Greenversations

My name is Ashley, and this semester I have the privilege to work at the EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education. I am so excited to spend the next couple of months writing blog entries in order to give middle and high school students a voice to express their own thoughts and feelings on issues like global climate change. Let me start off by mentioning a few things about myself.

What brought me to Washington D.C…

Originally I am from Bolingbrook, Illinois which is about 30 minutes away from Chicago. I am finishing up my last year at Indiana University with a degree in Public Finance. During my junior year in college, I heard about this exciting program called WLP, the Washington Leadership Program. The second I heard about WLP, it instantly caught my attention. WLP offers students the opportunity to spend a semester in Washington DC, in my case, during an exciting time of the year; the presidential election. Students get the chance to experience DC during a fun time in their life, gain practical experience in an area of interest, meet influential people, and take classes up on the Hill. How amazing is that? Not bad for a student.

I wanted to work at OCHPEE after learning the office focuses on environmental health threats and contributes in so many ways to helping parents as well as middle and high school students become environmentally conscious. During my time here at OCHPEE, I want to hear your story including your activities to address global climate change. Your activities can inspire others.

Let’s get started on this week’s topic.

Today many kids are driven to school by their parents rather than taking the bus, walking, or riding a bike. This increases traffic and energy use. Choosing to walk, ride a bicycle or school bus, or even take public transportation, reduces air pollution. Air pollutants can harm kids and cause respiratory problems. Children have respiratory systems that are not fully developed and they are often involved in activities where they breathe deeply and take in toxic air pollutants. Because October 8th is International Walk to School Day we want to hear what you are doing to reduce energy use getting to and from school and other activities. Have you talked to your friends and classmates? What has your school done? Your activities can inspire others so tell us what you’re doing. Send us pictures.

About the author: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division.

Lea la versión en español a continuación de esta entrada en inglés.
Some links exit EPA or have Spanish content.

Last year I was having a conversation with former Region 2 Deputy Administrator Kathleen C. Callahan about recycling. I told her about the many things we were doing in our household of six to reduce our carbon footprint and recycle as much as 60% of our waste. She encouraged me to share the experience. I forgot about her suggestion, until a few weeks ago when I had to prepare a presentation on the issue for an EPA outreach event.

For most people “carbon footprint” is still an unfamiliar term. During this specific presentation, I wanted to engage the public in seeking solutions. To explain things in laymen terms, I revisited my conversation with Kathy and incorporated many of the things we are already doing at home. Many of these are outlined in EPA’s Climate Change page.

For starters, we bought and remodeled an old house in Puerto Rico. We sought to take advantage of nature by installing windows and doors that let light and air in. Our garage door is perforated allowing cross ventilation and light inside the house while providing us with security and privacy. Thus, we rarely have to use compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) inside the house during the day. Also, all of our appliances acquired or replaced since 2003 are Energy Star. Since our weather is sunny most of the year, I have two clotheslines to air-dry our clothes. This is not an easy task, but the reduction in our greenhouse gases emissions and energy bill is worth the effort.

Around the house, strategic planting of native and tropical species reduce the amount of heat from direct sunlight and provides us with a lush backyard. A special insulating treatment in our concrete ceiling reduces the temperature during very hot days and ceiling fans keep the house cool even during 95F degree temperature. In our bathrooms, efficient showerheads help us save water thus reducing our carbon load.

Our shopping habits have changed dramatically in the last three years helping us recycle and compost more. We try to buy most of our fruits and vegetables from local farm stands and anything else has to come in a recyclable package.

Even though we still have a long way to go to further reduce our carbon load, please share with us the innovative and creative ways you have minimized your carbon footprint.

Reduciendo nuestra huella de carbono

Sobre la autor: Brenda Reyes Tomassini se unió a la EPA en el 2002. Labora como especialista de relaciones públicas en la oficina de EPA en San Juan, Puerto Rico donde también maneja asuntos comunitarios para la División de Protección Ambiental del Caribe.

El año pasado conversaba sobre reciclaje y reducción de desperdicios con Kathleen C. Callahan, ex sub-administradora de la Región 2, cuando me sugirió plasmar por escrito las medidas que tomábamos en nuestro hogar de 6 para reducir nuestra huella ecológica y reciclar hasta un 60%. Olvidé la recomendación de Kathy hasta hace semanas atrás cuando la agencia fue invitada a participar en un evento masivo y me asignaron una presentación sobre la huella de carbón para educar a los asistentes al evento sobre el tema.

Aunque para muchas personas el término “huella de carbón” es desconocido, tenía como meta hacer una presentación sencilla y en la que pudiese involucrar al público en la búsqueda de soluciones. Al preparar la presentación recordé todo lo discutido con Kathy e incorporé muchas de las cosas que hacemos en nuestro hogar. La mayoría de las medidas tomadas en nuestra casa están sugeridas en la página electrónica de la EPA sobre cambio climático.

Cuando comenzamos la búsqueda de una residencia decidimos que ésta fuese vieja para salvar el preciado espacio verde de nuestra isla. Remodelamos de acuerdo a la ventilación cruzada de la residencia y aprovechamos la abundante luz al instalar ventanas y puertas, incluyendo una puerta perforada de garaje, que permitieran el paso de la brisa y evitaran el encendido diurno de nuestras bombillas compactas fluorescentes. Además todos nuestros enseres adquiridos y/o reemplazados a partir del 2003 son Energy Star. Ya que nuestro clima tropical es soleado gran parte del año solemos tender la ropa al aire libre, lo cual no sólo ahorra energía, pero reduce las emisiones de gases de invernadero.

Alrededor de la casa, la siembra estratégica de árboles nativos y especies tropicales reduce la cantidad de sol directo que recibe esta además de brindarnos un patio fresco y verde. En cuanto al techo de cemento, éste fue insulado con un tratamiento especial que reduce la temperatura aún en el día más caluroso al igual que los ocho abanicos de techo instalados en los cuartos y áreas comunes de la casa. Adicionalmente, instalamos duchas eficientes en los baños para ayudarnos a ahorrar agua y reducir nuestra huella de carbón.

Por último, y no menos importante, hemos cambiado drásticamente nuestros hábitos de consumo en los últimos tres años. Tratamos de comprar menos alimentos enlatados y adquirir nuestras frutas y vegetales de vendedores independientes o que tengan empaque mínimo. El resto de nuestras compras tiene que estar empacadas en envases reciclables y no patrocinamos el uso de bolsas plásticas. Ahora reciclamos más y hacemos composta para abonar nuestras plantas con los desperdicios orgánicos.

Aunque todavía nos quedan muchas cosas por hacer para reducir nuestro impacto ecológico, ¿me encantaría conocer qué medidas creativas e innovadoras ha tomado usted para minimizar su huella de carbón?