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Green Facts
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Refrigerators built in 1975 used 4 times more energy than current models.
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You will save 100 pounds of carbon for each incandescent bulb that you replace with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), over the life of the bulb.
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Americans throw away more than 120 million cell phones each year, which contribute 60,000 tons of waste to landfills annually.
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In California homes, about 10% of energy usage is related to TVs, DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVD players.
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In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions. Walk or bike and you'll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.
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If every U.S. household turned the thermostat down by 10 degrees for seven hours each night during the cold months, and seven hours each weekday, it would prevent nearly gas emissions.
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One recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours.
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The World Health Organization estimates that 2 million people die prematurely worldwide every year due to air pollution.
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Recycling 1 million laptop computers can save the amount of energy used by 3,657 homes in the U.S. over the course of a year.
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An aluminum can that is thrown away instead of recycled will still be a can 500 years from now!
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For every 38,000 bills consumers pay online instead of by mail, 5,058 pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided and two tons of trees are preserved.
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A tree that provides a home with shade from the sun can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner and save an additional 200 to 2,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime.
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A steel mill using recycled scrap reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining wastes by about 70%.
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Washing your clothes in cold or warm instead of hot water saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and drying your clothes on a clothesline six months out of the year would save another 700 pounds.
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Glass can be recycled over and over again without ever wearing down.
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A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.
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Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.
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82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from burning fossil fuels.
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Recycling for one year at Stanford University saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.
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Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute.
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States with bottle deposit laws have 35-40% less litter by volume.
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Due to tiger poaching, habitat destruction, and other human-tiger conflicts, tigers now number around 3,200—a decrease in population by about 70% from 100 years ago.
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Shaving 10 miles off of your weekly driving pattern can eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
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Nudge your thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter to prevent 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
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American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year.
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You will save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 10,000 miles you drive if you always keep your car’s tires fully inflated.
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Current sea ice levels are at least 47% lower than they were in 1979.
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Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months
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77% of people who commute to work by car drive alone.
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Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than equivalent stands of trees.
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Americans use 100 million tin and steel cans every day.
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It takes 6,000,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.
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Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth can save as much as 10 gallons a day per person.
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Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from scratch.
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A laptop consumes five times less electricity than a desktop computer.
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Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct.
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Recycling 100 million cell phones can save enough energy to power 18,500 homes in the U.S. for a year.
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Less than 1% of electricity in the United States is generated from solar power.
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You’ll save two pounds of carbon for every 20 glass bottles that you recycle.


Complaining about being stuck in the office all day? Well, here’s something that you can do to get you outside and reconnect with the outdoor world. Over the last few years many of us have rediscovered our inner desire to not only reconnect with the outdoor world, but reinvest in...

Do you enjoy fresh herbs and greens but just lack the yard space to grow anything? I found myself in this position as a college student two years ago—a gravel front yard without any protection from stray animals or people, and a real desire to grow some food. While toying with...
When we were children, treehouses enthralled us. Whether real or imagined, they were magical places that were hidden from chores, adults, and schoolwork. As adults, many of us still dream of a little escape from our grounded, fast-paced lifestyles. Some build a treehouse to reconnect with their children, and others build it to reconnect with themselves—to...
Ten percent of all trees are threatened with extinction. Learning more about nature will inspire you to protect it. There's a difference between cutting down a tree and cutting down a pin oak tree, whose acorns you and your friends played with last autumn...
Why bother reusing water when it is so abundant? Despite the fact that the earth consists of 70% water, only 2.5% of it is freshwater and only 0.3% of that freshwater is readily available to us. According to UNESCO, by 2050 it is probable that 1 in 4 people will live in a country that experiences freshwater shortages. In the U.S. alone...
A lot of gardeners own a greenhouse because they’re great for their plants. Of course, not everyone can afford the big greenhouses that professionals maintain. For the novice or amateur gardener with only a few rows of plants, try building your own mini-greenhouse! It’s good for your plants, good for the environment, and good for...
If you love gardens but hate gardening, there’s a perfect solution for you. And, it also happens to be very eco-friendly. What is this magical solution? It’s a rainwater catchment planter, or a self-watering plant container that harvests rainwater and uses it to water your plants. It works using a combination of gravity, toilet valves, and...
Honeybees are a crucial part of our natural world. Not only do they produce honey and beeswax, but also they are responsible for the pollination of thousands of cash crops and various other species of plants. Sadly, bee populations are on the decline. According to an article in the New York Times, “The bee losses are ranging from 30...
For whatever reason, lawns have long been a staple of American suburban life. Lawns cover about 40.5 million acres of the country. We spend about $30 billion maintaining lawns every year. 30-60% of residential water bills are because of our lawns. We use 3 million tons of fertilizer and over 30 thousand tons of synthetic pesticides eac...
Gardens can make any yard both beautiful and intricate while providing you with a healthy, outdoor hobby. But just because you're growing your own vegetables doesn't mean your being environmentally-friendly about it. Implementing used water, homemade compost, and native plants can make your backyard a healthful place with a kick of...
Grey water (used water) is okay to use for plants and it reduces water waste a ton. However, there are a few exceptions: Experts advise not to use grey water on seedlings, use once the plant is established and less sensitive. Also, avoid using it on root plants that are eaten raw, such as carrots.9 And, since used water often...
Non-toxic pesticides may sound like an oxymoron, but they are becoming more and more popular, as seen in the boom of organic foods. Although most pesticides, by definition, must be toxic to the targeted pests, non-toxic pesticides minimize the effect that the pesticide has on the rest of the environment. Non-toxic pesticides have benefits...
Having trees around your house can reduce your utility bills by up to 12%! Trees shade your house on sunny days and block wind on stormy days saving you money on both your heating and cooling expenses. In addition, a mature tree can be valued at upwards of $10,000 and having trees around your property increases its value an average of 10%...
Imagine moving your baking projects outdoors. Imagine constructing your own oven out of natural materials in the same way people have for centuries. Imagine increasing your level of self-sufficiency by decreasing your use of fossil fuels in baking. Best of all, imagine a project that your whole family, group of friends, or neighborhood can...
Having a birdfeeder will allow you to observe many different kinds of birds in close proximity. You'll be able to recognize certain species in no time, and bird watching is a relaxingly fun activity! In times of food scarcity you may be a bird's only source of sustenance thus helping maintain the population of the winged community in...