How You Can Help Make A Difference

The same dismal words greet us day after day, in headlines and on television. Acid rain. Ozone depletion. The Greenhouse Effect. Environmental degradation. Species extinction. They come together, like bad news often does.

Belatedly, we've realized that nature is not endlessly self-renewing and self-cleansing. Environmental problems escalate while we point accusing fingers.

We've caused these serious environmental problems. As comfort-loving, consumer-oriented members of an industrial society, none of us can deny responsibility for the state of the environment. We have but to examine the environmental consequences of our daily routine to realize our individual roles in nature's disarray. By the same token, however, the saving of the environment rests on our individual daily actions, consciences and commitment. Your actions can make a difference.

There are a host of things you can do in and around your home to reduce pressures on the environment.

Hazardous Wastes

The average Canadian household produces 20-40 litres of toxic waste each year. Environmental groups, municipalities and provincial governments have realized that households make up the largest single class of hazardous waste generators in Canada.

Hazardous waste is created through the use and disposal of household hazardous products, which number in the thousands. Household cleaners, shoe polishes, paints, solvents, batteries, anti-freeze and insecticides are but a few of the culprits. These end up thrown down the drain, dumped in landfills or burned in incinerators, and contaminate our ground and surface waters. This waste stream includes chemicals that are known to cause cancer.

* Substitute non-hazardous or less hazardous products for the ones you now use. For example, substitute a mix of vinegar, salt and water for window cleaner. For other alternatives, write to Pollution Probe, 12 Madison Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2S1.
* Don't buy more of a toxic product than you need.
* Use up toxic items; don't throw out partially used containers.
* Encourage the development of proper systems for disposing of household hazardous waste.

Recycle Your Garbage

The average Canadian household produces one tonne of garbage a year. Garbage doesn't disappear, and it's expensive to get rid of $1.5 billion is spent each year in Canada on garbage disposal.
Landfill sites can contaminate rivers, lakes and groundwater with toxic chemicals that are leached from the site. Burning garbage wastes valuable materials, causes air pollution and associated health hazards. It has been estimated that 50% of our garbage can be recycled; here's how you can do your share:

* recycle newspapers, magazines, paper, glass, bottles, cans, and lubrication oil;
* re-use boxes, paper and plastic bags, as well as containers, glass jars and cans;
* don't buy disposables - choose refillable bottles;
* look for recycled packaging;
* buy unpackaged or least-packaged items such as bulk foods * 50% of all garbage in our cities comes from packaging;
* re-use packaging, such as egg cartons, tin foil and plastic bags.

What about the Ozone Layer?

About 90 per cent of the earth's ozone is found naturally in a layer 15 to 35 kilometers above the earth's surface in the stratosphere. This ozone layer protects life from the sun's deadly ultraviolet rays by absorbing the rays which cause skin cancer, cataracts and damage to the immune system. These rays can do extensive damage to plant life as well.

Normally, ozone molecules are broken down by the ultraviolet light they absorb. This light can also break apart oxygen molecules into highly reactive oxygen atoms. These atoms can then attach themselves to oxygen molecules to produce ozone. As a result, stratospheric ozone levels are kept constant.
Ozone can also be destroyed by halogens such as chlorine (which is found in many chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs) and bromine. A single chlorine molecule can destroy thousands of ozone molecules.

CFCs can stay in the atmosphere for 75 to 130 years. After 7 to 10 years, these chemicals rise up to the stratosphere, where their chlorine atoms are liberated by ultraviolet light, leading to ozone destruction.
You can be an ozone protector by avoiding ozone-damaging products.

* Avoid foam egg cartons, coffee cups and food packaging.
* Use spring or fibre mattresses, cushions and car seats.
* Avoid CFC-containing aerosol cans.

At Home

Conserving energy around your home will save money and the life of our nonrenewable resources.

* Save water - the average Canadian uses an average of 285 liters of water per day. Repairing leaking faucets - a dripping tap wastes 30-100 litres a day.
* Turn off lights you don't need. Use low-wattage bulbs when possible.
* Weather-strip around doors and windows.
* Reduce night-time thermostat settings to 17C, and daytime settings to 20C.
* Make sure your furnace is energy efficient.

For more information and free publications on making your house energy efficient, call the HEATLINE, a toll-free energy advisory service at 1-800-267-9563 (995-1810 in Ottawa-Hull).

In the Garden

Over 600 chemicals are applied to Canadian food, forests, homes, lawns, parks and lakes in a war against unwanted plants and animals. These chemicals disrupt the ecological chain. In addition, pesticides have shown up in human tissues, in mother's milk, in fish and in open water.

* Try to avoid using pesticides, or use biological or non-toxic methods of pest control. For free information on safe ways to control pests write to: The Environmental Protection Service, Environment Canada, Twin Atria #2, 2nd Floor, 4999 - 98 Ave., Edmonton, Alberta, T6B 2X3.
* Save water; reduce lawn watering.
* Make a compost heap rather than adding chemical fertilizers.
* Provide bird feeders for hungry visitors; birds eat many unwanted insects.

There Are Other Ways Too

Finally, you can reduce air pollution and fuel consumption by walking, bicycling, and using public transit or car pools. Car exhaust accounts for 30% of air pollution in our cities. If you do use a car, get it tuned up, it will burn up to 15% less fuel.

Your concern for the environment can be expressed in several ways. Start changing your lifestyle today - the savings will truly be yours.

Reprinted from La Revue Pugwash Papers, a quarterly newsletters. A subscription costs $8.00. Write to: Canadian Student Pugwash/Pugwash etudiant du Canada, 902-151 rue Slater St. Ottawa, ON K1P 5H3

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