Green Leaf

The light emitting diode, or LED, has roared into our lives after starting out as a telecommunications technology and curiosity. But these long-lasting lights present a future recycling challenge for which we must prepare. This week’s quiz will help you understand how to influence lighting manufacturing companies and government recycling policies. Let’s throw some light on LED recycling. Do you know your LED facts? Earth911 Quiz #50: The Circular Life of LED Bulbs   The light emitting diode, or LED, has roared into our lives after starting life as a telecommunications technology and curiosity. But these long-lasting lights now selling millions of times every year and present a future recycling challenge. Do you know your LED facts?   Every week, Earth911.com challenges you with quizzes that test your sustainability savvy and help you make environmentally friendly choices when you shop, use products, and dispose of unwanted items. What percentage of U.S. outdoor lig...

You’re probably sporting a few of them right now in your wallet. Or they’re stacked inside a random kitchen drawer. Flat and featherweight, these plastic rectangles pile up. You use them for shopping. For banking. Gifts. Earning rewards points. You may even receive blank versions in your junk mail. When no longer needed, credit cards, gift cards, and other plastic cards often pose a disposing dilemma. They usually don’t belong in mixed recycling . And if you’re protecting your personal information — and the planet — you probably won’t want to toss them in the trash. So, instead of retiring them to that drawer in the kitchen, put them to work. To spark your imagination, we’re highlighting an assortment of no-fuss, artistic, and innovative approaches to repurposing your old cards. Earrings from upcycled gift cards by NelleNsNovelties on Etsy. Photo: Etsy.com Practical Ideas Spare your fingernails. Use the rigid edges of old plastic cards to scrape stubborn residue from floors, wa...

When I was a little girl, we didn’t worry about staying hydrated. We didn’t know the science of hydration. If you were thirsty, you drank a cool beverage. My mother kept a pitcher of tap water in the fridge and sometimes we had soda and, occasionally, lemonade. We never thought about how much water we drank. But we know better now. Drinking enough water has many health benefits . When Mom got older, she was diagnosed with kidney stones and directed to drink lots of water. This was hard for her to do because, in her words, “It’s so hard to choke it down when you aren’t thirsty.” She tried flavored water mixes that tasted like lemon-lime or strawberry-kiwi, but she found them too sweet. Instead, she came up with a drink of her own that she called cranberry water. She put a little cranberry juice in a reusable plastic bottle, then filled it up with water. She put the full bottle in the freezer for about 30 minutes. The result was a pretty pink slushy drink that was both tempting and hyd...

What’s a triple compost bin, and why might you need one? Good question. Most people don’t even have one compost bin. That’s according to a 2014 National Waste and Recycling Survey that found that 72 percent of Americans do not compost. More than 40 million tons of food waste was generated in 2017, according to the EPA. Add to that yard waste generated from gardening, mowing, and trimming plants and trees and you have a lot of organic material that could be turned into valuable, nutrient-rich fertilizer and garden amendments instead of taking up space in landfills. If you’d like to reduce your waste stream while creating free fertilizer for your yard and garden, setting up a triple compost bin rather than one compost bin can streamline the composting process. Image courtesy of Instructables Why Use a Triple Compost Bin? A triple compost bin reduces the weight in your composting pile, which is important when you need to turn over the materials. Whether you use a standing bin o...

As we are all becoming more environmentally conscious, the yachting industry is, in turn, creating increasingly fuel-efficient and sustainable yachts, designed to have minimal impact on the environment to protect… The post Four of The Most Sustainable Yachts in The Market appeared first on Ecofriend . from Ecofriend https://ift.tt/3le8KRX https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Most people are opposed to the use of nuclear weapons, but fewer are concerned about testing them. After all, many people argue, these controlled, scientific tests may act as a deterrent to the weapons’ use. But nuclear weapons testing has a disturbing legacy of environmental destruction and civilian deaths. The United Nations established August 29 as the International Day Against Nuclear Tests to focus global attention on the damage to environment and harm to people caused by nuclear weapons testing. Tests vs. Weapons The United Nations creates international days of observance for important global issues as tools to educate people and accelerate activism. Nuclear disarmament and world peace are explicit goals of the United Nations, but that is not what the International Day Against Nuclear Tests is about. In 2009, the UN designated August 29 to educate people about the problems associated with weapons testing. Four years later, the UN established September 26 as a day to focus on...

The “social cost of carbon” represents how much it will cost to remove the CO2 we are pumping into the atmosphere. It’s like the national debt, which can prevent future generations from thriving. In 2019, global emissions were 33 gigatonnes,  according to the International Energy Agency . Based on recent research by the  SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy  at Columbia University in New York, the social cost of removing and repairing the damage done by a ton of carbon emitted in 2019 was between $77 and $124 in 2018 dollars. So, you think the U.S. national debt is bad? The annual global social cost of CO2 emissions was $4.5 trillion. And those costs will only rise until CO2 levels decline from today’s 417 parts per million. Think what your grandchildren will say when they have paid our debts. Print or share We Earthling posters to inspire others with your stories. Click the image to get a larger version.   You Might Also Like… International Day Against N...