Little enviromental heroes are everywhere,
they're everyone, me and you.
2:56 PM
air pollution
( just read althought it is quite long >.< )
Carpool- This will help to reduce the number of vehicles on the already congested roads.
Always keep your car tuned properly so that it remains in a good condition.
Save energy- Try to use minimum amounts of natural gas and even electricity. Whenever possible, avoid the use of air conditioner and use a fan instead.
Always buy recycled products.
Reuse things such as paper and plastic bags, paper etc. This will contribute a lot towards reducing the effects of air pollution and global warming.
Avoid the use of firecrackers. You don’t really need it to express your feeling of happiness.
Go in for water-based paints instead of varnishes.
Little enviromental heroes are everywhere,
they're everyone, me and you.
9:45 PM
the POLLUTION article
Friday, May 1 , 2009
FLOATING through the South Shore estuary with members of Operation Splash is sort of like being on a meandering party boat, except that this party collects empties instead of tossing them overboard.
“Ladies first, Joanie,” said Robert Weltner, president of the nonprofit organization, as the boat approached a bottle bobbing near Nautical Mile in Freeport. Joanie Barone, a 10-year Splash volunteer who said garbage excites her, grabbed a net.
“I’m such a cheap date,” she said.
Such give and take is characteristic of the group, which fights debris and pollutants collecting in South Shore bays with dedicated effort and a touch of humor. It’s a dirty job, but somebody might as well have fun doing it.
“I’ve fallen in twice,” Ms. Barone said. “I have pictures.”
The group, whose name stands for Stop Polluting Littering and Save Harbors, was started 19 years ago by a Freeport boat captain. Splash was recognized for its efforts recently with an official Splash Day proclamation read by the Freeport mayor, Andrew Hardwick. Three years ago, it received a stewardship award from the South Shore Estuary Reserve for its cleanup work.
“It’s awesome what they’re doing,” Mr. Hardwick said. “They’re angels.”
Other organizations tend to ocean pollution, like the American Littoral Society, a national environmental group that conducts an annual beach cleanup, as well as local organizations with similar missions. But few have the zeal of the Splash guardians.
Each day for nine months of the year, members climb onto one of the three Splash boats to prowl the canals and serpentine waterways that stretch over about 17 miles from Long Beach to Amityville. Some days, it’s a flotilla.
During the March cleanup — the first and usually largest haul of the year — members showed up with seven additional boats to collect 31,000 pounds of waste, which was loaded onto a barge. The barge was provided free by the Town of Hempstead and, after recyclables were removed, the contents were taken to a waste-to-energy plant.
Over all, the organization’s “aqua-garbologists,” as Mr. Weltner jokingly calls them, have removed 342 tons of debris, testimony to the fact that they do more than just talk about curbing pollution, he said.
Money for the group’s fuel and boat maintenance comes from donations, membership dues and grants, Mr. Weltner said. The Village of Freeport chips in about $20,000, he said.
Mr. Weltner, 53, a retired construction manager, has never minded getting his hands dirty. He grew up in the bays fishing with his father and wanted to share that experience with his own sons, but realized the area was being overrun by flotsam. A veteran diver, he also saw pollution cloud the bay over the years.
At a catch basin at Mill Road and Main Street in Freeport — a spot where Splash installed a ring of docks to catch highway runoff and “floatables” that cascade down the Meadowbrook watershed — Mr. Weltner tossed a boat anchor into the water to pull up a glob of oil-soaked soil.
“People look across the water on a clear day and think everything is fine,” he said. “They can’t see beneath the surface. Nothing is alive down there. This is a dead zone.”
The group also campaigns for related environmental issues, like reducing pollution from storm-water runoff, improving sewage treatment plants and banning copper-based paint for boat bottoms that kills marine life when it erodes.
“This is our passion,” said Capt. Don Harris, a boat instructor who has been with Splash since its inception. He said he would like to see Splash used as a template for other conservation groups, helping them learn how to work with local governments and educate the community.
Everyone could use more awareness, Ms. Barone said. “I’ve seen people throw out pillows, diapers, all sorts of things,” she said. “What are they thinking?”
Splash members have recovered abandoned boats, cash registers, big-screen TVs, guns, washers and dryers, shopping carts, engine blocks, an all-terrain vehicle and — yes — the kitchen sink. “It was the catch of the day,” Mr. Weltner said.
So, is Splash winning its battle against environmental damage in the bay? Mr. Weltner thought for a moment.
“I always say it’s like a big ship in the ocean,” he said. “It takes a long time to stop and turn around, but we feel like we’re beginning to make the turn.”
Little enviromental heroes are everywhere,
they're everyone, me and you.
8:47 PM
Sving the trees the smart way!
Saving trees the smart way!Instead of using paper to send message,try using fax online as it is much more faster and most importantly, it does not use paper!
Do you know that we are losing more and more forest and trees as people use tons of paper without having much thought. Expert estimate that the last remaining rainforest could be consumed less than 40 years.
*1.12 500 sheets of paper can be made from 1 tree
*2.210 billion are consumed by faxing in US copanies every years
*3.10 000 sheets of paper per year are used by a single US office worker
*4.4 trees per years are cut down to feed the fax requirements of an average US company
*5.17 million trees per year are cut down to supply fax paper the for US as a whole
Did the truth startle you? So,try using fax online than faxing using paper.
For more information,you can visit:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3051137/Best-way-to-Save-Trees
-Si Ting(Enviroment Hero)
Little enviromental heroes are everywhere,
they're everyone, me and you.
7:11 PM