This blog was created to support and promote the ideas of recycling and saving Mother Earth, by any means necessary. This blog has been written to target individuals who care about earth and would like to discover ways to help save the earth and all beings on it. Budding environmentalists are welcome here. I will primarily be speaking/complaining about the lack of recycling bins/care for the environment in New England. Mostly, I'll speak about Rhode Island, and URI. I hope all that read this blog will also pass on this information to others who may be interested. I will be posting about ways that we are harming the earth, and then giving ideas on how to help save the earth. I will also focus on recycling, it's benefits, and the types of items that can be recycled. If you care about the earth, or are looking for some tips on recycling, you've come to the right blog.
An article on some very cool information. Researches here at the University of Rhode Island have discovered ways to harvest solar energy from asphalt, which, if proves to be a success, could mean another type of reusable energy that we can use to save the earth.
“We have mile after mile of asphalt pavement around the country, and in the summer it absorbs a great deal of heat, warming the roads up to 140 degrees or more,” said Prof. K. Wayne Lee, leader of the URI project. “If we can harvest that heat, we can use it for our daily use, save on fossil fuels, and reduce global warming.”
If anyone would like to check out the website of Rhode Island's Resource Recover Center; here it is.
As one walks around campus, you'll probably notice the garbage cans. How could you not? They're practically everywhere. In fact, just around the quad, there are about 4 or 5 garbage cans. But wait, where are the recycling bins?
URI seems to think that people will only be recycling inside the memorial union, and right outside the "ghetto" dorms.
There are no recycling bins anywhere around campus. Atleast, none that I have found.
So, URI, if I'm walking to class drinking an Arizona Tea, where am I supposed to put the can? In a garbage can, you say?
Then why, does the URI website have a separate section for Green Links(!!), if we do not even have a bin or box in which we can place our recyclables in, during our walks to and from class.
And apparently, only students who live in dorms around Gorham and Hopkins need to be able to recycle, as I have not seen any recycling bins around Wiley, Garrahy, Burnside, or any other dorms.
I'm considering sending URI a letter of complaint.
For all those interested in seeing URI's "Green Links", click here.
Habitat Destruction Invasive Species Population Explosion Pollution Overconsumption
In my girlfriend's Entomology class, she learned about H.I.P.P.O, which stands for the above. HIPPO is an acronym for things that are occurring that are not only destroying species of animals, and plants, but also the earth. Habitat destruction affects the creatures on this earth, and ultimately, humans. If we continue to cut down trees and dig for fossil fuels, we continue to destroy habitats of animals. The animals whose habitats we have destroyed usually come into OUR habitat. An example of this would be Coyotes, who have been run out of their habitats, and into ours, and have begun eating pets and attacking children. Invasive Species, such as the Asian Longhorn Beetle, are species that are not native to the area, but once they have arrived there, they basically take over. They have no enemies, and will continue to consume and consume until they have completely destroyed another creature's habitat. The Asian Longhorn Beetle arrived in America from China during transport of bananas. These creatures are now all along the east coast, destroying our trees. Population Explosion is what humanity does best, create more and more children until we run out of room. Due to our explosion of population, we are using more and more resources. Pollution is self-explanatory. We are harming and polluting the earth with our constant use of resources, and items that cannot be biodegradable. Overconsumption is the last letter, and basically once again refers to humanity's constant over consumption of everything. We eat too much food, and use too many fossil fuels.
One question that I got was, if the Kindle truly is green. The answer is basically, yes, if you use it often enough. The journal of Environmental Science and Technology has estimated that by replacing your daily newspaper or magazine to the e-version, you will be saving approximately one tree per year.
Trees , of course, are not the only things being saved, but energy, chemicals, and fossil fuels as well. A study found that 67 times more water is consumed and 140 times more use of CO2 (carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas), is emitted by printed newspaper, versus the electronic one.
An 11 year old environmentalist? My heart is happy. :)
Something that has been bothering me more and more lately, is that there are literally no recycling bins anywhere near my apartments.
I live in the University Apartments, at the top of campus. There are four buildings, with an average of 12 people living in each building. Around 48 people live in my area of campus, which, as you can guess, means a LOT of garbage. According to one study, each American produces around 5.1lbs of garbage a day. In one day, my apartment buildings produces about 240lbs of garbage a day.
Personally, I know that nearly a third of the garbage that is thrown away in my apartment are recyclables; cans, bottles, paper, etc. However, there is literally no recycling bins near my apartments. In fact, the closest recycling bins are in the Memorial Union.
Why would URI, knowing that college students living together would amass intense amounts of garbage, not place recycling bins anywhere near the vicinity of the apartment buildings that I live in?!
It's absurd, that we are forced to throw our recyclables into the trash, forcing us to pollute the planet.
Drive Less -Walk, ride a bicycle, skateboard, Rollerblade, or even take public transportation. Doing any of these things will improve your health by forcing you to exercise. -If you drive less and leave the car at home, you not only reduce air pollution, but you also lower greenhouse gas emissions, save money, and improve your health. -Research has shown that families who use public transportation save enough money annually to cover their food costs for a year.
Eat more Fruits, Grains, and Vegetables -Raising animals to be used for consumption produce more greenhouse gas emissions than growing plants. -A report by the University of Chicago found that adopting a vegan diet does more to reduce global warming than switching to a hybrid car.
Use Reusable shopping bags -Worldwide, up to a trillion plastic bags are used and discarded every year. -Reusable shopping bags reduce pollution and save natural resources that would have been used to make plastic or paper bags.
Use fluorescent or LED light-bulbs. -They are more energy efficient, and less expensive. -According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, if every U.S. household just one regular light-bulb with a fluorescent light-bulb, it would prevent 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from power-plants.
I'm Sabrina D'Andrea, a junior at the University of Rhode Island. I am an English and Writing major. English is my passion, and I enjoy reading a book, I also believe in saving the Earth. I know that the printed text is wasting trees, and I know that the Kindle and the Nook are the way of the future, to save trees. I created this blog to show my passion for saving the planet any way that I can. I have been recycling and doing everything I can for the earth ever since I was in middle school. Yes, much like you reading this (yes, you!) I at first thought recycling was too hard, too dumb (what difference could one person make?), but once I became more motivated, I was on the path. I not only recycle, but I also adopt a vegetarian diet every other month, to help reduce my carbon footprint, and reduce the amount of waste I develop. This is the only Earth we have, and the only one we will ever get, so we must treat it with care. I unplug appliances that I am not using, trudge my way to the closest recycling bin to dispose of my waste, use recycled paper and pencils, and even recycle my old clothes. I am totally into saving the world, and you should be too!
