Day
Five - April 5th, 2011
Well, it's officially
after midnight and Day 5. I'm burning the midnight oil so to speak...
what's the carbon footprint on that? Actually, I'm sitting with my
laptop on my knee and wondering how I made it through yet another
day with near zero waste. Today I had a scrap of duct tape. I used
it to secure my camera to the tripod for a weird angled shot. It wasn't
until I was taking off the tape that I realized what I had done.
Dang! If I had considered the consequences, I may have found an alternative
to the sticky black wonder strip which is used for a multitude of
fixes. Duct tape jokes abound and The Red Green Show is stuck on the
handy staple. Red says "You only need 1 of 2 tools for most jobs.
WD40 if it doesn't move and it should, and Duct Tape if it moves and
it shouldn't."
Because it has a cloth backing and strong adhesive glue it is NOT
biodegradable. A company in the US, Tape Brothers, has started making
Eco Tape that's able to break down in landfills in about 15 years.
That's good to hear since there is enough duct tape sold each year
to wrap around the equator 12.3 times.
I recovered a seat in my old Fiat Sport with silver duct tape and
it worked beautifully. I guess if you're using the tape to renew or
reinforce something that's damaged or broken then it serves a purpose.
From now on I'll think twice before I reach for the roll.
Chat me your duct
tape stories during my Live
@ 5 web cast today.
Just
preparing for my Live @ 5 and seems like some viewers want more info
about water wastage in and around the home. I'll share some insights
and ask some serious questions...
What
are you flushing down your toilet?
What are you dumping in the storm drains?
WATER
TOXICITY
Water...we all
depend on it for survival.
But water is a scarce resource—only one percent of all water
on earth is freshwater!
How can we keep this water pure and fresh?
The Story of Water
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/water/story_of_water/index.cfm
WATERSHED
& NONPOINT SOURCE EDUCATION
What is a watershed and what is the biggest source of water pollution?...
NONPOINT SOURCE! Find
out what it is! - Video
Tire Wear:
Estimates
show that highway runoff contributes to more than 10% of the total
receiving water pollutant budget (Ellis and Mitchell, 2006). During
the 40 000 km
lifespan of the average tire, some thirty percent of its tread rubber
is being worn off
(Dannis, 1974). Based on the annual global consumption of about one
billion tires, it
can be estimated that more than 2 million tonnes of tread rubber are
discharged into the
global environment each year. Tire rubber contains a wide range of
compounds,
including several of environmental concern. Previous studies have
shown that tire
rubber leaches compounds that are toxic to aquatic organisms (e.g.
Evans, 1997).
Currently, very limited information is available regarding the effects
that tire wear
particles might have on the environment and on human health.
From
the Doctoral Thesis:
When
the Rubber Meets the Road
Ecotoxicological Hazard and Risk
Assessment of Tire Wear Particles
Anna Wik
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences,
Faculty of Science, University of Gothenburg
Göteborg, Sweden, 2008
Animations
http://www.watersheds.org/blue/earth/karst.htm
For Kids:
http://www.watersheds.org/kids/index.htm
For Teachers:
http://www.watersheds.org/teacher/teacher.htm
General
Water pollution links:
http://www.ukrivers.net/pollution.html
TIPS - 100
Ways to conserve water
WATERSHED
GAMES
http://www.npwd.org/fun_water_webs_2.htm
Animation
for the Water Cycle
Environmental
Kids Club from the EPA
Animations
and Games
WATER
FOOTPRINT - Facebook
Water Footprint Calculation App from Siemens:
