Things You Can Do to Help the Planet
PAPER
- Stop junk mail. Have your name removed by contacting Direct Marketing Association at www.dmaconsumers.org. The junk mail Americans receive in one day could
produce enough energy to heat 250,000 homes. - Use unbleached paper products. The process of bleaching paper creates dioxin, a toxin which ends up in water ways.
- Use dish rags instead of paper towels whenever possible.
- Use reusable plates, cups and cutlery over paper products. Paper products use harsh chemicals during production.
WATER USE
- Use the amount of detergent as directed on the box. Most are low or no phosphate now, but it still has to be removed at sewerage treatment plants.
- Letting the water run constantly for the following activities wastes water. Tooth brushing–9 gallons, Shaving–14 gallons, Washing dishes–25 gallons.
- Low flow shower heads and low flush toilet save 50% of water used.
- Do full loads for clothes washing. Washers use 30-60 gallons each cycle.
ENERGY USE
- Turn your water heater thermostat down to 120°-130°. Water heaters account for about 20% of all the energy we use in our homes. Insulate tanks.
- Turn off the gas pilot lights for your furnaces in warm weather.
- Clean your refrigerator coils at least 2X a year.
- Hang your clothes on a clothes line instead of using a dryer.
- Keep your thermostat at 78° in the summer and 68° in the winter.
- Compact, fluorescent lights save electricity.
- When building a new house, use products that are “green”.
- 75% of electricity used in the home is standby power for electronics.
- Ditch the McMansion. Smaller homes use less energy.
PLASTICS
- When picking up a few things at the market, ask for “No Bag.” Carry them out with the receipt in your hand. Or, bring a canvas bag for shopping.
- Use Pur/Brita filters for water. Pour into used water bottles or travel mug.
- Use reusable plastic containers for storage instead of plastic bags, plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- Use reusable plates, cups and cutlery over plastic. Plastic is non-biodegradable, uses toxic chemical during production, and entangles or is eaten by many animals.
- Snip 6 pack rings and tie up plastic mesh bags to protect wildlife.
- Use cloth diapers or a diaper service for your future children.
- Balloon releases can wind up in waterways and be mistaken for food by animals.
LANDSCAPING
- Compost grass clippings, household fruit and vegetable scraps. Serves as a natural fertilizer and moisture retentive mulch.
- Prevent pests naturally. Many pesticides end up in waterways.
- Plant trees to serve as “carbon dioxide sinks” for carbon sequestration.
- Xeriscape – plant native species that are suited for local rainfall amounts.
FUEL
- Buy cars with high miles per gallon ratings. Small cars with manual transmissions get the best mileage.
- Keep them tuned up and change the air filters.
- Keep tires inflated at the correct pressure.
- Make sure the place where you get your car oil changed recycles the oil.
- Work close to home or at home.
FOOD USE
- Plant a vegetable garden. Organically grown food is better for you and the environment.
- Eat low on the food chain.
- Support local farmers. Uses fewer “petroleum miles” for delivery of products. Use your zipcode to find sources at Localharvest.org
RECYCLING
- Recycle old paint or let it evaporate outdoors in its can.
- Buy vintage clothes.
- Recycle newspapers, plastics, glass and aluminum.
- Loyola’s recycling program takes these items in the correct dumpsters:
Junk mail, manila folders, white or colored office paper, envelopes with or
without plastic windows, newspaper, advertisements in newspapers, magazines
with thin glue bindings or stapled bindings, paper bags, aluminum cans and
rinsed bimetal “tin cans. - PRECYCLE – buy products with thought as to where they will end up in the waste stream. Making the correct buying choices can prevent excessive and unsound
materials from getting in to the waste stream.
MISCELLANEOUS
- Use rechargeable batteries. Regular batteries contain mercury and cadmium, which are heavy metals and sources of contamination at waste dumps.
- Choose reliable sources of information to find out about environmental issues.
Listed are sources in order of reliability: Scientific papers, Reviews of
scientific research, Scientific based articles in science magazines, Popular
magazines, Newspapers, TV and radio, Studies done by special interest groups, Editorials/opinions in the paper - Consume less, share more, and live simply
IMAGINING THE FUTURE
THE KIND OF FUTURE HUMANS WILL CREATE IS OUR CHOICE. WE CAN EMBRACE OUR INHERENT
SPIRITUALITY AND PURPOSE IN DISCOVERING
WHO WE ARE
AND WHERE WE CAN GO,
OR WE CAN ENCAPSULATE OURSELVES IN A VISION OF FEAR.
SCIENTISTS WARN US EVERY DAY THAT HUMAN SOCIETY CANNOT CONTINUE ON ITS PRESENT
UNENLIGHTENED COURSE, THAT
OUR HABITUAL WAY
OF DOING THINGS WILL ULTIMATELY
OVERPOPULATE THE PLANET, DESTROY OUR NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS, POISON OUR BODIES
AND CATASTROPHICALLY ALTER OUR WEATHER PATTERNS.
SCIENCE IS PREDICTING A CYCLE OF MASSIVE EARTHQUAKES AND INCREASED
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY. AT THE SAME TIME, ECONOMIC DISRUPTIONS
AND LIMITED GOVERNMENT BUDGETS WOULD SEEM TO INDICATE
INCREASED VIOLENCE, CRIME AND ALIENATION
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UNDERNEATH THIS EXPECTATION OF THE WORST IS A
GROWING
NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND
THE SPIRITUAL ALTERNATIVE.
IN A SENSE, A DRAMATIC POLARIZATION OF OPINION IS
TAKING PLACE AND THE QUESTION IS CLEAR.
WILL WE RESIGN OURSLEVES TO THE APOCALYPTIC SCENARIO OF THE FUTURE AND
RETREAT FURTHER INTO THINKING ONLY OF OUR SHORT TERM INTEREST, OR WILL
WE CONSCIOUSLY EMBRACE AND CO-CREATE A
FUTURE OF LOVE AND SPIRITUAL PURPOSE?
MY OWN SENSE IS THAT WE’RE APPROACHING THE GREAT DIVIDE
AND THE HEROES ARE ALL IN PLACE.
Feel free to ask any questions at recycle@loyno.edu.
