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One Rechargeable Battery Can Replace 1,000 Regular Batteries January 19th, 2011
Did you know? People in the United States buy three billion batteries every year. That’s about 10 batteries for each person in the country, including babies. Most of these batteries are made to be thrown away. But rechargeable batteries are made to be reused. These batteries aren’t perfect. But they are better for the Earth than disposable batteries. One rechargeable can take the place of up to 1,000 regular (single use alkaline) batteries during its lifetime. Yep, that’s right 1,000! Amazing, no?
Make the batteries that you use last longer:
- Take them out of equipment that you are putting away for a while.
- Don’t put batteries (or things that have batteries in them) in really hot places. Heat shortens a batteries’ life.
- Don’t use old batteries with new ones. It wears out the new ones faster.
- But most important use rechargeable batteries.
Want this and other Eco-Tips in Spanish? Visit our Spanish site
Eco-Tip: Green Lunches January 7th, 2011
Take a “no garbage” lunch to work or school. That’s exactly what it sounds like – a lunch that leaves you with no or very little garbage to throw away when you are finished. Save your brown paper bag and re-use it. Carry a reusable container. If you cut your sandwich into four pieces, it can fit inside a container. Buy snacks in large packages instead of small individual ones and pour them in small containers. This a lot less expensive than buying pre-packaged snack bags. Pick snacks that are healthier and have their own natural wrapping such as bananas, apples, oranges, etc. And finally carry your milk or juice in small thermos or buy drinks that come in recyclable containers.
This information is also available in Spanish on our website.
Eco-Tips for the Holidays December 10th, 2010
We have a new Eco-Tips page on this site. Updated weekly, it has suggestions on how to make our everyday lives more environmentally sustainable – and fun! Please visit the Eco-Tips page in English and in Spanish.
Our thanks for these weekly posts go out to a committed parishioner in the Oblate parish of Mary Immaculate in Pacoima, California! These weekly tips are printed in the Sunday bulletin in that parish. Feel free to use them for your church.
Consider giving experiences rather than things:
As we enter the holiday season, consumers flock to malls, department stores and outlets in droves to search for that perfect gift, that one card that says it all, that tree to end all trees. But as we feast, give gifts, decorate and travel, we also consume lots of resources and generate lots of waste. A recent report noted that the amount of household garbage in the United States generally increases by 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, from 4 million tons to 5 million tons.
Think about what you can do to stop the impact of the holidays on earth. The people we love will most enjoy spending time with us; think about how you could do this instead of buying more things.
