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environment 101 |
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the green flag school program for environmental leadership |
Your environment is where you live, learn, work, and play It is inside and outside, living and non-living It includes the air you breathe, the water you drink, the land you live on, the food you eat and where you live Each of us can have a positive impact on our environment! |
Reduce Reuse Recycle
First Reduce: Our landfills are overflowing with waste – in 2001, the U.S. produced more than 229 million tons of waste – or about 4.4 pounds per person per day, compared to 2.7 pounds per person in 1960. The United States uses 40% of the world’s resources, but only comprises 5% of the world’s population (UN Human Development Report, 1998).
Then Reuse: Reusing can drastically reduce the amount of raw materials needed to produce goods. It saves the energy needed to make new products, recycle waste and transport trash. Reusing saves lots of money too!
Finally, Recycle: Many products can be recycled, such as paper, plastic, glass, aluminum and cardboard. Organic materials (things that can decompose, like paper, food and yard waste), can be decomposed into compost, an excellent fertilizer! BUY recycled too! Look for at lest 35% post-consumer recycled paper and cardboard (which means that 35% of that paper was paper that has been recycled, and 65% comes from trees. The higher the number of “post consumer” content, the better.)
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Indoor Air Quality
When you hear about air pollution, you probably think of the outdoors. But indoor air pollution is a major problem that impacts people’s health, especially children. Air pollutants such as mold, mildew, dust, and toxic gases can cause many serious diseases, such as asthma, chemcial sensitivity, allergies and learning disablities.
These air pollutants come from a variety of places, such as: poor indoor air circulation, carpeting backing (which gives off toxic fumes), fumes from wet paint, diesel fumes, mold, and most cleaning products (unless they specifically say “non-toxic”). Since we spend most of our days indoors, our lungs are very susceptible to these pollutants.
Good indoor air quality can be created by improving air circulation with good working air conditioning and heating units and opening windows for proper ventilation, regular cleaning and dusting with non toxic cleaning products, eliminating the use of toxic cleaning supplies, painting and repairing the school when students are not in session, ensuring that buses, cars and trucks idle well away from the school, testing for and cleaning up mold. For more information on Indoor Air Quality: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ia-intro.html http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/airpollution/mold/moldfacts.htm http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/tools4s2.html
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Non-Toxic Products
Learn About What you Use to Clean: Certain cleaning and maintenance products contain toxic chemicals that can be very hazardous to your health. These toxic chemicals can diseases, such as respiratory problems, eye and skin irritations, chemical sensitivities, and asthma. You can easily and cheaply substitute traditional cleaning supplies with non-toxic alternatives that are safer for your health and for the environment. Read the Material Safety Data Sheets that come with each product.
For more information on Non-Toxic Products: http://www.newdream.org/procure/products/cleanissues.html
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Integrated Pest Management
Learn About What you Use to Control Pests: Pesticides and herbicides are meant to kill insects and rodents, but these products have been shown to also be harmful to people's health, especially children. The toxic chemicals in pesticides can cause learning disabilities, asthma, chemical sensitivity, skin irritations, respiratory problems, birth defects, reproductive damage, and cancer. Look at the Material Safety Data Sheets for each product.
Look for Less Harmful Alternatives: Integrated Pest Management uses alternative methods of pest control, such as doing site inspections, pest population monitoring, removing food that attracts pests, putting in physical barriers to block insects from entering buildings. Integrated Pest Management works as well or better than chemical pesticides.
For more information on Integrated Pest Management http://www.beyondpesticides.org/schools/schoolipm/index.htm http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/ipm.htm http://wings.buffalo.edu/ubgreen/content/resources/pesticidereport2000.html#sec04
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