Going Green

The planet we are living on is vastly changing. Pollution, population, and waste are all at an all time high and this is not a problem that will be going away anytime soon. In an attempt to teach our children responsibility for their environment our classroom is "going green". What this means is that everyone in our class, and with any luck in our whole school, will be making eco-friendly choices everyday. Choices like recycling, composting, reducing use, and reusing items will be learned about and encouraged. What this means for you is that we will soon be sending out a list of ways you can be eco-friendly at home.

Here is a list of ways for you to save green ($) by becomeing green, and how to support your child and our classroom during this unit.
Going Green Made Easy
by Earth 911 Staff on May 7th, 2007
1. Buy Only What You Need
Plain and simple - don’t over purchase.
However, when buying items that you use daily or in large quantities, consider buying in bulk. You will save money and packaging. Consider splitting bulk purchases with neighbors or friends to get that savings but not the full quantity of the purchase. Sometimes we can’t always use 50 rolls of toilet paper!
2. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!
Don’t forget the last step in the recycling loop - Buy Recycled! In order for recycling to be sustainable, we need to purchase recycled-content materials! Look for and purchase post-consumer recycled content packaging and products whenever possible.
3. Change a Light, Change the World
When your incandescent light bulbs stop working, replace them with the new, energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CFLs use 2/3 less energy as a traditional incandescent light bulbs and last 10 times as long!1 Making this switch will save you money AND energy!
4. Bag It Up the Green Way
Plastic bags are getting the “thumbs down” in several communities around the country because of litter problems. When going to the store, consider bagging your own groceries in cloth, reusable bags. If you decide to use plastic bags, remember to recycle them. Thousands of locations are available across the country - use Earth 911 to locate a recycling location near you!
5. Green Your Gadgets
Resist the urge to upgrade every time a “newer” or “cooler” gadget comes out. Reduce at the source - you save money.and the time (and frustration) to learn how to operate and program the new gadget!
Donate working electronics to school programs resell or refurbish them.
Completely broken? Recycle! Electronics are the new “hot” item being recycled across the country.
Refill or recycle your inkjet or toner cartridges
Close the recycling loop and buy recycled, post-consumer content paper for your printer. Most local office supply stores, such as Staples, offer a growing selection of environmentally friendly papers.
Keep in mind even computer game equipment and iPODs now have reuse and recycling programs available. G4 TV, in partnership with Earth 911, offers a new campaign encouraging e-gadget reuse and recycling. Visit gcycle.org.
6. Make Every Drop Count
Even though 70% of the world is covered by water, less than 1% is fresh enough to drink or use. With so little fresh water, we need to conserve all that we can.
Turn off the water faucet when brushing your teeth.
Use your dishwasher and washing machine only when they are full. Try to avoid small, partial loads.
Compost food scraps instead of using your garbage disposal. You’ll save gallons of water every time and have a great soil amendment for your garden.
Clean your driveway or sidewalk with a broom instead of hosing it down with water. You’ll save at least 80 gallons of water every time.
Don’t use running water to thaw food.
7. Turn Up the Savings
A few degrees can make all the difference in your energy savings and your wallet. In the summer raise your thermostat two degrees. In the winter lower your thermostat two degrees. You probably won’t notice the difference.at least until your utility bill arrives!
Use a ceiling fan to cool off a room or house. It consumes as little energy as a 60-watt bulb, which is about 98 percent less energy than most central air conditioners.
Install a programmable thermostat to better regulate the temperature in your house through the day and night.
8. Clear the Air
Carpool, ride the bus, use public transportation or bike to work
Trip chain! Save fuel and time by planning ahead and consolidating trips into one trip. Also, vow to only go to certain, far away stores less frequently.
Keep your tires inflated to the appropriate air pressure level. This will extend the life of your tires and give you better gas mileage.
Drive the speed limit.
Service your car on a regular basis per the manufacturer guidelines.
In the market for a new car? Consider one of the new hybrid or fuel efficient vehicles.
9. Save A Tree
Save paper, time and postage, pay your bills online.
As the price of paper cards and postage increases, consider emailing e-cards. There are lots of fun and environmentally-friendly e-cards and options on the Internet.
When printing documents, print on both sides of paper. You can cut your paper consumption in almost half. Besides, when printing out a 200 page report, do you REALLY need 200 one-sided pages?
Email documents and information instead of printing and mailing them.
Save documents on your computer or on a disk instead of in a print copy in your filing cabinet. You’ll free up lots of space!
10. Home Sweet Home
Clotheslines are making a comeback - Dry your clothes on the line instead of in the dryer. They will smell better and you will save money (and get some exercise!)
Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins. They can be used over and over again and thrown in with your weekly load of towels each week.
Make your own less toxic cleaning alternatives using baking soda, soap and vinegar. You will save money and your house won’t smell like a hospital!
When repainting a room, be sure to look for paint that is low VOC (volatile organic compounds).
Tips and tricks from HGTV for going green:
A two-stroke, gasoline-powered lawn mower releases as many hydrocarbons into the atmosphere in 30 minutes as a car does in 90 minutes. Switch to an electric mower.
An LCD flat panel TV uses as little as a third of the electricity of conventional tube-based models.
Buying organic produce grown within 100 miles of your home will help reduce the amount of diesel fuel needed to ship food.
If you feel woozy after painting with latex-based enamel, choose a product low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) instead. New designer colors and improved quality make these safer paints.
Manufacturers of low-flow toilets use advanced computer modeling to deliver more flush power with less water.
Like to linger in a hot shower? Stand under the pulse jet guilt-free with a solar hot-water system.
Replacing old light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones can trim 5 percent from your monthly electrical bill. Go for the premium fluorescents that cast a pure white or buttery golden light.
Skip the pesticides and use nature's method of bug eradication: other animals. Install birdhouses to shelter feathered friends who dine on pesky beetles and grubs.

If you are interested in doing a little research of your own, here is a list of resources I am using for this unit, and you are more then welcome to do a little research your self.
http://foe.org/
http://saveourenvironment.org/
http://grrn.org/
http://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp?lat=36.092514&lon=-114.900406&scale=7&ty=-1
http://ed.org/home.cfm
http://www.globalfootprints.org/