T-Shirts made from bottles

Garbage Fashion: T-Shirts Made From Recycled Bottles
By: Venessa Wong
March 20, 2012
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-20/garbage-fashion-t-shirts-made-from-recycled-bottles

Picture: This is a picture of a T-Shirt made from recycled bottles. These could very well become popular.

Summary: A new T-Shirt has been invented from recycled bottles. Many people look and it and think that it is a regular shirt, but it fact, it was made from bottles. Making trash wearable helps the environment because it does not go to a landfill. Instead, it is in your closet. To make these you need to get a clear plastic bottle and crush it into flakes. These flakes are converted to pellets which is spun into polyester yarn. From there, the shirt is made. The problem with these shirts is that they are not recyclable. The only way it could be was if it was 100% polyester. If it is not, it can't be recycled and it could be problematic for the equipment. Another problem with this is that the polyester comes from a chemical that harms the environment and causes global warming. Also, it is non-biodegradeable so it is hard to dispose of and it will not break down easily. The main goal of making these shirts was to keep bottles out of oceans and landfills.

Opinion/Reflection: I think that this is a really cool and great idea! The only thing they need to do now is start producing a lot of these. If more and more people learn about how bad the environment is getting, they will start to buy them. I have heard about this on the news before and it made me realize that this will help the environment greatly. If stores around us sold them, I think I would buy one because of how it is helping. Some people need to realize what is going on in the world around us. The environment is being destroyed and global warming is having an affect on us. If these shirts kick off and become popular, it will help our world and make it a better place.

Questions: 

1. Would you buy one of these shirts? Why or why not?

2. Do you think it is a safe way to help the environment? Why or why not?

3. What are some other ways to help the environment?

Eagles go Green- Jen Cader

For Philadelphia Eagles, Green Isn’t Just a Team Color

By: Matthew Petrillo

April 29, 2012
http://www.voanews.com/content/green-isnt-just-football-teams-uniform-color--149488525/370148.html

Picture: This picture is the logo the Eagles are turning to in order to let people know that their stadium is becoming environmentally friendly.

Summary: Twelve of 32 NFL teams are turning to environmentally-friendly practices. The Eagles were the first to start this trend, when they began in 2003. As of right now, the Eagles are trying to get a third of their stadium to run on solar and wind power. This year, the Eagles began to give 65% of the waste from the stadium to an energy-from-waste plant that turns left over waste into energy. This is instead of diverting their trash to landfills. The eagle's goal is to eventually recycle every single waste found in the stadium. Don Smolenski, the team’s chief operation officer, who is in charge of turning the Eagle's stadium into an environmentally-friendly place, says, "Each year, we kept adding and evaluating new opportunities." They are focusing on light sensors in people's offices, having on/off motion sensing vending machines, and even composting grass clippings from the field. Not only are they turning their stadium into an environmentally-friendly place, but they are asking Aramark, the company in charge f its food services, to use "green" compostable utensils and cleaning supplies. One of the biggest steps the Eagles are taking during this process is  30% of its energy from renewable resources. They will do this by installing 1,100 solar panels and 14 wind turbines around the upper deck of the stadium. According to Don Smolenski, this is the largest sustainability effort in the NFL.

Opinion/Reflection: WOW! That is very cool that the Eagles are doing this. It is awesome to think that a team that I have grown up watching, is the first to make an effort like this. The fact that they are trying to use 30% of its energy from solar panels and wind turbines is incredible. They have obviously started a trend in the NFL, because other teams are beginning to become envrionmentally-friendly. I hope this trend continues, and every team starts to become environmentally-friendly, because the amount of energy used to light up an entire stadium is rediculous. If stadiums continue to use energies that are harmful to the earth, there will be a problem sooner rather than later. In science class, we learned that although solar panels and wind turbines are expensive in the beginning, they save as lot of money in the long run. These alternative energies not only save money, but they don't cause pollution and are beneficial to the environment. I am extremely happy that the Eagles are starting this trend beause pollution from harmful problems is obviously a problem. Hopefully they continue to make improvements in making the stadium more environmentally-friendly!

Questions:

1. How do you feel about the efforts the Eagles are making?
2. Where else have you seen alternative energy being used?
3. If you were in charge of making the changes in the Eagles stadium, what else would you do?

U.S. Caps Emissions in Drilling for Fuel

By: John M. Broder

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/science/earth/epa-caps-emissions-at-gas-and-oil-wells.html?_r=1

Picture:  This picture shows the procedure of fracking.  They shoot chemicals and water into the ground causing mini earthquakes and the earthquakes bring up natural gas.

Summary:  Fracking has been a controversial topic for awhile due to the environmental concerns it raises.  The process of fracking releases toxic and cancer-causing chemicals like benzene and hexane, as well as methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.  But the EPA is doing something to help prevent this air pollution.  They issued new air quality standards which the oil and gas companies will have to capture toxic and climate-altering gases from wells, storage sites and pipelines.  The reason they took action is because they received complaints from citizens and environmental groups that gases escaping from the 13,000 wells drilled each year by fracking were causing health problems and widespread air pollution.  The new rule will reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds by 190,000 to 290,000 tons per year and toxic air pollutants by 12,000 to 20,000 tons a year.  But this new rule is also beneficial for the fracking companies because they will be able to save $11 million to $19 million a year because drillers would be able to capture and sell the methane that is now burned off, or flared.  Methane is a very bad gas which has 20 times more powerful effects on the atmosphere than Carbon Dioxide does.  The EPA estimates that by capturing the methane they will reduce green house gas emissions by 28 million to 44 million tons a year, making the rule one of the federal government’s largest measures to mitigate climate change. 

Opinion/Reflection:  I am very happy that they are doing this and this is a step toward helping our planet.  It is so crazy that this one rule can have such a big affect and that it can do so much good.  By being able to reduce emissions by 190,000 to 290,000 tons per year is so amazing and is truly a big achievement.  Also that it is also saving the fracking companies lots of money makes it a win, win situation, it helps the environment while still letting the companies prosper.  I can connect this to my science class.  We learned about all the harmful effects of fracking and how it can damage the earth.  It really affects peoples’ water supplies where the fracking takes place.  It contaminates their water and makes it undrinkable which is extremely bad.  I am so glad that they took care of the air pollution now I just hope they will solve the problem of it contaminating water supplies.

Questions: 

1.Do you think fracking is a good or bad idea? Why?

2.  Do you think this rule will make an impact on global warming? Why?

3.  If you were able to ban fracking would you ban it or not? Why?

4.  Do you think fracking will hurt us in the long run?  Why?

Seaweed- An Alternate Source of Energy

Is seaweed the future of alternative energy sources like biofuel?

http://www.naturalnews.com/035257_seaweed_alternative_energy_biofuel.html#ixzz1uVpBZgkV

Friday, March 16, 2012 by: J. D. Heyes Picture: This is a picture of seaweed. Seaweed might soon be an alternate source of energy. Summary: Many scientists are trying to figure out an alternate source of energy. They think they might have found one. Biofuels are driving up the cost of feeding the world but Israeli researchers found that seaweed may do the trick. Some benefits of using seaweed are that it grows quickly, and it doesn't destroy ecosystems. In fact, harvesting seaweed is beneficial to the environment and helps out sea life. "While biomasses grown on land have the potential to inflict damage on the environment, the researchers believe that producing biofuel from seaweed-based sources could even solve problems within the marine environment." This proves that is it helps the environment and is a very good idea.  In many costal regions the air is being polluted from human waste and fish farming. Seaweed could potentially solve these problems. Researchers are trying to increase the carbohydrate and sugar content of the seaweed beds, this will increase the bioethanol production.  Some studies found that seaweed can be a valuable source of biofuels that does not compete with food or land or require fresh water to grow. The biggest problem of using seaweed as an alternate source of energy is that standard microbes cannot readily metabolize its primary sugar constituent. This makes the use of seaweed too inefficient and too expensive. The researchers found that they could digest all the sugars found in the seaweed. There plan has worked and they are going to continue to work on this project.  Opinion: I think that this is going to be big. I really believe that these scientists found a very efficient and clean, alternate source of energy. It amazes me to learn about this because the lack of fossil fuels is a very big topic around the world. Also, it's really cool that they found something that doesn't even harm ecosystems. The fossil fuels have very negative impacts on our environment and they are polluting the Earth. The only bad thing is that it could be expensive but maybe in the future they can find a way to reduce the prices and it could be used for certain things throughout the world. I don't think that it is powerful enough to do a lot but it certainly could be used for little things. If these researchers continue to work on this i believe that it will be a new, alternate source of energy. Questions:  1. Do you think seaweed could someday be a source of alternate energy? Why? 2. What are some other sources of alternate energy sources? 3. Do you think seaweed will be successful as a source of energy or do you think it would fail? Explain.

Deforestation- Corey Milewski

Global deforestation finally being reversed in some countries  
                                      And 
Half the Amazon Rainforest to be Lost by 2030
http://www.naturalnews.com/023673_Amazon_rainforest.html
countrieshttp://www.naturalnews.com/021102_deforestation_clearcutting.html

By: Ben Kage and David Gutierrez

Picture: The picture on the left is a picture of deforestation. Trees are being cut down for the use of clay in brazil. 

Summary: Many countries are now beginning to stop deforestation. The trend began in 2006 in many countries to go from deforestation to reforestation. 22 out of 50 most forested countries were switching to reforestation. Countries can cut down trees but the area that was cut has to be reseeded. This trend is helping stop global warming and are partially alleviating the man-made carbon dioxide emissions. 20 years ago it was said that the reverse of deforestation was not possible. The amazon forest is another problem. It is possible that more that half the Amazon Forest could be gone by 2030. Global warming and deforestation are causing the Amazon Forest to be destroyed. The Amazon Forest contains more then half the planets surviving rainforest. Loosing this much of the Amazon could accelerate global warming. By breaking the process of deforestation could help save the Amazon Forest. 


Opinion/Reflection: I think it is awesome to see that deforestation is beginning to be stopped. I hope to see that many countries are switching to reforestation. Global warming is a huge issue and part of it is deforestation. Massive amounts of carbon dioxide is being released into the air and trees help suck in the carbon dioxide. I believe trees can be cut down as long as they are replaced. I have read somewhere that there are tree plantations that grow trees until a certain age then are cut down. Then once they are cut they are reseeded and the whole cycle starts over. I think this is a great idea because there is always a stable amount of trees. It is very sad that more then half of the Amazon Forest could be lost if actions are not taking. I  think it would be a great idea to start a fundraiser or a organization to take actions on deforestation. I have heard that the Amazon is a very cool place and I do not want it to be lost. 




Questions: 


1. What are your thoughts on deforestation? What do you think should be done about it? 


2. What do you know about The Amazon? Do you think it will be lost in the next century? Why? 


3.  What are some ideas to stop the Amazon from being lost? 

Read, Write, and Recycle- Jen Cader



Students Read, Write And Recycle!

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/students-read-write-and-recycle-2012-05-07

5/7/2012 Published in Market Watch by PRNewswire

 

Picture: This is a picture of the winner of the "Read, Write, and Recycle" event recieving their $1,000 check towards science and athletic programs.

Summary: Merced Elementary School from West Covina, California came in first in the event called "Read, Write, Recycle!” This even was an effort to demonstrate the importance and value of recycling to students K-5 in the West Covina Unified School District. The students who won received $1,000 to go towards the science and athletic program at their school plus a pizza party. The students earned this by recycling 4,514.7 pounds of plastic, aluminum, glass, and other valuable materials. Vine Elementary School came in 2nd place while Cameron Elementary School came in 3rd. Together; the three schools recycled a total of 11,014.2 pounds of material throughout the competition. Throughout all three schools, a total of 1,400 students participated in this recycling event. This program is funded by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and supported by Keep California Beautiful, San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps (SGVCC), and the West Covina Unified School District. Steve Russell, vice president of ACC's Plastics Division, says "We're always looking for ways to increase recycling awareness, and this group of partners built a program that delivered fantastic results." The Senator even recognized the student's efforts and are encouraging them to continue to recycle. "You can already see how a program like this instills important values in our children. I hope it inspires them to continue recycling at school and at home," says the principal of Merced Elementary School, Gordon Pfitzer.

Opinion/Reflection: I think that this is a great program. If the adults of the future are learning to recycle that only means that our issue with pollution will get better. The problem now is the adults have not learned the importance of recycling as a child, so they may not be used to recycling. If the students get used to recycling at a young age, our future will be bright. It is crazy to see that over 11,000 pounds of plastic and other recyclable goods were recycled instead of thrown in the trash just between three schools. I think that our schools in Pennsylvania and even all around the nation should begin to have recycling events with money prizes. People will do anything for money, and if they are awarded $1,000 to recycle, they will be more motivated to do so. In science class, we learned about all of the plastic and glass bottles and jars getting into the ocean and affecting aquatic life, and if all schools have a recycling program like this, there may be less and less pollution going into the water.

Questions:

1. Do you feel if an event like this came to our school, that it will be helpful? Why or why not?

2. Why do you think recycling is so important?

3. How do you feel about the plastic and glass in the oceans due to lack of recycling?



Recycling

Part of Waste Problem Is Now Part of Solution

By ELIZABETH OLSON
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/business/media/part-of-waste-problem-becomes-part-of-solution.html?ref=recyclingofwastematerials

Picture:  The Honest Tea company has put in Time Square on April 30th a 30 foot high recycling bin.  Their goal is to recycle 45,000 bottles, about the same amount they sell every day in the city.

Summary:  The Honest Tea company is going green.  They generate about 20 million glass bottles and 60 million plastic bottles annually. Over all, Americans used 38.6 billion glass beverage containers, and 71.9 billion plastic beverage bottles in 2010, according to the Container Recycling Institute, an antiwaste organization based in Culver City, Calif.  The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only about 33 percent of glass bottles, and as few as 27 percent of plastic bottles, are recycled.  They want to make a change and start saving the earth so on April 30th they put this hige recycling bin in Times Square to remind people to recycle.  After they are done in Time Square they plan on moving to other cities as well to help remind people to recycle.  Only about 15 percent of the city’s total waste is being recycled. The New York Department of Sanitation says 182 tons of glass bottles and jars go into the trash every day.  The giant recycling bin isn't all they are doing to help remind people to recycle.  They are also advertising on city billboards, and at businesses and colleges in the city’s five boroughs.  Participants will be able to claim a rewards point for each recycled container, and add points with a recycling pledge made on stage. Using points, they can claim items including cold bottles of Honest Tea, T-shirts, tickets to concerts and Broadway shows, yoga mats and skateboards.  Honest Tea is doing everything they can to spread the word, they even have their own site called Thegreatrecycle.com where users can recycle an old Facebook status message in return for points in a program devised with Amalgamated Advertising.  What they are doing is truly amazing.

Opinion/Reflection:  I am so shocked that they have a 30 foot high recycle bin in New York!  What they are doing is truly amazing and I am glad people are taking interest to try and spread the word of recycling.  I am very surprised though that only 33 percent of glass bottles and as few as 27 percent of plastic bottles are being recycled and that needs to change.  By this company doing what they are doing to help spread the word of recycling is truly fantastic and I think people will start to catch on and start to recycle more.  I can really relate this to what we learned in Scinece about how the plastic bottles that aren't thrown away end up in a dead zone in the ocean.  This dead zone is killing millions of animals.  If people were more aware about recycling we would not have these dead zones and animals wouldn't be dying.  I hope by this company advertising so much about recycling that people will stop littering and do what is right for the world.

Questions:
1. Do you think Honest Tea's advertising will work and make more people recycle? Why or why not?

2. What do you think will happen if we continue to not recycle plastic bottles?

3. If the world starts to do a better job recycling do you think the dead zones in the oceans will go away?  Why?