» Harmful Practices http://ourgreenlifebiz.com Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:10:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Water Conservation for Everyone http://ourgreenlifebiz.com/harmful-practices/water-conservation-for-everyone/ http://ourgreenlifebiz.com/harmful-practices/water-conservation-for-everyone/#comments Sun, 17 May 2009 20:51:38 +0000 Jay Mueller http://ourgreenlifebiz.com/?p=64 Continue reading →]]> At least 36 states are expected to face water shortages within the next five years, due to drought, rising demand and rising temperatures.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans use an average of 100 gallons of water each day. Bathroom showers, toilets, and sinks account for approximately 75% of water used in your home. Older bathroom toilets (pre 1992) use about 5 gallons of water per flush.  Newer high efficiency toilets use only about 1.6 gallons per flush. Dual flush toilets use .5 gallons per flush.  The average person flushes the toilet 8 times per day.  According to the EPA, water treatment plants in the United States use about 56 billion kilowatt hours per year to supply and treat water.  This is enough electricity to power more than 5 million homes for an entire year. 

The average bathroom faucet uses two gallons of water per minute.  If you turn off the water while brushing your teeth, you can save up to 8 gallons of water per day.  Leaky faucets can waste more than 3000 gallons of water in a year.  A leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water every day.  A five minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons of water but a bath can use as much as 70 gallons of water.  So if you have a leaky faucet or toilet repairing these can save you a substantial amount of money.  And of course shorter showers or using restricted shower heads will result in less water used.

According to the EPA, U.S. households could save more than 3 trillion gallons of water a year and more than 18 billion dollars a year by installing water efficient appliances.  The average washing machine uses 41 gallons of water per load but the newer high efficiency models use less than 28 gallons per load.  A dishwasher uses 11 gallons of water per use and you use 35 gallons of water if you wash dishes by hand. 

Americans use 15 gallons of water per day to water their lawn and garden and 15 gallons to wash their cars, maintain their swimming pool and hot tub, and cleaning sidewalks and driveways.  Over half of the water used for the lawn and garden is wasted due to evaporation or runoff caused by overwatering.  Remember water is one of our most precious resources so we all need to conserve where we can.

Not to shame anyone but the statistics show that the US wastes more resources on average than any other country.  I think we need to do some re-thinking here.

Jay and Lynne

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]]> http://ourgreenlifebiz.com/harmful-practices/water-conservation-for-everyone/feed/ 1 The Environmental Impact of Plastic Bags http://ourgreenlifebiz.com/harmful-practices/the-environmental-impact-of-plastic-bags/ http://ourgreenlifebiz.com/harmful-practices/the-environmental-impact-of-plastic-bags/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:04:00 +0000 Jay Mueller http://ourgreenlifebiz.com/?p=3 Continue reading →]]> Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured every year. Plastic bags are very popular with both retailers as well as consumers because they are cheap, strong, lightweight, functional, as well as a hygienic means of carrying food as well as other goods. Even though they are one of the modern conveniences that we seem to be unable to do without, they are responsible for harming the environment, killing wildlife, and using up the precious resources of the earth. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over three hundred billion plastic bags are used each year in the US alone and one hundred billion of those wind up in the trash. Less than 5% of plastic bags are recycled.

Plastic bags are used for an average of ten minutes before they are disposed of. Plastic bags litter our oceans, parks, beaches, and streets. And, if they are burned, they infuse the air with toxic fumes. Plastic bags are responsible for the killing of over 100,000 animals such as dolphins, turtle’s whales, sea lions, and penguins every year. Many animals ingest plastic bags, mistaking them for food, and therefore die. Plastic bags are non-biodegradable. The decomposition of plastic bags takes at least 500years and when they do break down toxic substances enter the soil. Plastic bags are made with fossil fuels which are a non renewable energy source. Plastic production uses approximately eight percent of the world’s oil production.

The following steps can be taken to lessen the impact of plastic bags on the environment: reuse plastic bags, recycle plastic bags by returning them to the store, or use paper bags; you can also use reusable shopping bags which are made from renewable materials. Reusable bags are convenient and come in a variety of sizes. If all of us refuse to use plastic bags, we can make a difference to the environment and the health and welfare of all living things.

Lynne

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