Final Blog: Reflection

During this project we have learned many new things about the environment.  We learned that our wonderful school used to be green pastures, and now is a busy campus.  We learned that Mother Nature is not to be tempered.  We learned that there are extreme ways to go green, then there are those easy, everyday ways.  We learned of alternate sources of energy that work just as well as the current ones.  We learned of some of the greenest campuses in America, go Elon!  We learned simple and cheap ways to save energy. 

We've also learned that big time companies that fuel the economy, can make big time mistakes that hurt the environment.  We've learned that not everyone wants to go green.  We've learned that words can deceive people who are not educated in the ways of a "Green" world. 

And we've taught.  We've taught the people who have read this blog what we've learned.  And most importantly we've learned that we can make a difference.

       Signing off,

        The Green Musketeers

Oil Watch: Day 6

New developments on the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico:

1. The cutoff valve that was meant to prevent oil from spewing out of the earth has been said to be unreliable... Great.
2. The BOP or Blowout Preventer that should clog the spill have been found unreliable at other spills since government regulation has gone down in the previous years
3. The containment dome has been lowered into the water to stop the spill!
4. Coast Guard continues to burn the oil

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/oil-spill-map.htm

Claire                                                                                                               

Energy Calculator

Hey Y'all!

So I found this really cool website that Chevron has created called, "Energy Calculator." This site is really helpful in order for the public to actually see the importance and the positive reuslts of saving energy. The site does this through a dynamic website that shows the different things that one can do if they save x amount of energy or do a certain thing only a certain number of times a week.

For example, the site states that if a person carpools with a friend only one time a week, you will save enough energy to re-charge your laptop 115 times! It then says that if 1,000 people did the same the amount of energy saved would equal the energy that a car uses for an entire year!

Chevron believes that this is a creative way through which people can learn about energy consumption. They also believe that this is a proper educational tool because it shows the different equivalents of energy consunption through different things that we use on a daily basis.

I encourage all of you to take a look at this site. You will definitely be surprised at the amount of energy a simple thing like chargin a computer takes!

Here is the site: http://willyoujoinus.com/usingenergywisely/energygenerator/?gclid=CIOt97ybw6ECFddR2godqg5b-A

Peace man,
Fiona Alfaro

get involved

Now that we've become more environmentally aware, it is time to take action and get involved. We can preserve our environment individually or through group efforts, and every little bit counts. Here are five easy ways from thedailygreen.com to jump start your new green way of life:

1. Always use reusable bags when shopping, not only does this help the environment but it looks better too! No more ugly, breaking paper or plastic bags, and on to well designed, stylish, and reusable bags. Also, when running errands make sure to do them all at once in order to conserve fuel. Maybe try a store with everything you need rather than driving to several different locations.

2.  Cut down on your energy use. Learn to relay on sunlight during the day, unplug appliances and other electronics when they aren't in use, and make sure to always turn off the light when leaving the room. By saving electricity, you're also going to save a lot of money.

3. Use less gas. Again by saving gas, you're also saving money. Make sure you're car is in good shape, and avoid extra acceleration and breaking. Cut down on your car travel, walk and bike if possible.

4. Try to eat locally. By eating locally produced foods you are not only helping local farmers, but also are eating fresher foods, and you're cutting down on the fuel used for transportation.

5. Last but not least, adopt a reusable water bottle. Most tap water is proven to be just as clean as bottled water, and again, by not buying plastic water-bottles you are saving more than just the environment. SIGG makes a line of colorful and cool stainless steel water-bottles that keep your drink ice cold!

Hopefully these tips seem doable! Good Luck!

--Steffi

Oil Watch: Day 4

Crews are still trying to stop the oil from spreading in the Gulf of Mexico, so here are new developments:

1. BP plans on drilling "relief wells" under the current well that is spewing out gallons and gallons of oil each day in order to relieve some of the pressure.
2. A possibility that the oil spill will drift toward the Atlantic Ocean - a "nightmare scenario"
3. Total amount of oil spilled each day increased to 210,000 gallons, which equals 21 tracker-trailers carrying oil

The President has put all the clean-up efforts on BP (The owner of the drill that exploded and caused the disaster)

For articles on the Oil Spill visit:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-05-01-oil-spill_N.htm?csp=obinsite
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-04-26-oil-leak_N.htm?csp=obinsite
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/04/oil-spill-could-sink-obamas-offshore-drilling-plan/1?csp=obnetwork

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/oil-spill-map.htm

                  -Claire

Global Warming Is Here To Stay

     Global warming is here and it is here to stay until we as humans decide to finally do something about it. It is a known fact that our temperatures are rising due to the high amounts of greenhouse gases emitted into our atmosphere each and every day. This human-induced climate change has many detrimental consequences that we are facing. As members of our planet, it is our responsibility to commit ourselves to helping this problem. We have developed the technology that can aid us in this problem, but we need to dedicate ourselves before anything can improve. If we want our future generations to enjoy the quality of life that we have been able to, we need to make sacrifices to ensure this opportunity.

Oil Watch: Day 3

Here's an update on the GIANT oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico:

1. SUCCESSFUL CONTROLLED BURN OF OIL!!!!!
2. The Giant "100-ton contraption" to funnel oil out of the hole in the earth's crust where it's spewing is in transit from 50 miles away on a barge!  The problem, this is only a short-term solution :(
3. Obama says that BP is in charge of the clean up
4. "The Pentagon on Tuesday said it would approve mobilizing up to 17,500 National Guard troops to help Gulf Coast states with the oil spill."

USA Today Article
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-05-04-oil-spill_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Here's a progressive picture of the spill:

For more pictures like this visit: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/oil-spill-map.htm

Claire