Little Things

Below are some of our world's overwhelming obstacles, and ways people can help. Little by Little, all it takes is a small step here and there.

Pollution

Pollution is harmful products or substances being released into the environment. Pollution occurs in our air and water.

Water Pollution comes from point and non point sources. A point source is when pollution is directly put into a body of water; for example the Exxon Valdez oil spill. A non-point source is pollution being delivered to a body of water through environmental changes; an example is fertilizers being washed into a river. Some examples of water pollution are sewage, fertilizers, and pathogens. Pathogens are harmful organisms like viruses and bacteria. They are released into water through septic tanks, storm drains, and run-off. Other forms of water pollution are radioactive products, petroleum, and heat.

Air Pollution does not just occur outdoors; it is inside too. A main cause of air pollution is Carbon Dioxide. Carbon Dioxide is released mainly from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation and is a main cause of the green-house effect. Another form of air pollution is sulfur dioxides. They are released mainly by factories. Sulfur dioxides cause secondary pollutants that cause acid rain. Other forms of air pollution are cars, smoking, and smog.

Little Ways You Can Help:

Walk or Use Public Transportation- Cars cause pollution; by reducing our car usage we reduce our pollution out put. If you are just going down the street, walking would be a great alternative. Plus you'd be getting some fresh air. Use Public Transportation when possible.
Turn Energy-Burners Off- When you aren't using them be sure to turn of televisions, lights, computers, and be sure to unplug cell phone chargers.
Don't Use the Drive Through- Why waste energy by waiting in line in your car? If you parked and went inside to wait you wouldn't be burning so much fuel. This one is tough sometimes so every once in a while take the time to go inside instead.
Let Your Garden Go Naturally- As mentioned above fertilizers cause pollution in our water in the form of run-off. Try weeding your garden instead of using those harmful sprays.
Don't use Aerosol Cans- Aerosol cans emit CFC's or liquid petroleum that contributes to global warming. Sometimes it is unavoidable not to use aerosol cans, but try the pump action sprays instead.

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is better known as trash or garbage. It is everyday items that can range from newspapers, to batteries, to grass clippings, to bottles, to appliances. When MSW is thrown away you have to remember there is no "away." All of that MSW simply goes to a landfill. The problem with this is many MSW items don't degrade well, and some MSW items release toxins into the ground which can make its way into our groundwater.

Little Ways You Can Help:

Recycle- Recycle items like aluminum cans, tin cans, glass, plastic, and paper. Don't limit yourself to those suggestions though! Most places have recycle centers near them. Ask around in your community.
Start a Compost Pile- A compost pile would be for biodegradable items like food scraps, grass clippings, and other natural items. The compost pile will not only get rid of these items but it will help enrich your soil too.
Reuse Shopping Bags- To decrees MSW try reusing your plastic shopping bags, or use heavy durable shopping bags that you can use every time you go shopping instead of their plastic ones.
Recharge Batteries- Batteries contain dangerous chemicals like mercury and cadmium. These chemicals are some of the main contaminates in landfills. If you recharge your batteries you reduce some of the contaminates polluting our water.
Don't Use Paper Plates- Don't use paper or plastic plates, cups, bowls, silverware, etc. Even if you recycle them fossil fuels were burnt to create them. The less we purchase, the less will be produced

The Ozone Layer

The Ozone Layer is a thin layer that resides mostly in the stratosphere. The ozone begins between 6 and 10 miles above the Earth's surface and then extends about 30 miles. It absorbs most of the harmful UV-B rays from the sun, allowing only a small amount to reach us. It also plays a major part in the Earth's climate structure. The main ozone challenge, which most focus on, is ozone depletion. When stratospheric ozone depletion is observed, it is also observed that the UV-B rays on Earth's surface increase. The UV-B radiation increases are very dangerous to living things. The ozone decrease comes from human produced chemicals. Such as the chemicals found in air conditioning, refrigerators, and foam blowers.

Little Ways You Can Help:

Repair Air Conditioning Systems-Most air conditioning systems use harmful CFC refrigerants. If everyone fixed leaks in their AC systems it would prevent millions of pounds of CFC's from being released into the air.
Purchase Ozone-Friendly Appliances- Next time you purchase a new refrigerator, air conditioning system, or dehumidifier check to see if it uses non-ozone-depleting refrigerants.
Dispose or Appliances Correctly- When getting rid of old refrigerators, air conditioners, or dehumidifiers have the CFC's taken out. This way they can be reused and recycled.
Make Sure during Car Repair- Make sure during car repair that the technician disposes of refrigerants correctly. This helps decrease CFC's release into the atmosphere.
Report Violations- If you are suspicious or witness the improper disposal of refrigerants reports it online or call the Stratospheric Ozone Information Hotline at 1-800-269-1996.

Rainforests

Rainforests are dense, warm, humid forests. They provide home to millions of species of plants and animals.Many of these plants are used in drugs fighting disease and illness.Also rainforests are essential to our oxygen supply. Rainforests used to cover 14% of Earth's surface, but now only cover 6%. Scientists estimate these last remaining rainforests could be gone within 40 years.Our rainforests lose about 78 million acres a year. That is 150 acres each minute of each day. Where are the rainforests going? They are used for paper, grazing land, tropical wood, and fuel. Our rainforests are true treasures that we need to live.

Little Ways We Can Help:

Recycle- Recycle was on here once already, but this one is especially for paper. Paper industries use the rainforests a lot so if we all recycled paper then less of the rainforest would be used for paper.
Reduce Beef Intake- Acre upon acre is burnt or cleared for beef farming. These cows are grown, butchered, and normally sent to the U.S. to be put in fast food burgers, frozen food, and canned pet food. So try to choose foods not containing beef next time your eating fast food, and try to choose a flavor other than beef when choosing pet food.
Don't Buy Tropical Woods- Instead of buying wood (for cabinets, floors, etc.) from tropical raiforests buy wood that is grown nearby or not in our rainforests. Just ask your wood provider.
Know Where Your Food Comes From- Bananas, Coffee, and other foods are grown in places where rainforest were cleared for farming. Know where your food comes from and try buying from somewhere without rainforests. Also try cutting back on how much you purchase of these goods.
Educate Yourself- Through this site and others you educate yourself about our world's problems. I chose to do a section on rainforests, but there are other habitats depleting also. Educate yourself on other habitats like Coral Reefs, Arctic Regions, etc.

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