globalbriefs
Eco-Bag It
carbon dioxide.
Wal-Mart Aims to While the industry claims little of the gas is released
Cut Plastic Bag into the atmosphere, Prather argues that without regulation
Use by a Third
by the Kyoto protocol or similar controls, companies can get
Wal-Mart is extend- careless. Annual production of the gas has risen to more than
ing its waste-reducing 4,400 tons, and is expected to double by next year. Once
initiative to cash released, it remains in the atmosphere 550 years.
registers, with a goal
of eliminating one in Tip: Enable an older TV set to receive a digital signal us-
three plastic bags in the next five years. That should cut 135 ing a new converter box; request a $40 store coupon at
million pounds of plastic waste and associated petroleum
DTV2009.gov.
use in their manufacture. The Environmental Defense Fund
will consult with the retail giant to design the program and Sources: Geophysical Research Letters;
Guardian.co.uk.
measure and assess its success.
The goal is to make reusable tote bags the norm. The
Clean & Clear
trick is to carry a few in the car and remember to use them,
Green Snow Removal Strategies
rather than let unused totes pile up at home in the closet.
Now, we can avoid winter’s slippery sidewalks and drive-
ways with deicing savvy that aims to “do no harm” to our
Think Twice property or environment. First, be aware that over appli-
Greenhouse Gas Controls Needed for Flat-
cation of chemical deicers [usually salts] can shorten the
Screen TVs
lifespan of concrete surfaces, corrode metal railings, pollute
Before trash- waterways, damage soils and stunt or kill adjacent plants,
ing an older according to the University of Minnesota Extension Office.
television in the Sand isn’t
holiday rush to much better,
modernize and as it blows and
make a state- washes off to clog
ment, consider drains and silt up
that flat-screen waterways. Cat
television litter, though pro-
technology has viding traction,
“a potential can pollute as ice
greenhouse melts, depending
gas impact larger than that… of the world’s largest coal-fired on ingredients.
power plants,” according to Michael Prather, director of the Both the
Environment Institute at University of California, Irvine. This Environmental
leading environmental scientist reports that flat-screen manu- Literacy Council
facturers routinely use nitrogen trifluoride, a greenhouse gas and the Center
17,000 times more potent as a driver of global warming than for Environmental
Excellence by
the American As-
sociation of State
Highway and
Transportation
Officials recom-
mend that we
take the following steps: Shovel or sweep snow immediately
to avoid the need for a deicer. When possible, apply mini-
mum amounts of a natural, nontoxic deicer before it snows
and shovel slush to prevent refreezing.
Source: BigGreenPurse.com; Google natural or nontoxic
deicers for options.
28 Broward County
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