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Smithsonian Tips to Help Yourself and the Planet
It is time for everyone to become involved in preserving our planet. We have polluted the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we produce. The rapid deterioration of the global environment is already creating political and social problems, and unless immediately arrested, it will affect the quality of life for future generations. Below are explanations of some of the world's major environmental problems. Specific suggestions for personal conservation actions can be found on our What You Can Do page. Even relatively small actions will be significant if taken by enough people. Most of the suggestions require little or no personal sacrifice, and many will even save you money. Pick and idea and take action today: Each step adds up to a better world.
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Links to Environmental Organizations
The Problem: The Greenhouse Effect. Carbon dioxide and water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere act like a greenhouse, trapping some of the heat the Earth emits and reflecting it back toward the planet. Natural levels of greenhouse warming benefit the Earth, but the degree of warming is increasing. Scientists predict that greenhouse warming could heat up the Earth's climate between 2 and 8 degrees F over the next century. This would likely result in higher sea levels and inundation of low-lying coastal areas, as well as changes in local climate and growing conditions for crops and natural vegetation.
The Cause: Human activity has caused an increase in the levels of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases -- including chlorofluocarbons, methane, ground-level ozone and nitrous oxides -- which has magnified the greenhouse effect. Global levels of carbon dioxide alone have increased by 25% since the start of the Industrial Revolution. The United States contributes over one billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere each year. Most of this comes from burning fossil fuels -- coal, oil and gas -- in our electric utilities, transportation, industries and buildings. Nearly half of residential energy consumption is used to heat and cool our homes. At one-sixth of residential energy use, water heating is the second-largest source of home energy demand. Refrigerators and freezers account for over one-eighth of our residential energy demand, and about one-fourth is used in lighting, cooking and other appliances combined.
The Problem: Acid Rain. Increasing acidity of rain water, snow and fog is killing forest trees, polluting streams and lakes, and destroying historic landmarks.
The Cause: The acidity is caused by sulfur and nitrogen oxides that combine with water in the atmosphere to form acids which fall to Earth as precipitation. Sulfur oxides are released by power plants and metal smelters fueled by coal and oil. Nitrogen oxides are released from motor vehicles and industrial processes. A typical rainfall in the eastern United States is 10 times more acidic than unpolluted, natural rainfall. In the United States and most other industrial countries, motor vehicles account for roughly half of all nitrogen oxide emissions.
The Problem: Smog. Ground-level ozone is the principal component of smog, which causes health problems and damages crops and natural vegetation.
The Cause: Ground-level ozone is formed by reactions between nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons in sunlight. Exhaust from motor vehicles is the major source of smog.
You Can Help: Conserving fossil fuels not only reduces our contribution to the greenhouse effect, acid rain and air pollution, but saves energy costs and reduces the United States' dependence on foreign sources of oil. Proper insulation, conservative use of heaters and air conditioners, and good maintenance of appliances can help the environment and result in lower energy bills. While no single action will eliminate environmental problems, energy efficiency is the most important and cost-effective step we can take.
The Problem: The disposal of trash costs Americans more than $28 billion each year. More importantly, we are rapidly running out of landfill space. Around two-thirds of municipal solid waste is deposited in landfills. Within four years, one-third of the nation's landfills will be full.
The Cause: Over 30% of the volume of municipal solid waste is the packaging and containers from products we buy -- boxes, bags, plastic and glass. Paper and cardboard account for about 40% of all municipal solid waste by weight. Yard waste -- leaves and grass clippings -- is the next largest category, comprising roughly 15% of our discards. The average American produces over three-quarters of a ton of waste each year. Every minute, Americans use 1,736 plastic bottles; every day we throw out 49 million disposable diapers; and every year we discard enough office and writing paper to build a wall 12 feet high, stretching from New York to Los Angeles.
You Can Help: Reduce the number of products you buy, use recycled products or products that do not yield as much waste when they are discarded, reuse materials as many times as possible before throwing them away, and recycle or compost materials rather than sending them to landfills. Call the EPA's Recycling Hotline at 1-800-CLEANUP for more information.
The Problem: Clean and readily available fresh water -- surface and groundwater -- is growing scarce. Less than 1% of the Earth's water is available as drinking water; the rest is either seawater, frozen, or too deep underground to reach. In the United States we use around 89 billion gallons of groundwater each day. Half of our population gets drinking water from groundwater; 40% of drinking water may come from contaminated wells. One fourth of our groundwater withdrawals exceed natural replacement rates from rainfall.
The Cause: The irrigation of crops accounts for around two-thirds of groundwater depletion. Inefficient practices, which lead to over-watering, evaporation or leaking cause less than half the irrigation water to contribute to the growth of crops. More than half of the water consumed in the United States is used to grow feed for livestock. Contamination of fresh water is caused by industrial waste, agricultural runoff and inadequate waste disposal practices. In coastal areas, depletion of groundwater allows intrusion of seawater, and contributes significantly to groundwater contamination. Population growth and increased development will lead to a greater need for fresh water in the future.
You Can Help: Become informed about the source of your water and how your actions affect fresh water. Use water sparingly within and outside of your home. Properly dispose of wastes so that they do not contaminate fresh water sources.
The Problem: We share the Earth with between five and 30 million other species of animals and plants. About half of all species live in the tropical forests that grow near the equator on about 6% of the total land surface. From 500,000 to five million species live in the oceans. We rely on many of these species for food, clothing, shelter, medicines and a wide variety of commercial products. Scientists estimate that between one and six species become extinct every hour.
The Cause: The loss or alteration of natural habitats is a major cause of species extinction. Tropical deforestation continues at a rate of about 100,000 acres per day. Forests are cleared to produce timber, fuelwood and agricultural lands. In the United States, 1.3 million acres are converted from rural lands to urban developments each year. Although most of the converted rural lands were croplands, fragmentation of adjacent ecosystems endangers populations of plants and animals. Almost half of the United States' commercial fish stocks are overfished or are endangered because of alterations of their coastal breeding habitats.
You Can Help: Put less pressure on natural habitats, plants and animals by consuming fewer resources. Become aware of which species are in danger and avoid contributing to their overexploitation.
The Problem: Many of the products in our homes are toxic and can cause serious environmental problems if they are disposed of improperly. Household products like those listed below can contain acute and chronic toxins, carcinogens, mutagens, neurotoxins, environmental toxins, or chemical compounds that cause developmental and reproductive problems. These products may be flammable, corrosive or reactive.
The Cause: All of the following household products contain hazardous chemicals: solvents, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, mothballs, chemical fertilizers, electrical appliances, batteries, oven and drain cleaners, enamel and other oil-based paints, nail polish removers, paint removers (turpentine), antifreeze, waxes and polishes. These and thousands of untested substances may become pollutants as they are poured down drains, leached from landfills into soils and water tables, washed into the oceans, and dispersed into the air we breathe through evaporation and trash incineration.
You Can Help: Use products containing hazardous materials and fertilizers sparingly or use alternatives. The decisions consumers make affect the way manufacturers design products. Dispose of household hazardous wastes according to the directions on the container or at hazardous waste collection facilities. Call your local public works department for the location, or call the EPA's Recycling Hotline at 1-800-CLEANUP.
The Problem: Oceans are being contaminated by pollutants from industrial and agricultural activities as well as from various urban and household wastes. This pollution leads to a decline in the quality of coastal waters and the harming or killing of marine life.
The Cause: Pollutants enter coastal waters from the land through water runoff or dumping, or from air pollution. Agricultural fertilizers, sewage, urban runoff and other land-based sources contribute to nearly half of all marine pollution. Up to 20,000 outfall pipes in the United States dump raw sewage into coastal waters. An additional third of marine pollution is from atmospheric pollutants, such as metals and slowly degrading chemicals from farms, automobiles and factories. These toxic materials settle into sea-floor sediments, and eventually long-lasting chemicals may enter the food web and contaminate the fish and shellfish we eat. Oil spilled during tanker loading and unloading, washed off roads by the rain, and spilled during shipping accidents seriously affect marine life. Floating debris chokes and entangles marine life, as well as litters beaches.
You Can Help: Conserve water, use low-phosphate, phosphate-free, or biodegradable detergents and soaps, dispose of hazardous materials properly, reduce fossil fuel use, participate in beach clean-ups, and make sure that solid waste goes into an appropriate landfill.