Monthly Archives: May 2021

Eco-friendly Tips For The Summer

Posted on by

With summer approaching that means long days outside, and hotter than normal temperatures. Staying cool and having fun is what most of us plan to do. Though this should be a time to try and conserve energy while we do this. Here are some easy ways that you can save energy this summer. 

Don’t Waste Water 

Saving water doesn’t just mean saving money, but using it resourcefully can diminish the amount of water being taken out of aquifers and rivers. There are several ways that you can save water at home this summer.

  • Shorten your shower: Trimming just two minutes off your shower can save up to 1,700 gallons of water per person in your household.  Another trick to conserve water is to turn it off while you soap and/or shave. Doesn’t seem like it would make an impact, but trust me the little things always do. 
  •  Water your yard in the morning or evening: Water evaporates quickly when the sun is high, so water when it’s more likely to stay in the soil. Make sure you’re watering your yard, not the sidewalk or driveway
  • Go to the car wash: Washing a car at home can use up to 100 gallons of water, commercial car washes often use only 40 gallons or less of freshwater. Making a trip to the car wash this summer would be a lot better for the earth and you.

Use Fans Instead of Air conditioners

A fan moves air around, using 90% less energy than central air conditioning units, while still keeping your house cool for summer. Implementing this change or rather sometimes the use of a fan when you might find yourself lowering the temperature for the air conditioner could save a lot of energy in the long run.  Keep yourself hydrated

During the summer months, we sometimes forget how much water our bodies need. Being out in the sun for long periods can easily cause dehydration. One way to combat this would be to always have a reusable water bottle with you. Reduces the amount of plastic and can be easily filled up. 

These are just a few tips and tricks to help you have an eco-friendly and safe summer. 

How to Recycle Common Items Around Your House

Posted on by

If school is coming to an end like it is for me, then I’m sure you have a lot of items lying around that you don’t use anymore. Those barely working highlighters, pens with no ink, light bulbs, almost any item you might not know what do to with is recyclable and can be achieved with the help of Terracycle. 

Terracycle 

Terracycle is a social enterprise whose mission is to eliminate the idea of waste. To achieve this, they collaborate with local communities to offer innovative collection and recycling platforms for waste. Merely everything we touch can be recycled and collected, and get done with the help of TerraCycle’s programs. If there an item that we don’t know what to do with, or don’t know if it’s recyclable, there is most likely a program that can help with that. 

 

How you can participate

All you have to do is select the program you wish to send items to. Gather at least three pounds of said item(s), print a label from the website, and ship it. Once shipped and received TerraCycle does the rest in recycling your unwanted items, striving for zero waste. Once they receive your items, they add points to your account that can be redeemable for a cash payment to the non-profit organizations or school of your choice. You can join as many programs to help reduce your impact on our planet.

 

 

 

3 Alternatives to Driving Your Car

Posted on by

Transportation is without a doubt, one of the leading causes of climate change. The carbon emissions that come from driving our cars and trucks makes up at least ⅕ of the US’s total emissions; this isn’t even including the smog in urban areas that result from driving. But how will you get to work each morning? Well, there are several alternatives that are better for the environment and some ways that are great sources of exercise as well! 

 

  1. Biking

Biking, especially in Austin, is a great alternative to driving your car. Luckily, Austin has been implementing more bike lanes to make it easier to travel downtown and in several other areas. Additionally, making bikes requires far less resources than making cars does. So, not only will owning and using your bike combat pollution and climate change, but creating them as opposed to cars as there’s less of a need to mine for materials as well as using less fossil fuels. 

 

2. Buses

While you may be thinking that taking the bus is also emitting carbon emissions; you’re right. However, with this alternative, it reduces the amount of people in cars individually and reduces traffic. Taking the bus reduces less fuel being used per person which outweighs the emissions from the single bus. However, each city is different. Texas is a bigger state and everything is a little more spaced out. Regardless, the busses in Austin, using CapMetro, are still a better alternative than using the fuel from your car. 

 

3. Carpooling 

Now, this option is the most appealing on our list because it makes it easier on those who can’t access public transportation or if your job is too far away to realistically bike to. It’s not the most environmentally friendly, but at the very least, it does still reduce carbon emissions. Carpooling is also a better alternative for you local air quality because you are using less fuel driving your own car. It’s also cheaper! You can totally ride with people you work with and help reduce congestion while reducing emissions.

 

There are several other options too if these aren’t realistic. There are so many cities like Austin where public transportation is more difficult to use as the infrastructure is trying to adapt to support the population boom. However, biking is a realistic option and so is carpooling. These options might be a little more inconvenient, but it won’t be as problematic as the amount of emissions our cars produce daily. 

4 Reasons Why We Need to Phase Out the Oil Industry to Combat Climate Change

Posted on by

 

The topic of fracking and the oil industry in the United States has been one of the more controversial conversations. Debates between those employed in this industry versus environmentalists is not new. However, politics aside, the oil industry has undoubtedly contributed to climate change. These oil companies have profited off of selling and burning large amounts of coal, oil, and gas. Furthermore, some experts have come to find that on public lands alone, the oil industry is expected to emit a massive amount of carbin emissions. 

 

  1. Large amounts of fossil fuels 
    1. It’s a relatively obvious fact that the oil industry is responsible for burning oil, coal, and gas which is one of the leading causes for this negative climate change. In order to at least slow this process, we have to first stop burning fossil fuels and convert to renewable energy. While those employed in this industry may feel panicked by this idea, they fail to realize that there are plenty of jobs in the green energy industry. 

 

2. System change is required to stay within the 1.5 degrees C. of warming. 

 

    1. According to the United Nations Emissions Gas report, global greenhouse gas emissions need to drop by 7.6 percent each year to keep warming under 1.5 degrees celsius. With that being said, the oil industry has been reported to produce 120% more oil, gas, and coal by 2030. This is a detriment. However, in order to stay below this warming, governments need to act now by not allowing the licensing and permitting of new oil fields and gas wells, begin to develop phase out plans, etc. 

 

3. The oil industry has been aware of the climate crisis for decades.

    1. This reason might be off-putting for those who support the industry. However, this reason also eliminates any plausible deniability from companies like Exxon. Investigations have recently found that these companies were doing research into carbon emissions and were well aware of the dangers of rising global temperatures. This issue is not just the fault of the companies, but also the fault of the government as they have allowed and supported this industry from its inception. Furthermore, it has been found that this industry is also partly responsible for the spread of pseudo science concerning the very tangible affects the oil industry has on the climate. 

 

4. Environmental racism is driven by the oil industry

    1. Families of color are hit the hardest by the oil industry due to the climate impacts the industry causes to the environment. Power plants, toxic wastes sites, and pipelines that pollute the drinking water are more often than not placed in areas where the community has little economic or political power. Additionally, race and poverty have been correlated with being significantly more exposed to air pollution caused by the oil and gas industry.

 

Conclusion

Phasing out the oil industry is one of many ways that we as a society need to do in order to halt the Earth’s warming. It goes beyond politics and the economy at this point. Overall, despite the rhetoric being used to say otherwise, there are several other alternatives to oil and gas.