30 Random Green Facts

Often as I read about environmental issues or do research for this column I come across interesting facts that I have nowhere to use.  The following is a very random collection of facts I’ve noted, and they are just 30 of many interesting and often surprising pieces of environmental information out there.

So, did you know that…

1.  A paper bag takes 30 days to decay in a landfill.
2. A Plastic bag takes 1,000 years to decay in a landfill.
3. An aluminum can takes 200 to 500 years to decay in a landfill.
4. A Styrofoam cup takes over 1 million years to decay in a landfill.
5. A glass bottle takes over 1 million years to decay in a landfill.
6. Recycling aluminum results in 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution than producing aluminum from natural resources.
7. Recycling 1 ton of aluminum saves the equivalent in energy of 2,350 gallons of gasoline. This is equivalent to the amount of electricity used by the typical home over a period of 10 years.
8. The aluminum beverage can returns to the grocer's shelf as a new, filled can in as little as 90 days after collection, re-melting, rolling, manufacturing and distribution. Consumers could purchase the same recycled aluminum can from a grocer's shelf every 13 weeks or 4 times a year.
9. Americans throw away about 10% of the food they buy at the supermarket. This results in dumping the equivalent of more than 21 million shopping bags full of food into landfills every year. 
10. Using recycled glass to make new glass cuts related air pollution by up to 20%.
11. Recycling a glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 4 hours. 
12. A quart of motor oil can pollute 250,000 gallons of water and 1 acre of land 1 inch deep.
13. If the Pilgrims had six-packs, we'd still have the plastic rings from them today. 
14. The average baby generates a ton of garbage every year.  
15. In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his or her adult weight in garbage. If you add it up, this means that a 150 pound adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 pounds of trash for his or her children.  
16. A small drip from a faucet can waste up to 50 gallons of water daily, which is enough water to run a dishwasher twice.
17. Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover less than 6%.
18. 137 plant, animal and insect species are being lost every single day due to rainforest deforestation.
19. One and one-half acres of rainforest are lost every second.
20. The first real recycling program was introduced in New York City in the 1890s.
21. Livestock are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions. This includes 9 percent of all CO2 emissions, 37 percent of methane and 65 percent of nitrous oxide. Together that is more than the emissions caused by transportation.
22. Glass never wears out -- it can be recycled forever.
23. Recycling, where instituted, creates many more jobs for rural and urban communities than landfill and incineration disposal options.
24. The US has less than 4% of its forests left.
25. The US has 5% of the world's population and 30% of the waste.
26. 75% of global fisheries have been fished beyond capacity.
27. 100,000 synthetic chemicals are used in production today.
28. The impact of the average U.S. citizen on the environment is approximately 3 times that of the average Italian, 13 times that of the average Brazilian, 35 times that of the average Indian, 140 times that of the average Bangladeshi, and 250 times that of the average sub-Saharan African.
29. The annual cost of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day is $1422.  That is enough money for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to fun the removal of 600 pounds of trash from the Bay and its tributaries, grow 20,000 native oysters and plant 45 native trees.
30. As temperatures rise, some migratory birds are spending the winter an average of 35 miles further north than they did 40 years ago.

Sources:

1 – 5, 29:  My Green Guide

6 – 15:  University of Oregon website

16 – 20:  http://www.alltrivia.net/

21:  http://www.csmonitor.com

22 -- 23:  Washington State Department of Ecology

24 -- 27:  http://www.bikeroute.com

28:  UNICEF

30: EPA