The LOOP Newsletter - Issue 40
July/Aug, 2006
www.closetheloop.com
The Latest Myths and Facts on Global Warming A vast majority of climate scientists agree that global warming is happening and that it poses a serious threat to society. They also agree that it is being caused largely by human activities that release greenhouse gases, such as burning fossil fuels in power plants and cars and deforesting the land. Get the facts, see the charts online:
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/4418_MythsvFacts_05.pdf Big and small changes can add up and make a real difference in the fight against global warming. For more information, visit: www.fightglobalwarming.com Here's what you can do to get on a "Low Carbon" Diet: http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/documents/5119_LowCarbonguide.pdf
The Next Green Revolution - Green-minded activists failed to move the broader public not because they were wrong about the problems, but because the solutions they offered were unappealing to most people.[] With climate change hard upon us, a new green movement is taking shape, one that embraces environmentalism's concerns but rejects its worn-out answers. Technology can be a font of endlessly creative solutions. Business can be a vehicle for change. Prosperity can help us build the kind of world we want. Scientific exploration, innovative design, and cultural evolution are the most powerful tools we have. Entrepreneurial zeal and market forces, guided by sustainable policies, can propel the world into a bright green future. For the full article, visit: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.05/green.html
I've been Gored This is a interesting blog on the movie [] it all starts coming together, signs of some kind of exit, an out, how we can get off the hamster wheel of mindless consumerism and soulless Toll Brothers suburban McMansion developments and 60-hour workweeks with only two weeks of annual vacation you can't take anyway because you're afraid it'll make you look like a slacker and not like a team player. It's a major challenge -- how do we redefine what is cool? -- but it can be done. In only, what?, ten years we've made cigarette smoking uncoolif we can tie up the insanities of the typical American lifestyle with the devastation we're wreaking on the planet and get rid of them in favor of something more sane, more livable, more gentle on the planet.
http://flickfilosopher.com/geekphilosophy/2006/06/ive_been_gored.html
Tell Automakers Why You Want Green Cars Today - New American Dream, a national non-profit organization that helps us consume responsibly for a better future is right now mobilizing the public to show executives from the Big Six automakers why they need to help us break U.S. fossil fuel dependence. We're posting poems, photographs, drawings, and heartfelt notes showing automakers what we love most, how our cherished futures are threatened, and how badly we need them to deliver vastly more efficient vehicles to the market. Check out: www.newdream.org
Have you "bin" doing it? Waste reduction is more than just recycling. It involves stopping waste where it starts. This booklet will help guide you and your school through steps to reducing waste on campus. Living lighter on the planet will save your school money and will encourage economically and environmentally responsible choices for the future. Visit: http://www.generationearth.com/action/index.htm Visit this site for more information on waste reduction, keep your home healthy, & more. Although mainly geared towards CA residents, it has a lot of good info - http://www.rethinkwaste.net/files/050504_Q%20Final.pdf A Student's Guide to Caring for the Earth A Charter school club writes guide to recycling, conserving resources & heightening student's awareness of the environment.
FYI A recent study in the UK found that 92% of over-65's regularly recycle waste such as paper, glass and cans. Young adults aged 18 to 24 are the least green, nPower's survey of 2,300 people showed. It covered 11 everyday eco-friendly activities - and the 18 to 24 group was bottom in eight areas. Five per cent admitted doing nothing at all.
Work/Campus/School Recycling How-to:
·Set program goals
·Decide which recyclables to collect
·Promote your recycling program
·Organize your recycling team
·Work with maintenance staff & other community partners
·Coordinate a long-term recycling program
·Give your school a jump-start in the Battle of the School Waste Reduction Competition. Don't have a competition - why not create one?
Lesson plan for K-6th grade: Closing the Loop Sampler Lesson plans for K-6th grade
Becoming a Certified Sustainable Landscaper - Diminishing resources and client demands have made Sustainable Landscapes extremely important. HortiGenomic's Certified Sustainable Landscapers Program offers a valuable certification that is a must for anyone working in the Green Industry. Visit http://www.certifiedsustainablelandscaper.com/ and http://www.landsmagazine.com/
Marketplace Exceptional Products from Close the Loop:
All of our recycled products are proudly Made in the USA!
Close the Loop is based in Kunkletown, PA and uses recycled materials to offer new surfacing and building products, such as rubber mulch, rubber timbers/tiles/pavers, and recycled plastic post & rail fencing. Our products are often used in equestrian centers, homes, schools & township playgrounds. Please visit our website at www.closetheloop.com for these and many other high quality recycled products.
Inspirational Quotes:
"Only 1 in 10,000 products is designed with the environment in mind."
- Edwin Datschefski
"People don't resist change. They resist being changed."
Author Unknown
"Successful people surprise the world by doing things that ordinary logical people think are stupid."
Takami Takahashi
"As someone who has had the rare privilege of viewing our beautiful earth from the moon, I am increasingly worried about what we are doing to our home. The stuff that we burn: where does it go, what does it do? As answers come in, it is apparent that all Americans need to do everything we can to stop this dangerous warming trend."
- Major General Mike Collins
Apollo 11 Astronaut
A safe & happy 4th of July a good weekend to see the movie, An Inconvenient Truth
- Close the Loop |