response#14: 20 Liters and a Long Walk

Amongst my earliest memories is the recollection of using two steel pails to collect water from the family well and having to carry them back to the house. Much of the water was spilled when the one hundred yard journey came to a conclusion. It was heavy and awkward, and I was young and clumsy. The website, “20 Liters” depicts individuals having to carry water much greater distances, and unlike the family well, the water they carry is unfit for human consumption. This unfit water attributes to the many deplorable diseases present in the third world today. The website is set up to bring an awareness of this constant crisis by fundraising through an event called “Walk For Water,” as well as by asking for donations to help install clean water systems in third world countries. The website is effective at drawing out empathy and compassion for people who are less fortunate and it creates a desire to want to alleviate their suffering for basic human needs.
The website has several pages that address ways in which an individual can make a difference. Unfortunately, some of the information they provide can be viewed as unrealistic. The website tries to make an assertion that purchasing bottled water creates a diversion of monetary bonds away from local water treatment plants. People may be drinking bottled water, but it is doubtful they will start showering in it. Bottled water only represents a drop in the bucket compared to the volume of water a treatment plant prepares for a community’s daily needs. To be fair, the website’s focus is toward the easing of suffering and providing tangible water assets to individuals, for which it does a good job.

Response # 11: Big Ideas for a Small Planet

               The television series Big Ideas for a Small Planet is all about different small movements that people around the United States are doing that could have a big impact on the planet. The four episodes I watched were Create, Kids, Paper or Plastic, and Sports. Each of these episodes provides three ideas that could create a greener earth. All of the ideas are interesting, and if put into practice could create positive benefits for the planet.

            The first episode Create was about environmentally friendly art forms like photography, clothing, and architecture. The photographer was in Arctic Village, Alaska capturing the results of global warming in his photos and helping to raise awareness since the average temperature in Alaska has raised seven degrees in the last 30 years. The clothing designer used 50% audiotape from old cassette tapes and 50% cotton to create beautiful and durable clothing. The architect was using a 747 plane to build a house for a client. The wings were used on the roof because they are durable and lightweight; this is called upcycling because it converts waste materials (like the old plane) into products of greater value (like the house).

            The second episode Kids was about environmental education, kid activists, and eco toys. A high school class that goes to an environmental school collected waste from a river in California and made boats out of the waste collected to float down the river and raise awareness of the damaging effects of litter. Also 11 year old Evan Green goes door to door raising money to buy land in the rainforest, thus saving it from destruction. Imagiplay, an eco-friendly toy company makes toys out of rubber wood, which is only harvested after it dies and then is replanted. This episode really focused on how the children are the future of the planet, and going green starts with teaching kids to be environmentally conscious.

            The third episode Paper of Plastic was about green design, biodegradable plastic, recyclable cars, and eco-friendly shipping and packaging supplies. Out of the approximately 248 million tons of garbage generated in the United States each year, over 50% ends up in a landfill. One green design company has created furniture, chairs, and many other products that can either be broken back down into soil, or recycled back into the industry it came out of. Biodegradable plastic is made from a resin that comes from corn. This plastic turns completely back into soil after only 180 days and costs about the same as traditional plastic. The recyclable car burns hydrogen and is made from a resin that comes from soy-based products. The eco-friendly shipping supplies shown were used by the United States Postal Service and are made of semi-recycled material and are designed to be biodegradable. Plastic can be very damaging to the environment and using alternatives or recycling can help the problem.

            The fourth episode Sports was about bamboo bikes, eco-friendly skateboards, and skiing green. Bamboo is in fact stronger that carbon fiber and is very smooth riding, which makes it a great alternative to normal bikes. The skateboards are made using Forest Stewardship Council Certified wood and other composite materials that are biodegradable and are recycled to make new boards afterwards. The Global Cooling Tour was organized to help spread awareness of global warming and its potential threat to skiing resorts. The tour suggests eating local, using renewable energy, recycling, composting, and carpooling to help save the slopes. All of these episodes were completely packed with information and I think all of them were great ways to start making a difference on the planet.

Sealing windows and doors

          Every one of my church members can do something to make the environment better. By being energy efficient will cut the down on the price of utility bills as well as global warming. Although the Corinthian Baptist Church members cannot change the energy problems of the whole planet, the church members should seal the windows and doors of the church because doing so would keep the heat in the structure, use less energy to heat the building, and decrease utility bills that are caused by the use of heat and energy.

          I go to Corinthian Baptist and have been my church since I was a little girl. We have had our problems and setbacks over the year but have always overcome them. The church have always helped the community when in need. The environment of course fits into that category. A new way that the church members could help the environment as well the church itself, which I will setup for the church to do will be discussed in this paper. That one thing that we could do is seal the windows and doors.

          Sealing the doors and windows would help keep the heat in the building more effectively. More heat wouldn’t have to be made, the heated air would circulate in the building instead. Circulating air would keep the church warmer also and more comfortable to be in. Always having warm air in the building would make most the member more comfortable to sit there during services. It would also benefit the people that open the church and turn the heat on to warm up the church. Since on Sundays there is Sunday School first, that starts at 9:30 in the morning. That big of a structure would need an hour to an hour and a half to warm up the complete place by 9:30 in the morning. Having the cracks or gaps in the seals would mean that heat would constantly need to be made to remain a comfortable temperature.

           In heating, building energy is used to heat the building, air conditioning for cooling, and ventilation to circulate the air. With the sealing of the doors and windows it would cause warm circulating air which leads to the building decreased use of energy to heat the building. Less energy would be used because the structure wouldn’t call for heat to be made so often. When a structure drops below it normal temperature, it send a signal to the furnace to cut on and heat the structure. Now after the structure heats its normal or set temperature the furnace turns off. Most of this takes place during the fall on into and through winter.  In summer air conditioning would be used to keep the church cool on those hot summer days. Ventilation would be used all year around to circulate the cool and hot air which would keep the church at a comfortable temperature. Having sealed windows and doors with a ventilation system that works well, would keep energy use at normal rate for the church.

          Now the less amount of heat made the less amount the energy needed other words the utilities bill will be decreased. The pretty big structure that cause for huge amount energy to be used for the heat. Energy is used for heating ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, water heating, refrigeration, equipment use, and cooking. All that energy use costs a good sum of money each month. It’s reported the thirty-six percent of energy used in commercial building is for heating the building, seven percent for ventilation, and eight percent for air condition. As the numbers reported heating a space uses the most energy that could be decreased by sealing windows and doors correctly. Decreasing the use for heating, ventilation, and air condition would take down the amount of energy paid for by the church, which are the members. Decreasing the amount of energy used for heating alone would make a great difference.

          All these steps flow together quiet well, all in order. Obviously the benefits do out weigh the flaws in this situation. Sealing windows and doors could be done by families in their house, at the office, or community building. If ever in one of these types of buildings and wondering how to improve heat quality, air condition quality, ventilation quality, energy use, or decrease utility bills think about are the doors and windows sealed good. Seal the windows and doors keep the heat in the building which leads to less energy being used, that would decrease the amount of utility bills paid.

Reference

Administration, U. E. (1998). Energy Kids. Retrieved October 26, 2010, from The U.S. Department of Energy Web Site: http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/index.cfm