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Earth Hour is today at 8:30pm central time. For those of you that don’t know, Earth Hour is a time to help show support for energy conservation and green living changes. During the hour turn of your lights, tvs, and anything else electronic you have. In doing so, you are not only saving energy but showing commitment to the greater cause of preventing climate change.

During last year’s Earth Hour, over 80 million people worldwide participated in the event. It’s not just individuals showing support either,  for example in Chicago this year, the lights at the Navy Pier, Chicago Theater, and the Willis Tower will be turned off to observe this special hour.

This year take time to unplug from the grid for a hour and have some fun with it as well. Enjoy a candle light dinner, or a drink by the fireplace, or come up with some fun games all while showing your commitment to a reduction in our carbon footprint. Don’t forget to take some time to think about ways you can contribute in your everyday lives as well such as using less water, walking rather than driving more  or just turn the lights off more often.

For more information visit: EarthHour.org

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Photograph by Peter Cade, Getty Images

Huge Garbage Patch Found in Atlantic Too

Article Credit: Richard A. Lovett for National Geographic News

Billions of bits of plastic are accumulating in a massive garbage patch in the Atlantic Ocean – a lesser known cousin to the Texas-size trash vortex in the Pacific, scientists say.

“Many people have heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” said Kara Lavender Law, an oceanographer at the Sea Education Association in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

“But this issue has essentially been ignored in the Atlantic.”

The newly described garbage patch sits hundreds of miles off the North American coast. Although its east-west span is unknown, the patch covers a region between 22 and 38 degrees north latitude – roughly the distance from Cuba to Virginia.

As with the Pacific garbage patch, plastic can circulate in this part of the Atlantic Ocean for years, posing health risks to fish, seabirds, and other marine animals that accidentally eat the litter.

Full Article at National Geographic News

Article Credit: Richard A. Lovett for National Geographic News

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Fun Recycling Facts:

In order to help people realize the importance of recycling, here are some interesting facts about recycling various materials such as aluminum, glass, and paper. Also be sure to check out the links to some useful websites and resources on recycling.

Aluminum cans:

Used aluminum cans can be recycled and returned to store shelves in as little as 60 days.

Between 100,000-200,000 cans are recycled every minute in America.

24 years ago a pound of aluminum made 21 12-ounce cans, today through source reduction technology that same pound of aluminum makes 31 cans.

The energy saved when 1 aluminum can is recycled can power a TV for 2-3 hours.

Aluminum can be recycled endlessly.

Glass:

The energy saved from recycling glass bottles can power a 100 watt bulb for 4 hours.

Recycling glass bottles reduces air pollution 20% and water pollution 50% compared to producing a new bottle.

Glass bottles take over 4000 years to decompose and much longer if in a landfill; you might as well recycle them.

Paper:

Recycling a single run of the Sunday New York Times would save 75,000 trees.

The average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees. This amounts to about 2,000,000,000 trees per year.

Construction costs of a paper mill designed to use waste paper are 50 to 80% less than the cost of a mill using new pulp.

Other Facts:

About one-third of an average dump is made up of packaging material. We should strive to recycle more packaging, and buy products with less packaging. Also consider using packaging that is flexible instead of rigid. For more information on the benefits of flexible packaging check out the Flexible Packaging Association.

The EPA estimates that 75% of the trash Americans throws away could be recycled.

To find centers to drop of your recycling items try Earth911.

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