Today you had a chance to hear from the leaders of Seven Arrows about how we use paper here. You probably found out that we sometimes use paper wisely, and often use paper unwisely!!
For this week's homework assignment, we want you to think about all the information shared by the panelists today. Consider the following questions:
What do you think we could do better?
What ideas do you have about how we can reduce our use of paper?
What ideas do you have about how we can do a better job of recycling?
What are some ways we can save money with paper, and save trees at the same time?
What will happen if we don't start reducing our use?
Think back (or reivew) the post, "Important Tree Facts" (posted below). How many trees does our paper usage equal? How can you find out?
We want you to post your ideas in response to today's class and share your ideas. Eventually we will look at all the ideas and create a plan for "leading the way" in reducing our use of paper here at school.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Important TREE facts!!!
Today we shared a LOT of facts about trees. What is your response to those facts? How does learning about the important contributions of trees help make you feel about paper production? about recycling? about the article below on Amazon deforestation?
Review the tree facts from our activity listed below. Then post a comment in response to the questions listed above.
********* TREE FACTS ************
• A mature tree removes 48 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year from the air (that’s nearly 10 TONS per acre)!!
• The amount of carbon stored yearly by an acre of trees (about the area of a baseball field) is almost equal to the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released by burning 1,000 gallons of gasoline.
• A tree that provide shade and wind protection to buildings can reduce the amount of energy that building will need to stay warm in the winter, or cool in the summer (energy conservation). Because of this, trees next to buildings reduce CO2 emissions 15 times more than just the amount of CO2 that the tree actually stores.
• In ONE year, an acre of trees consumes the amount of CO2 that is produced by a car driving an average of 26,000 miles.
• In ONE year, an acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people to breathe for a year.
• A healthy tree stores about 13 lbs of carbon each year. An acre of trees can store about 2.6 TONS of carbon in a year.
• It takes the wood from a 100 Foot tree to keep the average American supplied for a year with newspaper, books, magazines, tissues, paper towels, housing materials, furniture, desks, fences, boxes and other wood products.
• It takes wood from 100 foot tree to make 613 lbs of paper products
• Over its lifetime, a 100 ft. tree will transpire nearly FIVE MILLION gallons of water (5,000,000) back into the air as part of the water cycle!!!
• Over its lifetime, a 100 ft. tree will keep 100 lbs of nutrients in its wood, and return 200 lbs of nutrients to the soil.
• Over its lifetime, a 100 ft. tree will produce over 6,000 lbs of oxygen!!
• 30% of EVERYTHING we throw away is paper, and 15% of that is newspaper! ONE issue of the Sunday New York Times uses 65,000 Trees!!!!!!!!
Source: The NC Forest Stewardship
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/forest/plt/pdf/branching_out/branch4.pdf
DONT FORGET TO POST A COMMENT!!!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Deforestation of the Amazon... even today!!!
Brazil: Surprise rise in Amazon destruction, AP Sept. 29, 2008
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - The Amazon is being deforested more than twice as fast as last year, Brazilian officials said Monday, acknowledging a sharp reversal after three years of declines in the deforestation rate.
Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc said upcoming nationwide elections are partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region turning a blind eye to illegal logging in hopes of gaining votes locally.
Environmentalists blame the global spike in food prices for encouraging soy farmers and cattle ranchers to clear land for crops and grazing.
Amazon destruction jumped 228 percent in August when compared to the same month a year ago, according to a report from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research. Some 292 square miles of Amazon was destroyed last month, compared to 89 square miles in August 2007.
The institute, which uses satellite imagery to track illegal logging, said the destruction was likely even worse than its figures show, since no information was available for about 26 percent of the Amazon covered by clouds during the tracking.
Aerial View of Sediment Run-off Caused by Massive Amazon Deforestation. This entire area has been stripped bare of forest, so there are no longer any plants, bushes or tree roots to hold soil...which runs off into rivers and streams, killing marine life, even after the animals on land have been killed due to deforestation.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26944664/wid=18298287
THINK AND POST:
What is your response to this article?
Why is it a bad idea to increase the rate at which we are cutting down the rainforest?
How can we get people to stop?
Please post your reponse in the comments section.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - The Amazon is being deforested more than twice as fast as last year, Brazilian officials said Monday, acknowledging a sharp reversal after three years of declines in the deforestation rate.
Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc said upcoming nationwide elections are partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region turning a blind eye to illegal logging in hopes of gaining votes locally.
Environmentalists blame the global spike in food prices for encouraging soy farmers and cattle ranchers to clear land for crops and grazing.
Amazon destruction jumped 228 percent in August when compared to the same month a year ago, according to a report from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research. Some 292 square miles of Amazon was destroyed last month, compared to 89 square miles in August 2007.
The institute, which uses satellite imagery to track illegal logging, said the destruction was likely even worse than its figures show, since no information was available for about 26 percent of the Amazon covered by clouds during the tracking.
Aerial View of Sediment Run-off Caused by Massive Amazon Deforestation. This entire area has been stripped bare of forest, so there are no longer any plants, bushes or tree roots to hold soil...which runs off into rivers and streams, killing marine life, even after the animals on land have been killed due to deforestation.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26944664/wid=18298287
THINK AND POST:
What is your response to this article?
Why is it a bad idea to increase the rate at which we are cutting down the rainforest?
How can we get people to stop?
Please post your reponse in the comments section.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Learning About Paper Production...
Hello MASTERS Students!!
For your homework this week, you've been asked to learn a little bit more about paper production. We have collected MANY different resources that you can take a look at to learn more. You do NOT have to read every single one. We just wanted to give you some choices.
Take a look through the websites and read those that seem interesting to you. We have also included as part of this blog post a couple of videos that you can watch on paper production.
While you read, or watch the videos, please think about:
How is paper production affecting the environment?
How much energy does it take to make paper?
What is better, recycle paper or use less paper?
What takes more energy, recycling paper or making electricy to power computers?
After you have read through a couple of the articles and maybe watched a video or two, please post your comments in response to this blog post. In your response, please share what you have learned about paper production so far, and whether or not you have any feelings about how we use paper at our school, in our homes, and even in our community.
Websites (you may have to copy and paste them into a new window):
http://www.ecstaticrelations.com/booksintotrees/
http://www.livingtreepaper.com/about_pulp.html
http://www.idahoforests.org/paprmake.htm
http://www.paperrecycles.org/paper_environment/index.html
How Copy Paper is Made!!
via videosift.com
How Toilet Paper is Made!!
via videosift.com
If for some reason you don't see the button to post your comment -- click on the title of this post. It will take you to a new window and you should see the "post comment" button there.
For your homework this week, you've been asked to learn a little bit more about paper production. We have collected MANY different resources that you can take a look at to learn more. You do NOT have to read every single one. We just wanted to give you some choices.
Take a look through the websites and read those that seem interesting to you. We have also included as part of this blog post a couple of videos that you can watch on paper production.
While you read, or watch the videos, please think about:
How is paper production affecting the environment?
How much energy does it take to make paper?
What is better, recycle paper or use less paper?
What takes more energy, recycling paper or making electricy to power computers?
After you have read through a couple of the articles and maybe watched a video or two, please post your comments in response to this blog post. In your response, please share what you have learned about paper production so far, and whether or not you have any feelings about how we use paper at our school, in our homes, and even in our community.
Websites (you may have to copy and paste them into a new window):
http://www.ecstaticrelations.com/booksintotrees/
http://www.livingtreepaper.com/about_pulp.html
http://www.idahoforests.org/paprmake.htm
http://www.paperrecycles.org/paper_environment/index.html
How Copy Paper is Made!!
via videosift.com
How Toilet Paper is Made!!
via videosift.com
If for some reason you don't see the button to post your comment -- click on the title of this post. It will take you to a new window and you should see the "post comment" button there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
