St. Francis and Ecology

WHAT CAN WE DO TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT?
 

1. Leave your car at home. Walk or take public transportation or ride a bicycle to your destination. A typical car emits about 10,730 pounds of air pollution a year and a typical sport utility vehicle or light truck emits almost 17,900 pounds of pollution. When purchasing a new car, consider fuel efficiency and alternative fuel cars in your decision.

2. Don’t idle the car in parking lots and avoid drive through windows.

3. Don’t be a speed demon. You can improve your gas mileage about 15 percent by driving at 55 mph rather than 65 mph.

4. Change the fuel filter on your car as recommended by the manufacturer. Cleaner fuel = cleaner emissions.

5. Recycle used batteries to reduce toxic mercury emissions. Marion County and some other communities incinerate household waste. If batteries are thrown away, the mercury ends up going out the smokestack and into the air we all breathe.

6. Use ceiling and box fans instead of air conditioners to keep cool. Fossil fuels that are used to produce electricity contribute to air pollution and global warming. Using less electricity will save you money in electric bills, too!

7. Cut your utility bills by purchasing energy-efficient appliances, fixtures and other electronic products. The average home creates more air pollution than the average car. You can reduce your energy use by up to 40 percent by purchasing items displaying the ENERGY STAR label.

8. Turn off electric appliances and lights when they are not in use and only run the dishwasher and washing machines when they are full. The United States has four percent of the world’s population, yet creates 25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. Conserving energy will reduce the United States contribution to global warming.

9. Wait until the evening to get gas and to mow the lawn on hot and muggy summer days. This helps prevent ground level ozone formation.

10. Compost organic trash, leaves and grass clippings instead of burning them. Burning is against the law in many communities and composting five pounds of leaves will prevent one pound of air pollution. Plus, you’ll get great soil free!

The American "throw away society" produces almost twice as much solid waste as any other developed country with the average citizen producing more than 1,000 pounds of trash each year! If our nation filled 10-ton trash trucks with its yearly 160 million tons of trash, the line would stretch 145,000 miles long, or encircle the equator six times! Not only is this a frightening picture, the projections show a 20 percent increase by the year 2000. Landfills fill and close rapidly and space for new landfills is ever hard to find. It is imperative that individuals take responsibility for their consumption levels and disposal methods. Many individuals and communities are doing just that by developing recycling programs and finding a viable answer to this ever growing problem.

Proper recycling of materials is a help. For throw-away plates, cups, note that Styrofoam does not deteriorate so easily in landfills. The plastic rings that form the carrier for a six-pack of beer or cans of soft drinks is a major hazard for birds as they can get stuck in these things.