Little Things Add Up!

By Deana Cox

I think perhaps I should start off with explanations of some terms I will be using.

First there is exponential growth; a good way to explain this is to use an example. If you were to take a piece of paper and fold it in half you would double its thickness. If you could manage to do this 42 times, it would reach from the Earth to the moon--that's 386,400 kilometers (240,000 miles)! This is what exponential growth is--the doubling of a quantity and the doubling of the result and so on, as you can see while growth may start out slowly, it increases extremely rapidly.

Another term needed here is sustainable. For our purposes we will talk about sustainable systems or societies. These are systems or societies that manage their economies and population size without exceeding the planet's ability to support them. Right now our societies, as a whole, are not living sustainably. Our population and resource use is growing exponentially and without changes in not only the way we live but in the way we think and teach our children to think and live, we as a species may very well cease to exist.

These are some of the major strategies many environmentalists and scientist believe are needed to create a sustainable society:

  Reduce waste, of both matter and resources.

  Place pollution and waste prevention above reduction.

  Compost, recycle and reuse at least 60% of the resources we use.

  Shift to renewable resource use such as wind, water and solar energy.

  Help sustain the Earth's biodiversity by protecting vital habitats for wild species.

  Slow the rate of population growth.

  Reduce poverty.

There are many ways to obtain each of these goals, below are several ways that each of us can 'do our fair share' to help humanity reach them dealing in this article, directly with saving energy and reducing outdoor pollution.

  Reducing the use of fossil fuels. Driving a car that gets at least 15 kilometers per liter (35 miles per gallon), joining a car pool, walking and bicycling will reduce emissions of CO2 and other air pollutants, save energy and money and probably improve your health.

  Plant and/or care for trees. During it's lifetime the average tree absorbs enough CO2 to offset the same amount created by driving a car 42,000 kilometers (26,000 miles).

  Do not use electricity to heat a space or water. This is the most inefficient method there is to heat up your home or water for your bath.

  Insulate new or existing houses heavily. This reduces heat loss and air infiltration and will save you money on utility bills.

These are just a few of the many things that each of us can do to not only reduce the use of non-renewable resources but to save energy and money. For more information on this subject as well as on the others mentioned in this article try the following web sites or your local library.

ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION: The Department of Energy's web site for dispensing information on renewable and nonrenewable energy sources.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/

OZONE FAST FACTS: interesting facts concerning ozone pollution. http://www.semcog.org/ozoneaction/fastfacts.html

SCIENCE MISCONCEPTIONS: Clarifying commonly taught misconceptions ranging from the greenhouse effect to cloud formation.

http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/BadScience.html

Deana Cox is a 29 year old senior at Texas Tech University majoring in Physical and Human Geography. She has four cats and work for Valentine Pelka as his Convention Coordinator. She worked in a hospital for 8 years as a Monitor Tech till she decided to return to school and get her degree. Deana volunteers for The South Plains Wildlife Association and supports many animal rights and environmental causes and charities, including Mother's Torch.

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