Going Green

Written by Matha Dixon

Why go green?

Global Warming? Environmentally friendly? Clean air quality days? What do these mean and can you even remember what the Earth’s atmosphere is made of? Green? What is it and why should I?
The Earth is surrounded by an atmosphere, a layer of air many miles up in the sky. As the sun shines on the Earth, the atmosphere lets the heat reach the ground and then prevents some of it from escaping back into space.
The problem is that our atmosphere is changing. Some of our favorite activities create gases that pollute the atmosphere. As those gases build up, the atmosphere keeps in too much heat.
Greenhouse gases are CO2, nitrogen oxide and methane. The main source of CO2 is the burning of fossil fuels - coal, oil, and gasoline -and wood. Nitrogen oxide is given off by cars as we drive them and by coal-burning power plants as they generate electricity.
The problem is that we’re producing too many greenhouse gases, and they are making the Earth a little hotter. Here’s what could happen if average temperatures on Earth increase just a few degrees:
• Some of the ice around the North Pole and the South Pole would melt.
• That melted ice would cause the sea levels to rise.
• People living near sea level could be flooded.
• Some places would become too hot to live in.
• Many farmers’ crops would no longer grow.
Some scientists now think that the average temperatures on Earth could rise by between 3 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of the next century. If that happened, water levels could flood much of New York City.
That’s just the beginning. As things got even warmer, hundreds of different living creatures could die and become extinct, while many kinds of pests (such as rats and mosquitoes) could multiply in the warmer climate.
Not just a Heat Problem
Finding fresh water is getting harder. For one thing, there are more people on the planet, and they require more water for washing, growing food and sustaining life. All those people create a lot of waste, some of which ends up polluting rivers, lakes and streams. And companies that dump hazardous substances into the water make the problem even worse.
The water in your home is probably pumped from rivers and reservoirs. The more water you use, the more likely it is that some beautiful valley will be flooded as a reservoir, or that some river will begin to run dry, killing the wildlife in and around it. And the more dirty water you send down the drain, the more difficult it is for the sewage system to cope. Accidental overflows of sewage can seriously pollute land and water.
“Acid rain” comes primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, including gasoline burned in automobile engines and oil used for cooking and heating. Acid rain affects people. Some scientists see it as a threat to human health, causing lung disease and other serious problems. Babies, senior citizens, and people who have respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis are among those most seriously affected by acid rain.
Waste is yet another threat to our world. Each of us throws away more than 1,200 pounds of trash per year, far more than people in most other countries. About 80 percent of that garbage ends up in landfills - dumps, as they are more commonly known. (Of the remaining 20 percent, about half is recycled and half is incinerated.) One big problem is that we are running out of landfill space - more than half of the nation’s landfills will be full within ten years. Where will we put all our garbage when we’ve run out of space?
But trash presents more than a space problem. Between 5 and 15 percent of what we throw away contains hazardous substances - substances that can seep into the ground and contaminate air, water, and soil, eventually injuring people and other living things. Batteries, plastics, inks used on packages, and disposable diapers are just some of the things we throw away that contain hazardous substances that can cause serious problems.
What you can do to live green…
This biggest way to go green and help the earth is use these three words… Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Reduce
Cut down on the use of energy. Every time you turn on the lights, open the refrigerator, turn on the heat, or take a ride in the car, you are using energy - electricity, gasoline, and natural gas, for example. The power plants that generate the electricity and the automobile engines that burn gasoline all create vast amounts of CO2.
You may find a lot of energy being wasted right in your own home. Make a list of the things you believe should be done. Your local hardware store sales person can help you determine how much the improvements will cost, how much energy they will save, and how much money your family will save in reduced energy bills.

If you’re remodeling or building a home, there are many ways to make it environmentally friendly. Even old homes can go green. “It’s about being energy efficient... It’s just a new way to build.”
 “Here are some ways of building Green or energy efficient building,” said Darren Classen of Classen Homes:
• Position house to maximize energy efficiency
• Use two foot or more overhangs to conserve energy
• Use energy efficient appliances
• Consider using a rainwater system
• Use a high SEER HVAC
• Use soy-based foam insulation
• Install metal roof
• Use reclaimed and local materials
• Use fluorescent light bulbs
• Use low flow faucets
• Install on-demand gas water heater
• Be creative
Consider upgrading your appliances to energy efficient ones. This will save you money and save the Earth. Start with your biggest energy eaters – AC units, water heaters, and dishwashers or ovens.
“Programmable thermostats or set back thermostats are great to have because they save energy.
If the house sits empty during the weekday, you can program them to shut off after you leave or rise to 80 in the summer then go back to a comfortable 76 an hour before you arrive home,” advised Stoney Williams from Guada Coma AC and Heating.
Reuse
Instead of throwing things away, try to find ways to use them again! For example:
Bring cloth sacks to the store with you instead of taking home new paper or plastic bags.
Plastic containers and reusable lunch bags are great ways to take your lunch to school without creating waste.
Coffee cans, shoe boxes, margarine containers and other types of containers people throw away can be used to store things or can become fun arts and crafts projects. Use your imagination!
Don’t throw out clothes, toys, furniture and other things that you don’t want anymore. Somebody else can probably use them. You can bring them to a center that collects donations, give them to friends or even have a yard sale.
Use all writing paper on both sides. Use paper grocery bags to make book covers rather than buying new ones. Use silverware and dishes instead of disposable plastic utensils and plates.
Start a rain reservoir and use that water for your lawn.
Recycle
Many of the things we use every day like paper bags, soda cans and milk cartons are made out of materials that can be recycled. Recycled items are put through a process that makes it possible to create new products out of the materials from the old ones.
In addition to recycling the things you buy, you can help the environment by buying products that contain recycled materials. Many brands of paper towels, garbage bags, greeting cards, and toilet paper, to name a few examples, will tell you on their labels if they are made from recycled materials.
New Braunfels has its own recycling program and provides a green waste program that helps lower the amount of waste that goes into landfills. You can find out more information at www.nbtexas.org or www.keepitclean.org. Recycling is collected from single-family households once per week with a monthly charge of $5.25 applied to residents’ utility bills.
“In the next year, we plan on implementing a pilot to evaluate an automated recycling program where, instead of small plastic buckets, every resident will receive a wheeled container like their trash container, for recycling,” said Carol Clark, Recycling Coordinator for the city of New Braunfels. “We’re also reviewing the ability of the city to service businesses’ recycling needs, and we will begin to consistently collect recyclables at city-sponsored special events.”