Energy, Climate, Environment

Is There Hope for the Future?

Though this unit may read like a lot of gloom and doom, there have been positive changes in the attitudes and thinking of Americans in this country. The EPA reports that out of the 254 million tons of trash that was generated in the United States, 85 million tons of that waste was recycled and composted. This results in a 33.4% recycling rate and on average United States citizens recycled and composted 1.5 pounds of the 4.6 pounds that individuals waste per day. ¹⁴ The EPA reported that in 2007, Americans recovered 63 million tons (excluding composting) through recycling and this is 1.9 million more tons than in 2006. ¹⁵ Composting recovered almost 22 million tons of waste and Americans combusted 32 million tons for energy recovery which is about 13 percent. ¹⁶ When subtracting out what was recycled and composted, as well as what was combusted with energy recovery, Americans discarded just over 3 pounds per person per day. Although the amount of solid waste generated per person increased from 3.6 pounds to 4.62 pounds, the recycling rate has also increased. In 1980, less than 10 percent of the waste generated was recycled. In 2007, that has increased to over 33 percent. ¹⁷ In 2007, paper and paperboard recovery rose to over 54 percent which translates into 45 million tons, and 64 percent of yard trimmings were recovered. Metals were recycled at a rate of almost 35 percent and by recycling 7 million tons of metals, which includes aluminum, steel, and mixed metals, greenhouse gas emissions totaling close to 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent were eliminated. ^{1 8} The EPA calculates that this is equivalent to removing more than 4.5 million cars from the road for one year. The bar graph below shows the different items and the amounts at which they were recycled. This graph comes courtesy of the EPA's Guide for Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2007.

The item that was recycled the most was car batteries. It is important to help the American consumer to realize that house batteries need to be recycled at the same rate. Too often batteries are used to power various electronics at home and they are discarded into the trash. Those batteries can contain dangerous chemicals that cannot be incinerated and should not be placed in a landfill. The batteries will leak and contribute to the leachate of a landfill.

The evidence from the EPA shows that people are recycling more but there is still room for improvement. It is important for people to begin to reduce their amount of personal waste. Although this unit is about the three R's, I would like the unit to focus on reducing and reusing. It is vitally important to raise the consciousness of students to recognize the amount of trash that they are throwing away, as well as their family members.

It is really important to look to nature to provide the model as to how we should manage waste. Michael Pollan wrote a letter to President-Elect Obama in the October 12, 2008 issue of the New York Times. In the letter he talks about the importance of food and he urges President Obama to really look at how food is processed in the United States as well as its effect on global warming. In his letter, Pollan talks about the evolution of farms and how cows were taken off of farms and brought to feedlots. He talks about how moving the cows from farm to feedlot made absolutely no sense. The cows on the farm would graze in a pasture and their waste was considered a precious source of fertility. Pollan tells how Wendell Berry realizes that removing the cows from the farms also removed the fertility that the crops deplete. Now the farmer has two problems, soil that is not fertile and pollution on the feedlot due to the cows waste. The farmer resorts to using a fertilizer made from fossil fuels which can lead to contamination of groundwater and rivers and streams and no options for the waste at the feedlot. Nature had solved that problem naturally. The cows eat the grass, their waste becomes fertilizer for the soil. The soil becomes rich with nutrients and crops flourish! By trying to do things better than nature intended, we often make more of a mess that no one wants to deal with or clean up!

Companies are starting to realize that recycling can help them save and/or make money. Constellation Energy Group which is a subsidiary of Baltimore Gas and Electric Company has recycled 71 percent of the total waste it generated since 1993. ¹⁹ Portland General Electric in Oregon has recycled almost 100,000 tons of metal and nearly 2,000 tons of paper since 1991. ²⁰ Constellation avoided nearly 160,000 metric tons of CO ₂ equivalent through recycling and the company saved approximately $ 5 million in avoided disposal costs and they saved more than $ 8 million by avoiding purchases as a result of the reuse program. ²¹ Portland General Electric estimates that they avoided 68,000 metric tons of CO ₂ equivalent. In 1999, Portland General Electric reduced 11,836 metric tons of CO ₂ equivalent and avoided more than $ 100,000 in disposal costs due to recycling of metal and paper. ²² This is extremely important information in the cause to get companies to switch over to alternate methods that are healthier for the planet. Those are just two examples and there are hundreds more that going green can create jobs and save money!

It often surprises me that people can just speak without really thinking about what they say. It surprises me more when they are people who are speaking to people en masse by being on the radio or television. One oil company executive on a morning talk news show said that we will never run out of oil. He said that the Stone Age never ran out of stones and we are in the petroleum age and we will never run out of oil. I also heard a D.J. on the radio wondering what was the big deal about the planet getting a little bit hotter. He wouldn't mind if it was a couple of degrees warmer. Both of these men were irresponsible in their comments. Evidence clearly shows that our oil supply is dwindling. The reality of global warming could have devastating effects on the world economy. As ice caps melt and the ocean level rises, prime waterfront real estate will be lost all around the world. It is important for our students to be armed with the facts and the reality of what is going on in the world. The knowledge that my students will receive from this unit will arm them with skills and knowledge to make informed decisions about how they deal with waste, as well as how they can affect change within their own families.

The internet has become a powerful tool for teachers in that there are wonderful lessons that other teachers have used and have willingly shared. It has become an invaluable resource for teachers. The following lessons have been found and adapted to fit the needs of my class.