Hello everyone! I wanted to let everyone know what some of the Green Team members were up to on this spring break!

I am in New Orleans right now and a lot of the Green Team members are with me. Here is an update of what we have done so far!

-saw Brad Pitt's Project make it right. All of the houses he built are covered in solar panels.

-we also went to a model "green home" which is the first sustainable home in a New Orleans neighborhood. They are building 5 more completely sustainable signle family homes and an apartment complex. They will be offered for very affordable prices to family's from the lower 9th ward.

-we went to the musicains village where homes were made for the local musicians who lost their homes. this was in hopes of keeping the New Orleans culture alive.

-spent the day today packaging over 10,000 pounds of food at the first harvest food bank

-we have gone shopping, ate good New Orleans food, met tons of really cool people, learned a lot, and had a great time.


We are going out tonight to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee, and then start our project for Habitat tomorrow.... so I will keep everyone updated!!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their spring break!

-Immie Miles (Green Team Chair)

Six Interesting (and somewhat scary) Facts About Bottled Water

· Buying one gallon’s worth of bottled water is three times more expensive than buying one gallon of gasoline. – emagazine.com

· 30 million water bottles are thrown away every day, and each one of them takes 1000 years to biodegrade. – emagazine.com.

· Nearly 90 percent of [water] bottles are not recycled. – SeattlePI.com

· An estimated 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle—sometimes further treated, sometimes not treated at all. – Allaboutwater.org

· It takes 15 million barrels of oil per year to make all of the plastic water bottles in America, according to the Container Recycling Institute. Sending those bottles by air and truck uses even more fossil fuel. - emagazine.com.

· Bottled water, because it is defined as a “food” under federal regulations, is under the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—under much stricter standards—regulates tap water. Thus, bottled water, depending upon the brand, may actually be less clean and safe than tap water. The EPA mandates that local water treatment plants provide city residents with a detailed account of tap water’s source and the results of any testing, including contaminant level violations. Bottled water companies are under no such directives. - Allaboutwater.org

Now, here are tips for alternatives to buying bottled water:

· Get a filter for your tap (unless your tap water is quite good in the first place). There are many ways to go about doing this, from getting a Brita-filter to go over your faucet spout to installing one right into the sink system.

· Nalgene bottles are great.

· Brita pitchers are also really great for those who can’t get the faucet filters (e.g. college students).

· For barbecues, parties, and other events, use pitchers or water dispensers that you can use over and over again. In conjunction with these, try to also provide reusable cups instead of disposable cups, and if you must use disposables, try to get recyclable disposables.

Heading Out

Tomorrow morning a group of 14 students along with myself and Cori and Tildsley from the Peace College Wellness Center, will head to New Orleans for an Alternative Spring Break Trip. While in New Orleans we'll stay at Camp Hope and volunteer with a local food bank and Habitat for Humanity. Many of the girls going are also a part of the Green Team. We will try and keep you updated on all the exciting things we are doing while gone.

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Survey Results Are In!

Click on the image to enlarge.

Should we at a minimum reduce the number of phone books sent to us every year?

1.2 Tons of paper really is a lot to discard annually for such little use.

RecycleMania First Month Results!

Thanks to everyone for such an improvement in our recycling program. Over the first month we have had a reduction in the amount of material we discard (combined trash & recycling), a reduction in trash and an increase in our recycling. It is up to the staff and faculty to keep this trend going while our Green Team is away.

Maintenance and Grounds has accumulated quite a large amount of scrap metal that will be taken to TT&E for recycling. When we add the weight of this material to our total we will have Meredith College eating our dust. Call me with any questions. I cannot reveal everything on this blog. Spies from Meredith are frequent readers of this blog.

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle!

Phone Books

The Green Team was alarmed on Tuesday to see the number of phone books that are delivered to our campus every year.

They are looking for your input on the usage of phone books and yellow pages. Please click on the link below to take a very brief survey.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=OROpau2ISq_2bpO3uOa5cXwA_3d_3d

Do You Know What Goes In Our Landfills?

Have you ever considered what actually is in our public landfills? The attached pie chart provides a list of items and percentages of waste according to the EPA.

I had no idea that packaging, food waste and yard trimmings represent over half of the items we dispose of every day.

Nondurable goods may be defined either as goods that are used up when used once, or that have a lifespan of less than 3 years.

Examples of nondurable goods include cosmetics, cleaning products, fuel, office supplies, paper and paper products, personal products, rubber, plastics, textiles, clothing and footwear.

Durable goods a product which does not quickly wear out or more specifically, it yields services or utility over time rather than being completely used up when used once.

Examples of consumer durable goods are appliances, home furnishings, toys and games, cars, and DVD players.

Green Team Will Take You Off Catalog Lists

This week the Green Team will be collecting catalogues that you receive and would like to be unsubscribed from. We have realized that there are a number of catalogues being sent that no one wants and we would like to fix the root of the problem rather than just recycling them. Boxes will be located around campus and in the mailroom until Friday. To participate, simply place your catalogues in one of the marked boxes and the Green Team will call and unsubscribe you from them before recycling. Please contact Immie Miles or Jessica Baxter with questions.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Standard Mail accounted for about 5.8 million tons, or 2.4 percent, of municipal solid waste (otherwise known as trash or garbage) in 2005. Of this amount, 64 percent was placed in a landfill or incinerated, and 36 percent was recycled.

Municipal Solid Waste in the United States, 2007 Facts and Figures
http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw07-rpt.pdf

Alumnae Board Meeting

Thanks so much to the Alumnae Board for the opportunity to share the many accomplishments of the Green Team! I received a very warm welcome. The Board is appreciative of the efforts we are making to reduce, reuse and recycle at Peace College.