CEC Blog

Plastics are everywhere!  They are a very helpful part of our everyday life and we use them without much consideration.  A majority of the plastics that we consume are in the form of one-time use, disposable items such as plastic bags, plastic bottles, food containers, packaging, etc.  While plastic is a great material with many uses, these disposable items are taking up a great amount of precious space in our landfills.   Once a landfill is full, it is covered and a new one is dug.  The quicker we fill them, the quicker new ones are built.  We all know that living things cannot thrive when living in their own waste.  Finding ways to reduce what we consume and throw away helps to prolong the life of these much needed sanitary landfills and keep them far away from our homes, jobs, and places of recreation.  Recycling plastic is one solution.  Even better is to reduce the amount of disposable plastics we consume in the first place.  This also saves those precious petroleum resources for other uses.    Many communities offer curbside or other recycling facilities.  Plastics that are most typically accepted through these services are labeled as 1s or 2s inside the triangle recycling symbol.  Check with your local provider to learn which of the 7 different plastics are accepted in your area.

Not only are plastics taking up space in our landfills, the chemicals of which they are made are also becoming a concern toward our health.  While we are not necessarily making a hearty meal out of our plastic water bottles quite yet, the chemical compounds that make up the variety of plastics found in items from food containers to cosmetics are making their way into our bodies.  There have been many scientific studies on the impacts these chemicals are having on the various systems of our bodies.  Many of the chemicals found in plastics are considered endocrine disruptors.  These are artificial chemicals that mimic human hormones and disrupt the natural balance of the body’s hormonal system.  Due to the fact that plastics are now very common place in everyday items, the levels found in humans are being found at higher concentrations and are having more of an impact.

Two of the more known chemicals found in plastics that are of concern are:

Bisphenol A – This substance is found in drink and food containers, lined tin cans, baby bottles, dental sealants, and plastic wraps.  Endocrine disruptor.  http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/pdf/factsheet_bisphenol.pdf

Pthalates – Man-made chemicals used to make plastics flexible.  Found in some cosmetics and hygiene products. (Also, known as dialkyl or alkyl aryl esters of 1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid.)  Studies have indicated an association between phthalate exposure and affects on the male reproductive system of children.  http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/pdf/factsheet_phthalates.pdf

Plastics to avoid in food packaging and containers:

#3:   Poly Vinyl Chloride or Vinyl – May contain phthalates
#6:   Styrene – A potentially toxic chemical found in Styrofoam and other similar brands.  May leach into food and beverages at temperatures above 80 degrees.
#7:  Catch-all category and includes polycarbonates which include BPA.  Look for items labeled “BPA free.”

What to do:

• Choose a re-usable water bottle.  Look for a water bottle that is labeled “BPA free.” Avoid plastic bottles that are labeled as plastics 3, 6, or 7.  These are the plastics that contain more of the harmful chemicals that may leach into your food or beverage.  There are now plastic bottles labeled as 7 that are labeled “BPA free” and are considered the safer alternative.

You may also use stainless steel bottles.  There are many options available and many are even fashionable!  Remember, water is necessary for your body to work properly and thrive.  Be sure that you are drinking wisely!  Save money and resources by drinking form the tap and using a reusable water bottle.

• Do not microwave food items in plastic containers or using plastic wrap.
• Opt for canned goods that are not lined.  Many of these linings contain BPA.
• Use glass food or a safe plastic for food storage containers.
• Hand-wash plastic food and drink containers.  Many dishwashers use high temperatures to sanitize dishes.  High temperatures cause some plastics to break down faster allowing chemicals to leach more readily into foods and beverages during future uses.

It is very important to lessen our use of disposable products and packaging to reduce the impact on our natural resources as well as the life of local landfills and to work for a high quality of life for our children and grandchildren.  Learning more about plastics and the items we use on a daily basis is also very important to our health and the health of future generations.

According to this table provided by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/nahbpa.pdf, the seven types of plastics are:

More information:
www.chemicalbodyburden.org/cs_phthalate.htm
www.CDC.gov
www.healthybuilding.net
www.pollutioninpeople.org

From our first newsletter in 2009 – please post other tips and comments to share with others interested in making a difference in 2009

What can you do to conserve resources in 2009?

Happy New Year!  A new year brings with it many new challenges, a chance for renewal, and the urgency to act to make our world a better place for future generations.  There are so many small things individuals are able to do on a daily basis.  Once you start with the small changes in your life, they often lead to even bigger changes.  Remembering that everything you do to protect our natural resources makes a difference and that your decisions are seen and heard by others is important.  No one of us our perfect, but we can each strive to be a role model for conservation in our daily lives!

Here are my top ten things that you can start today!  Read on for other ideas if you have already accomplished the first ten. 

1. Ditch the bottled water.  Each plastic bottle requires A LOT more water to create the bottle than what the bottle holds.  Recycling is great, but reducing what you use is even better!  Up to 90% of water bottles are not recycled in the United States.  Use a re-usable water bottle.  Be sure to purchase one made from a material other than plastic or use one of the safer plastics not known to leach harmful chemicals (#1, 2, 4, 5 and 7’s labeled “bisphenol A free”).  The bottled water industry is regulated much less than your municipal drinking water facility.  If taste is an issue, purchase a water filter.  http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=77083
2. Take your own bags to the grocery and other stores.   Plastic bags take over 1,000 years to begin to break down in a landfill.  They also take a lot of petroleum and energy to manufacture. 
3. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent or LED bulbs.  Poor lighting quality is no longer an excuse for not purchasing these energy and material saving bulbs.  They come in a variety of wattages (but be sure to check for the lumens of the bulbs), various styles and types of light.  Of course, you are already turning of the lights in rooms you are not utilizing.  By replacing 3 light bulbs with 3 CFLs, you have the possibility of saving $60 in one year!
4. Get outside, and take someone with you!  The benefits of being outdoors are tremendous for our mental and physical health.  Remember the carefree days of playing outside until the street lights came on? Try to bring this stress free feeling back into your life.  Visit the beautiful trails at Cope Environmental Center any day of the week from dawn to dusk for free! 
5. Reduce your shower time.  For every minute you do not spend in the shower, you save 2.5 or more gallons of water.  Also, replace your shower head with a low-flow head.  This is an easy thing to do.  Showers account for 2/3 of water heating costs.  You have the potential of saving up to $99 per year if you reduce your shower by 2 or more minutes each day.
6. Cancel unwanted catalogs and junk mail.  This will save paper resources as well as reduce the use of inks that are not so friendly to our soil and water. 
7. Reduce the amount of packaging you purchase with products.  Shop for larger quantities when feasible and choose products that use less packaging.  Packaging makes up ~65% of the average household’s trash. 
8. Keep your car tuned up and the tires properly inflated.   Properly inflated tires  can save several hundreds of dollars in fuel costs each year. 
9. Consider cloth diapers instead of disposable diapers that clog the landfill.  There are also new diapers that are made using non-chlorine bleach processes (which pollute our waterways), do not use harsh chemicals in the absorbent materials, and the wet diapers can even be composted.  Nature Babycare is a new brand that works excellent.  Please feel free to contact me for more information about diapers! 
10. Start a small garden.  Even growing one tomato plant in a 5 gallon bucket is a great way to start enjoying local food this year.  The best broccoli I have ever grown was grown in a window box when I was living in an apartment.  The lesser the distance your food needs to travel to get to your plate, the fresher it is, more nutritious it is, and the less fuel it took to get it to you! 

A few others to consider…

1.  Wash your clothes in cold water.  They come just as clean and use less energy when no water is heated.  Approximately 90% of the energy used to run a load of laundry on the hot/warm cycle is used to heat the water.  Clothes really do come clean in cold water!  Of course there are times when disinfecting items using hot water instead of harsh chemicals is a better option.  (Think dirty cloth diapers J). 

2.  Be a hypermiler.  By changing your driving habits, you can save gas.  “Hypermilers are drivers who exceed the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated fuel efficiency on their vehicles by modifying their driving habits.”  Google “Hypermiling” to learn easy tips to make your driving more efficient. 

3.  Install surge protectors on all your entertainment centers and computer equipment.  This equipment continues to draw energy even when switched off.  If you are able to accomplish this for all your televisions, video game consoles, stereos, and computer, you will most likely see difference in your electric bill, too!

4.  When replacing appliances, large and small, look for the Energy Star.  While some models may be a little more expensive up front, they will save resources and money over the long run. 

5. When buying a new vehicle, purchase the most fuel efficient vehicle that fits your needs.  Also, be sure to consider the emissions.  Search for SULEV (Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle) when possible.  Make mpg the first thing you look for once you have determined the size and type of vehicle you need. 

Remember that no one can be perfect all the time.  We can only strive to improve.  By picking a few things on the list, you have shown that you are dedicated to making a change for the better to ensure a happy, healthy planet for us, for our children, and grandchildren.  Look for tips in each of our newsletters this year.  If you have other ideas to share, please post them on our blog.  Go to copeenvironmental.org and click on “CEC Blog” on the left-hand side.

Everyone has a different idea of what sustainability is or is not.  It looks like Keith is well on his way to realizing the dream.  Formal definitions don’t give a full understanding of all the facets.  Very few people or groups can live completely sustainable lives.  In its simplest definition sustainability is a balance between production and consumption.  For a process or activity to be totally sustainable it needs to consume resources at exactly the same rate that they are being produced by some other process or activity.  People everywhere study the interaction of all the laws of nature that regulate this process.

In everyday life the sustainability model can be described by the diagram below.  Here a balance between social, environmental, and econimic influences contribute to a sustainable world. 

To truly evaluate how sustainable an activity is you need to look at it from start to finish.  At first glance the new E-85 ethanol based gas seems like a good idea.  You make fuel out of something that you can replenish quickly.  However, when you include all of the fossil fuels that are consumed in the production of it, it is not so good.  I have read that it costs $2 for every $1 of corn based Ethanol produced, not to mention all the CO2 produced by the farm machinery used to harvest the corn.  A better approach might be the way Brazil makes their ethanol.  First they start with a plant that can be used in its entirety like sugar cane.  Because you don’t use just the fruit like with corn or soy beans you get a lot more gallons per acre.  Also because sugar cane distils into more ethanol per pound of input stock it is a better deal all the way around.  Next they harvest by hand and make the ethanol right there at the field in small distilleries.  No trucking the supplies here and there, only the end product is shipped.  This is kind of the way moonshine was made back in prohibition times.  You are probably thinking, well that would be great Chuck, if we could grow sugar cane.  Well good news, we can and currently do in Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, and parts of Texas.  But almost none of that is used for making ethanol, instead we refine it to extreme purity…and eat it.  I guess we have things backward.  We make ethanol out of what we should be eating and we eat what we should be turning into fuel.

Well, that’s my “soapbox” subject for this time but seriously why are we waiting to switch?  Here are some additional pages to read:

http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=6817

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel_in_Brazil

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/06/news/economy/sugarcane_ethanol/index.htm

The last article emphasizes some of the problems with producing ethanol from sugar.  Some of these are valid but some are just people unwilling to change.  All of the problems have solutions once you put them up against good old American ingenuity.  And finally, at least one company already has half the solution, available right now to make your own ethanol.  Just find a supply of cheap (and sustainably produced) sugar and your fuel problem is over.

http://www.efuel100.com/t-technology.aspx

Enjoy…

Chuck