Global Warming - Newspaper/Newsletter Spots

Message in a bottle

In the U.S., we spend $16 billion on bottled water every year. Better for our health than soft drinks, but 1000 times more expensive than water out of a fountain (and 40 percent of bottled water comes from the tap anyway)! Then we throw away 86% of them — or 40 million water bottles a day. That's a line of bottles end-to-end from the Washington Monument to the Grand Canyon — and back! And then there's the fuel bill: it takes 50 million barrels of oil to produce, ship and dispose of the water bottles used every year by US consumers; or enough to fuel 3 million. And of course this production process creates a lot of global warming gases.

Time to stop hitting the bottle - join the movement to end the bottled water scam! Or at least recycle the ones you buy.

Something to think about from the New Community Project www.newcommunityproject.org

Cows vs. Cars...and the winner is...?

So which one do you think creates more global warming gases? Believe it or not, a recent report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations credits beef cattle with producing more global warming gases than the world's vehicle fleet. Yes, our lumbering friends are responsible for 18 percent of all human-induced climate change, as they're big emitters of CO2 and nitrous oxide as well as methane. And beef consumption, at over 230 million tons per year, is set to nearly double in the next 40 years.

Whether we're driving or dining, we've got decisions to make about the planet and its future. Veggie burger anyone?

Something to think about from the New Community Project www.newcommunityproject.org

Shower Power

Heating water is one of the major energy consumers on any college campus-and anytime there's energy use, there's CO2 production (globe-warming carbon dioxide) because it's more than likely that fossil fuels were burned to create the energy. The average shower puts out about five gallons of hot water per minute-or 35 gallons for a typical 7-minute shower. That's about two pounds of CO2 per day, or 600 pounds a year. And that's if you limit your shower to 7 minutes!

One small step anyone can take to help take the heat off Mother Earth is to limit shower time. Only having the water on for 3-4 minutes can save 300 pounds of CO2 a year!

Something to think about from the New Community Project www.newcommunityproject.org

Paper Trail

U.S. consumers use an average of 760 pounds of paper per year per person. That's about seven times the world average, and it requires 1 billion trees a year to produce that much paper. Keep in mind that every pound of paper requires 3 ½ pounds of wood to produce, and creates 3 pounds of CO2.

With the world's forest disappearing at a rate of 25 million acres a year, we need to do everything we can to stop the destruction. Forests are the main carbon sink of the planet, with an acre of rainforest absorbing 1000 pounds of CO2 per year. So think twice before printing off things you really don't need; use both sides of paper whenever possible; buy recycled paper; recycle the paper you use.

Something to think about from the New Community Project www.newcommunityproject.org

Bye-bye Bears

Polar bears could disappear from the Arctic by the end of the century. Why? Global warming is melting the ice right beneath their huge paws. Thousands of other species could join them on the slide to oblivion if the planet keeps heating up.

Don't want the bears to go bye-bye? Then help turn down the heat by driving less (every mile puts a pound of CO2 into the atmosphere), buying less stuff (takes energy to mine, make, ship and package it), and being conscious of small things like taking shorter showers, cutting off lights, and buying local products (to cut down on transport).

Something to think about from the New Community Project www.newcommunityproject.org

Driving the Planet Crazy

Personal car use is the worst environmental habit of U.S. citizens, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Every mile we drive puts a pound of CO2 into the atmosphere, makes us more dependent on oil from unstable regions of the world-and kills .0001 squirrels or other small furry creatures (educated guess!).

On the other hand, a bicycle gets the equivalent of 1000 miles per gallon of gasoline, keeps other countries from jerking us around, and spares innumerable small critters. And a little exercise won't hurt us either.

Something to think about from the New Community Project www.newcommunityproject.org