|
Welcome to the April 2008 Edition of the City of Fort Wayne’s Green City email newsletter.
Upcoming events:
Earth Day @ IPFW – Wednesday, April 16th
For more information, visit:
http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/energy
Earth Day – Tuesday, April 22nd
Celebrate and spread the word for environmental awareness.
For more information, visit:
http://www.earthday.net/
Eco-Film Fest @ Cinema Center Tech – Sunday, April 27th
For more information, visit:
http://www.cinemacenter.org
----------------------------------------------
This edition of the Green City email newsletter contains:
*Green Tip of the Month
*Earth Day History
*Dishwashers and the Environment
*Al Gore launches $300 Million Ad Campaign
*Fox Fort Wayne launches Green Commercials
*Energy Tracking Worksheet
*Great American Cleanup
----------------------------------------------
*Green Tip of the Month
Small things can make a big difference. Consider your humble cup of coffee, the world’s second-most valuable legal commodity after oil, with environmental and social impacts to match. Stir up some positive change by asking your barista and/or office manager to switch to organic and Fair Trade-labeled brands. Then do your bit to reduce the energy and waste involved in producing, transporting, and disposing of more than 1.9 million tons of paper and plastic cups and plates thrown away in the U.S. each year: use your own mug. You need to wash it, sure, but life cycle analysis shows that over its life of about 3,000 uses a mug is associated with 30 times less solid waste and 60 times less air pollution than the equivalent drinks in disposable paper or foam cups.
-Tip from the book True Green at Work by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin (available at our library)
----------------------------------------------
*Earth Day History
Earth Day is a name used for two different observances, both held annually during spring in the northern hemisphere , and autumn in the southern hemisphere . These are intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth 's environment. The United Nations celebrates Earth Day, which was founded by John McConnell in 1969, each year on the March equinox , while a global observance originated by Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in, and since January 1970 also called Earth Day, is celebrated in many countries each year on April 22 .
Responding to widespread environmental degradation, Gaylord Nelson , a United States Senator from Wisconsin , called for an environmental teach-in , or Earth Day, to be held on April 22 , 1970 . Over 20 million people participated that year, and Earth Day is now observed each year on April 22 by more than 500 million people and national governments in 175 countries. Senator Nelson, an environmental activist, took a leading role in organizing the celebration, hoping to demonstrate popular political support for an environmental agenda. The concept of Earth Day was first proposed in a memo to JFK written by Fred Dutton .
----------------------------------------------
*What does my dishwasher have to do with the environment?
by the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative
We love our dishwashers! They get the dishes clean while we do something more fun. But automatic dishwashers – especially the detergents they use – can impact water quality because of the amount of phosphorus they contain.
Phosphorus is the ingredient that makes dishwasher detergents effective at cleaning because it reduces water hardness and prevents dirt from being deposited back onto your dishes. It helps to reduce spots on dishes and may protect some dishwasher parts from rusting. While phosphorus works well for cleaning your dishes, once it is released into the environment through household wastewater, the results are not so desirable.
In Indiana, phosphorus was banned from laundry detergents since 1973 to reduce the amount going to public sewage treatment plants. The Indiana General Assembly has only recently enacted a similar restriction on phosphorus in detergents for use in household dishwashers. House Bill 1120 has been signed by the Governor and will go into effect on July 1, 2010.
What is phosphorus?
Phosphorus is a natural mineral that comes from rocks and occurs naturally in small amounts in the water of this region. It is an essential element, a nutrient for plants and animals. Phosphorus can be dissolved in the water, or it can be attached to sediment. In the form of phosphorus, it is in fertilizer, pesticides, and detergents. It can be present in sewage and animal waste. It takes millions of years for free phosphorus to return into the form of rocks. Therefore, phosphorus is not “used up.”
So why is banning phosphorus a good idea?
Excess phosphorus becomes fertilizer for the algae in our lakes and streams and contributes to eutrophication of lakes and streams. When this occurs, the water may not contain enough dissolved oxygen to support aquatic species. It can become a deadly cycle for waterways: nutrients feed algae. Algae bloom and die, releasing their nutrients. Bacteria use oxygen from the water to break down dead algae and other waste. This reduces available oxygen in the water. Reduced oxygen can kill animals and fish by reducing the amount of healthy habitat available to them. Areas of reduced oxygen allow the release of more nutrients from the stream bottom and suspended sediments. These nutrients are again available to feed more algae and the cycle begins again.
And what happens to the stream?
Over time, algae and other microscopic plant life can become super abundant and “choke” a lake or streams. The water in these highly enriched lakes and streams have low transparency and low dissolved oxygen. Fish and aquatic animals die. Eventually the water dries up.
What can I do?
· Act now. Everyone washes dishes. Check your dishwashing detergent label to see how much phosphorus it contains and take steps now to choose a brand with low phosphorus.
· Spread the word that detergents for use in home dishwashers can’t contain phosphorus after July of 2010.
· Use a low or no-phosphorus fertilizer on your lawn. Check the labels of your products, or insist that your lawn care service use environmentally friendly products with low or no phosphorus. Better yet, have your soil tested to see exactly how much phosphorus your lawn might need before you apply any fertilizer.
· Be responsible for livestock manure and pet waste. Don’t allow it to enter the waterways without treatment!
· Properly maintain your septic system. Filling system leach nutrients into the surface and groundwater, which eventually reaches wells, lakes and streams.
Our region has lost nearly 85% of its natural wetlands. Wetlands can tie up phosphorus and take it out of circulation. Build or protect a wetland! Cost-share funding is available in many areas. Contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District or the US Fish & Wildlife Service for help.
For the complete article, and a chart of phosphorous content in major dish detergents, visit:
http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/index.php/content/view/1516/1580/
----------------------------------------------
*Al Gore launches $300 Million Ad Campaign
Al Gore today unveiled the “we” campaign , a $300 million effort to raise public awareness of climate change — both the problem and its potential solutions. The aim of the campaign is to create bottoms-up pressure on legislators to tackle the issue.
For the complete story, visit:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/30/AR2008033001880_pf.html
----------------------------------------------
*Fox Fort Wayne launches Green Commercials
The City of Fort Wayne has partnered with Fox Fort Wayne (formerly Fox 55) to provide Green Public Service Announcements. Look for our commercials, currently, one is running on anti-idling of vehicles. If you have suggestions for videos you would like to see us make, let me know!
For more information, visit:
http://fortwaynehomepage.net/content/green
----------------------------------------------
*Reminder: New Energy Tracking Worksheet
We have developed a new Residential Energy Data Tracking tool to help you track your energy bills. The purpose of this spreadsheet is to help citizens realize how much energy they are using and to aid in the conservation of energy.
The new tool has tabs for Electricity, Natural Gas, Water, and Gasoline. Simply type in your bills/receipts when you get them and the worksheet will allow you to compare months from previous years, as well as your cumulative expenditures for each resource.
We hope this tool helps us all to realize how much we are spending on our energy consumption, and track how improvements reduce that consumption.
You can download the new Residential Energy Data Tracking tool at:
http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/energy
----------------------------------------------
*Great American Cleanup
The City of Fort Wayne will be participating in the Great American Clean-up on Saturday May 17, 2008. This is a national litter cleanup and beautification program recognized by over 10,000 communities across the United States and Canada.
Volunteer Groups may register to cleanup a site of their choosing or one can be chosen for you. The City will provide groups with gloves, bags, and volunteer t-shirts. The City will also have a volunteer party the afternoon of the event at Freimann Square downtown from 11:30 - 2:00.
Please call 427-1345 for more information or to request a registration form. You can also fill out the form online or download a PDF version from below. Come join us in cleaning up the neighborhoods, streets, and riverbanks in our City to help create a cleaner community here in Fort Wayne.
To access the form click on the link under Special Features on the City’s homepage:
http://www.cityoffortwayne.org
----------------------------------------------
Thank you very much for being a subscriber to our Green City email newsletter. We hope this has been helpful and informative to you.
We will contact you once per month with the email newsletter, as well as on Air Quality Action Days to alert you when air conditions indicate you need to take action.
If you would like to suggest topics or articles to include in monthly email newsletters, please email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Please pass this email newsletter on to your friends and family, so that everyone can share in the knowledge and have an impact on reducing energy consumption.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Harter
Program Manager
Energy & Environmental Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the City’s Energy & Environmental Services Website: http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/energy
To unsubscribe from the list permanently visit:
http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/greencity_signup
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
|
