Eco Corner

HOW YOU CAN HELP PROTECT AND SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT

• USE REFILLABLE CUPS INSTEAD OF DISPOSABLES
• REPAIR LEAKS IN FAUCETS
• UNPLUG APPLIANCES WHEN THEY’RE NOT ON USE
• SHOP WITH REUSABLE CANVAS BAGS
• RECYCLE NEWSPAPERS, BOTTLES, PLASTICS and CANS
• TURN THE LIGHTS OFF WHEN YOU LEAVE A ROOM
• SAVE WATER, SAVE ENERGY, REDUCE WASTE
• SUPPORT AND ADVOCATE FOR MEASURES TO REDUCE POLLUTION

CAPS RECYCLING PROGRAM – A CALL TO ACTION

Did you know that when bottles are recycled, their caps cannot be processed by recycling machinery? The caps are cut off and often discarded as litter or trash, ending up in landfills and beaches or migrating into our rivers and oceans. The result is tragic: birds and other marine creatures such as turtles, fish and penguins, often mistake the colorful caps for food. Animals either choke on the caps or ingest them resulting in malnutrition or often death. Aveda, a beauty industry company has set an example for environmental leadership and responsibility by recycling plastic caps into their packaging containers for their beauty products. We will be collecting SCREW-ON TYPE PLASTIC CAPS (must be screw-on and not snap-on lids) at the general meeting and November study group on the environment that will be donated to the Aveda Caps Recycling Program. Examples of screw-on caps are the tops of soda, water, and juice bottles; shampoo, detergent, medicine and vitamin containers.

HYDROFRACKING – DOES IT DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD?

The process of extracting natural gas from reserves beneath shale rock is known as “hydrofracturing (‘fracking’ for short).” It involves directing high-pressure streams of water, mixed with a variety of chemicals, at the shale rock, thereby fracturing (“fracking”) the rock and releasing the gas which is brought to the surface through pipelines which have been inserted into the ground. The environmental community is uncertain whether to support, tolerate, or oppose the practice. Supporters point out that natural gas is domestically plentiful, cleaner burning than oil or coal, and relatively inexpensive to consumers. Opponents note that drilling companies generally withhold the names of the toxic chemicals which they use; that there is a real danger of polluting underground water reserves; that methods of treatment and disposal of the waste water resulting from the process are not adequately developed; and that noise, air pollution, and general decline in the quality of life have happened in the communities where hydrofracking is permitted. A final environmentalist objection is that this retains reliance on a fossil fuel and diverts resources from sustainable sources, including solar, wind, and water energy. The debate will continue to pit industry’s backers against environmentalists, and will probably not end until science demonstrates the short- and long-term effects of fracking on the environment and the community.

Paul Kaufman, Director of Advocacy for GreenFaith