Our Planet, Our Future
Becoming an Green Eco Warrior is easy. Start by learning about what the Green Eco Warriors are doing in your community. Then join the crusade to save our home, our planet. You can be a part of changing the world for the health and safety of us all. Making small changes at home leads to big changes in how we care for our planet. Learn more about how you can get involved. Read about climate change, global warming, and pollution’s effect on our drinking water, rivers, streams, oceans, land, plants, animals, and the health of the human race. You can learn by reading the information provided on these educational websites. Or if you don’t like to read, then watch a film! Here are some films that inspired us to get started on our crusade to teach others about the harms of trash and pollution: “Hawaii Messages in the Waves” by BBC. “The Story of Stuff” by Anne Leonard “Kilowatt Ours” by Jeff Barrie Watch a movie with your family. Make it a family night. Add popcorn to your educational movie, and...
How Much Waste Does Your School Create?
In one school year, Windsor Connecticut’s public schools throw out roughly half a million non-recyclable styrafoam lunch trays. If stacked one on top of another these trays would be taller than four of the worlds largest structures COMBINED! How did we figure this out? Peter Faulk of the Windsor Green Committee helped us with some research and provided the image of the trays stacked next to 4 of the world’s largest structures. Take a look at the research and math below used to calculate the amount of trays used in Windsor’s public school’s lunch rooms daily, and yearly . An estimated 5 tons of Non Recyclable Lunch Trays used and discarded yearly in Windsor, CT...
Plastic Ocean
Article by Leticia Colon de Mejias Photo Algalita Marine Research “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, features three million tons of plastic debris floating in a swirling mass of trash that has grown to be larger than the state of Texas. Humans toss another 2.5 million pieces of plastic into our oceans hourly. The United Nations Environmental Program reports an estimated 46,000 pieces of plastic debris floats on or near the surface of every square mile of ocean. Plastic, Fish and Plankton In parts of our oceans, there is more plastic than plankton. Over time with consistent exposure to the sun and water, the plastic breaks down from big pieces into lots of little pieces. Fish, birds, and sea life mistake the plastic for food and ingest the small pieces of plastic. For billions of years it was safe for fish and animals to eat objects floating in the water, this is because anything in the ocean was organic matter. Today sea animals are dying because they are eating plastic instead of organic matter. Although we don’t often think about plankton, these little guys play a big role in the planet’s eco-system. They are food for many animals such as fish and whales. In areas of the ocean where there are large amounts of plastic, the amount of plankton has decrease to alarming levels. It is important to understand that the plankton in our oceans removes 50% of the carbon dioxide in the planet’s atmosphere, and creates 50% of the oxygen in air we breath. Pesky Plastic Vocabulary North Pacific Gyre – A Gyre is a naturally occurring mass of whirling ocean current and air that rotate in a clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere. The whirling current and air create a whirlpool effect,...
Green Eco Warriors Recycling Activity
Become a part of changing your world. Make small changes in how you care for your planet. Learn more about how you can get involved. Read about climate change, global warming, and pollution’s effect on our drinking water, rivers, streams, and oceans. Why Recycle? By recycling, you will be protecting the environment, protecting your health and the health of the people you love. Fast Facts on Recycling: Reduces the amount of waste that must be disposed – which means less waste to incinerate (burn) which creates air pollution and greenhouse gases, or dumped in a landfill which can lead to groundwater pollution. Conserves water and precious natural resources – since less natural resources need to be extracted from the earth and processed. Saves energy – In 2003, EPA reported the energy savings from recycling in the US accounted for roughly 1,486 trillion Btu in energy savings – an amount equivalent to the consumption of 11.9 billion gallons of gasoline or 256 million barrels of crude oil. By using less natural resources and using less energy we reduce greenhouse gas emissions. How to start recycling Recycling is easy and important! Learn what to recycle in your area by reviewing the list of recyclable items. Think about it, could the items you are throwing in the trash be recycled? Collect the items that are recyclable inside a paper bag or recycling bin .You can leave the items curbside with your trash for pick up on trash day. If your city or town does not offer curbside recycling, work with them to start a recycling program. Invite your family, friends, neighbors, schools, local businesses, city and state elected officials to support one. Classroom activity Items needed: camera, notebook, one cardboard box or trash bin for each team to collect trash in. Create teams...