Paper or Plastic Bath or Shower

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Paper or Plastic ?Bath or Shower ?

• Sustainability in our everyday life
• Julie Plummer
• EICCD Sustainability Initiative Co-Leader
• Staff Development Day, 2008

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Going Green
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Excuses for NOT Going Green

• Its too expensive
• I cant make a difference
• It doesnt fit my lifestyle
• Green products dont work
• I dont know where to start

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Other Ways to Go Green

• Low cost or FREE
• Simple
• Little material involved
• Not inconvenient, unrealistic
• or
  tree-hugger
• (Although
  www.treehugger.com is a great website)

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How Green are You ??

• Take an Eco-Quiz
• www.thegreenguide.com
• www.epa.gov
• www.thedailygreen.com
• Calculate your Carbon footprint

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What is a carbon footprint ??

• Indicates the impact our daily lives have on the
  environment
• by
• Measuring the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse
  gasses emitted through our activities and the
  resources we use

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Primary and Secondary Footprint
www.carbonfootprint.org)
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Greenhouse Gasses

• Carbon Dioxide CO2
• Methane CH4
• Nitrous Oxide N2O (NOX)
• Hydrofluorocarbons HFC
• Perfluorocarbons PFC
• Sulphur Hexafluoride SF6

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Greenhouse Gasses

• Naturally Occurring
• Water Vapor
• Carbon Dioxide
• Methane
• Nitrous Oxide
• Ozone
• Can also be emitted by Industry

• Industrial
• PFC
• HFC
• SF6
• These are
• Alternatives to Ozone Depleting Chemicals
• Semi-conductor industry
• Aluminum production
• Electric transmission/distribution

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GHG Contribute to Global Warming

• Directly
• Gas absorbs radiation
• Indirectly
• Cause chemical breakdown
• Cause cloud formation
• Affect other GHGs

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Who Calculates a Carbon Footprint ??

• Individuals
• Industry
• States
• America
• The World

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Iowas Carbon Footprint

• Iowa
• 78.87 million tons C
• Ranks 30th in population
• Ranks 28th in C footprint

• Illinois
• 230.02 million tons C
• Ranks 5th in population
• Ranks 7th in C footprint

1st in the nation is Texas, 50th in the nation is
Vermont
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What is EICCDs Carbon Footprint ??

• Will be calculated as part of the requirements of
  the College University Presidents Climate
  Commitment

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MY Carbon Footprint

• www.climatecrisis.net 4.85 tons/year
• www.carboncounter.org 22 tons/year
• www.nature.org 69 tons/year
• www.epa.gov 19.5 tons/year

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What is YOUR Carbon Footprint ??

• www.greenchoices.org
• Many carbon footprint calculator links
• Electricity and natural gas usage
• Household type/number in family
• Type of car and miles driven
• Air travel
• Recycling habits, food choices

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Now that you know your Environmental Impact -

• Lets investigate what can you do
• to be more green

And shrink your carbon footprint !
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Simple, low-cost, easy things that we can all do !

• Energy
• Paper
• The Forgotten R
• Bath or Shower ?
• Driving
• Paper or Plastic ?

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Energy
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Out with the Incandescent Bulbs

• Lighting accounts for 20 of a typical homes
  energy bill
• (www.energystar.gov)

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In with the CFLs !

• Compact Fluorescent Lamps (Lights)
• Use 75 less energy than an incandescent bulb
• Last 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb
• But
• Cost 3 instead of 0.50

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• light 3 million homes
• save 600,000 in energy costs
• prevent release of GHG emissions equal to 800,000
  cars
• (www.energystar.com)

• If every home in US replaced one incandescent
  bulb with a CFL
• in one year
• that would save
• enough
• energy to

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But CFLs Contain Mercury !

• 4 milligrams per bulb
• Sealed within the glass tubing
• No mercury is released when bulbs are intact and
  in use

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The Debate

• Use of CFLs which contain mercury results in
  less mercury in the environment than use of
  traditional light bulbs !

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Because -

• Most of the mercury in our environment gets there
  by the burning of coal at electrical generating
  stations
• Since CFLs use so much less energy, the total
  amount of mercury in the environment is less
• Even better when CFLs are recycled

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December 2007 Energy Bill

• Incandescent bulbs will be phased out of US
  market beginning in 2012

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Which Bulbs to Replace

• Those in the fixtures you use most frequently
• Lights on for more than 2 hours per day, and at
  least 15 minutes at a time
• Open fixtures rather than recessed
• Special CFLs required for dimmer and 3-way
  sockets
• OK in bathroom and outdoors

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Which Bulbs to Replace

• CFLs work with mechanical timers, but not well
  with electronic or digital ones
• Turning on and off frequently can shorten CFL
  life
• Extreme heat or cold can cause delay in reaching
  full brightness

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Look For Energy Star CFLs

• Joint program of US EPA and US Dept of Energy to
  provide energy efficient products and services

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Recycling CFLs

• Waste Commission of Scott County handles for
  Scott and Rock Island County residents
• Home Depot
• WalMart in Moline
• At this time there is no ban on trash disposal of
  CFLs

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What to do if a CFL breaks

• Keep children and pets away from area
• Open windows for 15 minutes to allow vapors to
  dissipate
• Use rubber disposable gloves and scoop up broken
  bits with stiff paper or cardboard
• Use sticky tape to pick up small bits, or on
  carpet
• Clean area with a damp cloth
• Put all items into a ziploc bag and dispose of in
  trash(EPA) or take to HHM (IA DNR)
• Never use a vacuum to clean up mercury

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Another Easy Energy Strategy
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• As you sleep,
• When youre on vacation,
• When youre at home,
• And when youre not .

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• (for the past 30 years), Appliances around your
  house are secretly continuing to use small
  amounts of energy even though they have been
  turned off

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• As you walk from room to room in your house in
  the dark, you may suddenly become aware of them
  -- red or green glows from tiny little monsters
  that lurk in various corners of your home. They
  live in coffee makers, microwave ovens, rice
  cookers, computers, DVD players, altars to
  ancestors and electric toothbrushes..

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Vampire Electricity
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Quit Wasting Watts !

• Many appliances use electricity even when they
  are turned off !
• Look for these phantom loads
• 1. Devices in standby
• Waiting to respond to a button press
• TV, DVD player, stereo, microwave oven
• Transformers
• Convert AC to DC
• Portable electronic chargers

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Do you have vampire electricity in your home?
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• External power supplies (cell phone chargers)
• 3-10 watts or 1.77 - 5.73 per year
• Built-in rechargeable batteries (cordless phones)
  3-10 watts or 1.77 - 5.73 per year
• Remote controls (TV, audio)
• 5-25 watts or 2.84-14.32 per year

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• Continuous digital displays (microwaves)
• 10-25 watts or 5.69-14.32 per year
• Products that feel warm even when turned off
• Products that you leave on all the time
• 5-50 watts or 2.84-28.65 per year

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Could it take more energy to run the clock than
the device???
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Microwave

• ON 10 minutes x 1000 watts
• 167 watt-hours
• OFF 23 hours, 50 minutes x 7 watts
• 167 watt-hours
• So, clock uses more energy if you use the oven
  for less than 10 minutes per day
• (ask mr electricity)

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How to Get Rid of the Vampires

• Unplug
• Use a power strip (10-20)
• Purchase Energy Star appliances

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The Climate Impact of

• Junk Mail

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• More than 100 billion pieces of junk mail are
  delivered in the US each year
• Thats 848 pieces per household
• (www.forestethics.org)

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51,548,000 tons of greenhouse gasses are created
each year by junk mail -

• Thats the equivalent of
• 9,372,000 cars
• 11 coal fired power plants
• Mowing 20 billion lawns
• 4.8 million school busses
• Heating 12.9 million homes
  
  
  
• 
  
  (forestethics.org)

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• Every year more than 100 million trees are cut
  down to make junk mail the equivalent of
  clearcutting all of Rocky Mountain National Park
  every 4 months
• (forestethics.org)

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The Debate

• By eliminating the need to drive to stores,
  catalogs prevent global warming emissions
• People WANT their junk mail
• Recycled paper contributes more to global warming
  than virgin paper, and everyone recycles their
  junk mail

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To Get Off Most National Marketing Lists

• Direct Marketing Association
• Mail Preference Service
• P.O. Box 9008
• Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008
• www.dmachoice.org/consumerassistance.php

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Catalogs

• Contact individual catalogs to be dropped from
  mailing list
• Go to www.catalogchoice.org

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Credit Card Offers

• Call 1-800-OPT-OUT
• Call each of the three main credit card bureaus
• Experion
• TransUnion
• Equifax

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Resources

• Climate Change Enclosed Junk Mails Impact on
  Global Warming
• www.forestethics.com
• Center for the New American Dream
• www.newdream.org
• National do Not Mail Campaign
• www.donotmail.org

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Recycling
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Recycling is cool !
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But What AboutRe-Using ?
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Re-USE the Forgotton R

• Between 2 and 5 of the waste stream is
  potentially reusable
• www.epa.gov

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4 Ways to Re-Use

• Reuse it for its original purpose or a new
  purpose (gift bags, coffee cans)
• Give it away to someone who can reuse it (baby
  clothes)
• Sell it
• Buy it used

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Water
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• The average American uses 100 gallons of water
  per day
• A typical family of 4 spends about 850 on water
  and sewer costs per year
• The average US household uses 70 of its indoor
  water in the bathroom
• (www.EPA.gov) (www.thegreenroutine.net)

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So to conserve water, should we take
Maust Zettel

• a shower or a bath ?

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How Much Water for a Shower ?

• For homes built before 1992,
• Showerheads flow about 5 gpm
• Multiply 5 gpm x number of minutes in the shower,
  and it all adds up fast!
• (www.consumerenergycenter.org)

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• Average shower of four minutes with older shower
  head uses 20 gallons of water

• But lets be more realistic .
• A 10 minute continuous shower uses about 45
  gallons of water
• (www.epa.gov)

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• An average bathtub holds 42 gallons of water

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How to Take a Better Shower

• Use a low-flow shower head!
• Uses only 2.5 gpm of water
• For a 4 minute shower thats only 10 gallons
• This can save 20,000 gallons of water per year
• (www.epa.gov)

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Another Water-Saving Strategy

• Turn off faucets while bushing teeth and shaving!
• An open conventional faucet uses 5 gallons of
  water flow every two minutes
• Can conserve enough water to fill your bathtub 35
  times
• www.epa.gov)

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Other Easy Water Strategies

• Repair leaky faucets and toilets. A silent leak
  in a toilet can waste 500 gallons of water a day

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Low Flow Fixtures

• Conventional toilets - 3.5 to 5 gallons
• Low flow toilets - 1.6 gallons or less
• Pay for themselves in 5 years
• Use A Brick in the tank

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Driving
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Transportation Principles of Green

• Leave your car at home
• Walk, bike, take the bus
• Plan your route
• Trip Chain
• Think about fuel efficiency when purchasing a new
  vehicle

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Or Take My Newest Form of Transportation
Rio Plummer
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The Importance of Tire Pressure

• Handling and Safety
• How long your tires will last
• And
• A properly inflated tire can increase your gas
  mileage up to 5
• (www.tiretrack.com)

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Underinflated TiresReduce Gas Mileage

• 1 psi under recommended 0.4 decrease in fuel
  efficiency)
• If every car in US was driven on properly
  inflated tires, our nation would use 2 less gas
  per year
• www.sustainfurman.com)

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Studies

• Furman University
• 432 tires
• 91 of vehicles had at least one improperly
  inflated tire
• Only 9 vehicles were entirely proper
• Average was 12.8 lb underinflated
• (www.sustainfurman.com)

• Dept of Transportation
• 25 cars
• 33 trucks, vans, SUVs
• Have tires 8 or more psi underinflated
• (www.your-green-life.com)e

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A new Driving Skill -
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Hypermiling

• Changing your driving behavior to coax better gas
  mileage out of your car

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Principles of Hypermiling

• Drive slowly at or below speed limit
• Brake as little as possible
• Turn off your car and coast
• Optimize your route
• Minimize time with your car stopped
• Limit car accesory use

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• Keep yourself moving in traffic congestion
• Always know your gas mileage
• Dont drive agressivley
• Slowly accelerate after stops (use cruise
  control)
• (www.cleanmpg.com www.hypermiling.comwww.washing
  tonpost.com)

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And if you dont want to hypermile,

• Then at least dont Idle !
• Idling gets zero miles to the gallon

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Some Idle Facts

• For every two minutes a car is idling, it uses as
  much fuel as it takes to go one mile
• The average person idles their car 5-10 minutes
  per day

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• Rule of thumb if you are going to be parked for
  more than 30 seconds, turn off your engine
• 10 seconds of idling can use more fuel than
  turning off the engine and restarting
• (www.consumerenergycenter.org)

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Paper, or Plastic ???
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Plastic Bags

• Each year an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion
  plastic bags are consumed worldwide (1500 per
  family of 4 in the US)
• Plastic bags do not biodegrade they
  photodegrade into smaller and smaller pieces
• It can take up to 1000 years for an HDPE bag to
  break down in the environment

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Paper Bags

• Paper bags generate 70 more air pollutants and
  50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags
• 2000 plastic bags weigh 30 pounds 2000 paper
  bags weigh 289 pounds more landfill space
• It takes 91 less energy to recycle a pound of
  plastic than a pound of paper
• It takes 4 times more energy to manufacture a
  paper bag than a plastic bag

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Raw Materials

• Paper Bags
• 14 million trees
• 10-15 bags are recycled
• Does not degrade in modern landfill

• Plastic Bags
• 12 million barrels oil
• 1-3 bags are recycled
• Does not degrade in modern landfill

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The Whole World Wrestles with this Issue
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The Greener thing to do

• Bring you OWN Bag !

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IN Review

• What is your Carbon Footprint?
• Change to CFLs
• Exorcise Vampire Electricity
• Stop getting all that Junk Mail
• Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle
• Check Tire Pressure
• BYOBag
• and Take a Shower

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• Each person can make a difference
• because one small positive act multiplied
  millions of times
• produces
• immense benefits.
• Patrick Gonzolez
• Climate Change Scientist
• The Nature Conservancy