to reduce waste in all aspects of our lunch. Try to reduce your waste one step at a time. It'd be great if one day during the next two weeks you went completely litter-free. Write down your most common disposable items and think of ways to reduce your use of them. Also write down any challenges you face or successes you have while trying to go litter-free at lunchtime so we can have a discussion about it at our next meeting on Friday, February 26.

Some things/tips to think about:
1. Plastic baggies are a big issue in waste-generation from lunches. Some great alternatives are reusable containers like Tupperware or glass jars (glass is a better option since it doesn't leach toxins into your food as plastic does; just make sure it's durable glass!). Anchor Hocking has some AWESOME alternatives to plastic baggies. I use their one cup size Kitchen Storage with BPA Free Lid container for trail mix, hummus dip and dry cereal. They make containers in a variety of sizes, so you can use the larger ones for salad, chips, sliced veggies, etc. If you can't purchase some Tupperware/glass jars, then the second best option is to reuse the baggies. For greasy foods, like chips, it's difficult to wash and reuse them, but for foods like crackers, cookies and some sandwiches that don't leave huge messes inside the bag, you can rinse the bags and hang them to dry. Avoid reusing them more than a few times because plastic breaks down over time and will leach into your foods the more you reuse it. Reusing them once or twice won't hurt you, though (well, it won't hurt you any more than using the bag the first time).

2. Use cloth napkins in your lunch. This is an easy one! Most households have at least one set of cloth napkins. If you don't have any, you can often find them second-hand, or invest in a set for your family. They're a great alternative for everyday use, at home and at school.

3. Reduce your reliance on packaged foods. Not only do they generate more waste, packaged foods are most often processed and unhealthy compared to non-packaged foods like vegetables and fruits. There are some healthy packaged foods, like certain granola/fruit & nut bars, but for the most part it's always better to eat real food. Shop the perimeter of the market for the healthiest, least-packaged foods.

4. Make soup and bring it in a thermos. Soup is a perfect lunchtime meal during the winter. It would be ideal to make your own (click here for a great soup recipe I've made twice), since then you have control over what goes into it, and you reduce the amount of resources wasted when you buy it canned (can, paper label, plastic lining). Plus, it generally tastes better and makes you feel accomplished (maybe that's be me, but it's worth trying it!).

5. Buy a sandwich holder. I have a plastic one, which is not ideal. They make metal ones, so if you're going to buy one, invest in metal. Plastic is in so many things, it's always better to opt for non-plastic whenever you have the option. It can also hold chips, pretzels, pita bread, homemade granola bars (okay I've never tried making homemade granola and putting it in a sandwich holder, but try it and I'll bet it'd work!), etc.

6. Bring reusable utensils or actual silverware (not your parent's fine silver, though!).

7. Bring reusable water bottles and coffee mugs. Fill a coffee mug with apple juice instead of bringing a disposable apple juice box.

8. BE CREATIVE. That's the key to reducing your waste consumption. Think about what it is you are actually throwing away each day and brainstorm ways to reduce that.

For some more information, visit this blog post I wrote in October on alternatives to wasteful lunchtime objects.

Happy Reducing!

Bulletin Green Tip #4: Create recycled Valentine's Day cards Part 2

Here are some more ideas and information to add to Bulletin Green Tip #4: Create recycled Valentine's Day cards.

Patricia, one of our club's co-presidents has some additional card ideas:

"I just folded a piece of scratch paper in half then glued it together--really simple. I chose to use music notes for the background (because my dad had extra music that he was just going to toss out), but you can use just about anything--a catchy magazine pictures, stickers, postcards, etc. Use the old school newspapers to cut out words from. On the most recent issue, the page with the review of "Lovely Bones" says "hope" once and "love" twice."



For this Friday's meeting, please bring some reused materials for making valentines.

This can include:
- scratch paper
- construction paper
- scissors
- glue/tape
- magazines
- newspapers
- stickers you have around your house (don't buy new ones since we're trying to reuse)
- old movie tickets, receipts, or anything you think might be interesting to reuse as a valentine
- markers, colored pencils, stencils
- postcards
- old binder paper that has writing on one side
- old greetings cards...sometimes you can rip off the front cover and use the back of the front cover to write
- used tissue paper, wrapping paper, ribbons
- tattered and unreadable books
- old photographs
- old notebook covers
- drawings you or your siblings or family have made

See Part 1 of this tip for more ideas.

If you have more ideas, please send them to us at avhsenvironmental@yahoo.com or post your own post about them!

Melissa
Environmental Club secretary

Bulletin Green Tip #4: Create recycled Valentine's Day cards

This Valentine's Day, show your love for the Earth while showing your love for friends and family: create a Valentine's Day card of recycled or reused materials or make your own to avoid purchasing a wasteful card from the store.

Whenever we purchase something that can otherwise be hand-made, we tell corporations that we support what they're doing and we increase demand for those products, when we otherwise could be decreasing our reliance on the corporate world. It increases the amount of trees cut down to make cards, the amount of plastic used to laminate those cards, quantities of ink used, transportation and fuel usage, and many other things that can be damaging to the environment in such a large-scale operation. Don't you wonder how many cards go unused and unpurchased every year? There are so many cards being produced for Hallmark, Walgreens, Walmart, Target--there's no way they're all used. Most of them are not recyclable.

Nice Hallmark cards can show someone that you care enough to spend money for a card and can seem like a better gesture than making a card yourself. It's become part of our culture to associate spending with appreciation or how much you care, and that's often not the case considering it's much easier to buy a card and sign it than you for you to come up with an idea, create a card, and write your own thoughts.

Sometimes, of course, it may not be appropriate to make a card, especially when it's for a professional or business reason. However, Valentine's Day is a time to show others how much you appreciate, care for, and love them. Creating a card is a great way to show that you care enough to take the time to make something special for them.

Even if you don't use recycled materials, you are at least reducing the demand (however slightly) for more unnecessary cards to be produced. You may be reducing the amount of gasoline burned to get the finished product to your Valentine (if you reuse, especially if it's something like a local paper you're reusing). Plus, decorating a card is a lot more fun than simply signing your name!

Some materials you could use to make your card:

- Newspaper/magazine: Find an article or picture in your used paper or magazine that relates to something your Valentine is interested in and use it as a decorative aspect of your card. Or, create a collage of pictures and words--you could even write your message this way. You would have otherwise just recycled the paper or magazine, so you might as well give it a second life as a Valentine!

- Used tissue paper, wrapping paper, and other gift wrap items, like bows: They've already been used for one purpose, so now use them again--plus, they're colorful!

- Torn, worn, or otherwise unreadable old books: This makes for a unique, interesting, readable Valentine card. If you have a book that's literally falling apart at the bindings, take it apart and find some interesting passages in the book to use as a background for your card. Supplement with construction paper for structure and color.

- Draw a picture: Even if your artistic skills are negligible, drawing a picture says a lot about how much you appreciate someone.

This website has some more great ideas for recycled Valentine's Day cards, along with design ideas. If you have any suggestions, feel free to post a comment including your idea. At our next meeting (February 12), we will make some recycled Valentine's Day cards, so bring in some materials to do so.

2009 Holiday Green Goals & Tips

For the next two weeks, please try to make one or more of the following green tips a goal to stick with:

#1: Wrap gifts in newspaper (comics are great for some fun wrapping!) or brown paper grocery bags, rather than using wrapping paper. It's a great way to reuse, and the materials are more recyclable.

#2: Avoid metallic or foil wrapping paper because they use more resources to manufacture and often can't be recycled.

#3: Bring your own bags when gift/food shopping. You may want to ask for reusable bags as a holiday gift. The best kind are those that fold in on themselves for easy transport. Stash them in your purse or backpack after use so you're never without them!

#4: Skip the gift box, unless you're reusing one from last year. Often they aren't necessary, they use energy to be produced, and they generate more waste with all that tissue paper. (Of course you can solve the trash issue by reusing boxes and saving tissue paper--see tip #5!)

#5: Salvage wrapping paper, tissue paper, boxes and bows. Rather than rip paper open, undo it carefully, remove the tape so it doesn't stick to itself, and neatly fold it to a manageable size. Stash it in a gift bag and save it for next year. AVHS Environmental Club secretary Melissa started this last year, and managed to wrap all of her friend's gifts with reused paper this year. (See her blog post about it here. Scroll to the bottom of the post to see the tips.)

#6: If you have a Christmas tree, recycle it. Contact your local garbage collecting service to find out if they have a tree recycling program. Many will pick it up from your curb.

Happy Holidays from AVHS Environmental Club!

Weekly Goal #1: Say no to plastic water bottles

Our first Environmental Club Green Goal was to use only reusable water bottles for a week or more. If you could not get a reusable one, we asked you to reuse the same plastic bottle over and over. (This can be dangerous, as plastic breaks down and can leach into your water, but at least it reduces waste somewhat.)

Most people gave it a try, and many of us already use reusable bottles consciously. Let's all try to get a reusable water bottle sometime soon so we can really eliminate that source of waste.

Check out this TreeHugger.com article to learn more about why you should say no to plastic water bottles: A World of Reasons to Ditch Bottled Water by Union of Concerned Scientists

Bulletin Green Tip #1: Bring a reusable lunchbox

Did you know that the average student generates 67 pounds of waste a year bringing a disposable lunch to school? That's a lot of trash when you consider that our school has 2,500 students. That's 167,500 pounds of trash our school generates each year--just from lunches! Imagine the trash generated by every school in the country! So, to help reduce this waste (and to show others the practicality to further reduce waste) bring a reusable lunchbox to school. This is just the first in many steps to reducing your lunchtime waste, but you've got to start somewhere!

Nowadays they make cute purse-like ones, vintage metal lunchboxes, and themed-lunchboxes of a variety of characters, TV shows, and movies. Lunchboxes are no longer something reserved for elementary school students; it's become a trend to have a lunchbox with your favorite band or cartoon. So stop wasting resources, and get yourself a cool lunch box!