Earth Day - April 22, 2013

Earth Day is fast approaching, are you ready for April 22, 2013? 

Earth Day is an annual event recognized worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Earth Day is observed on April 22 each year.

Do you think we can change the way we look at Earth Day? Instead of treating it as an annual event, make every day Earth Day, where we commit to do something positive and helpful for our environment daily.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a great website to help with this concept as well as simply getting you involved in some aspect of Earth Day.

There are many events and opportunities for you to take action for Earth Day; what will you commit to do? How about joining the Pick 5 Campaign? This is where you can choose to do an activity in Water, Land, Air, Energy, or Waste or you can share your own ideas. There is also the State of the Environment Photo Project that you can participate in.

There are even things you can do at home or in the garden, the EPA website offers tips for home safety, avoiding potential risks, and preventing pollution by recycling and conserving water and energy.

There are many options available in locally and globally and you have five days left to plan something. It would be great to receive your comments letting us know how you made a difference this Earth Day, April 22, 2013.

Water Conservation Month

April is Water Conservation Month.  This is a great time to evaluate your water conservation 'know-how.' Have you ever stopped to consider these questions:

• How much water do you use per day?
• Did you know that pet waste left lying about is a major source of contamination to our water bodies?
• Do you have a Water Wise landscape? Outdoor water use accounts for about 60% of residential water use.

During this month let’s all try to focus on our water habits and look for ways to conserve more water throughout our daily routine.  The Alachua County Environmental Protection Department’s website provides a wealth of information to get you started conserving for the entire year and not just for the month of April.

 

UF TREEO is committed to water conservation, several years ago we moved from providing bottled water to our students to a water fountain, this switch has saved over $900 a year on bottled water costs, which has more than paid for the installation and use of the drinking fountain.

 

Hopefully at the conclusion of the month of April you will have implemented some great water saving habits that will stay with you throughout the years to come.

 

You may be interested in the UF TREEO  Water Conservation Certificate Program, a suite of online courses that deal with all aspects of water conservation, click here for more details.

 

 

Energy Efficiency in 2013

According to New Building Institute (nbi) 2013 will be a good year for energy efficiency, primarily due to the activities of 2012.

• more than 1 million low-income homes and apartments were weatherized
• energy efficiency loan programs were established in more than 30 states
• states established new energy efficiency policies
• new fuel economy standards were finalized at the federal level

It is anticipated that these and other trends will continue in 2013, some things already in the works include:

• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is to release 11 new product efficiency standards (including ones that were not finalized in 2012), as well as new efficiency requirements for manufactured housing
• EPA will be implementing several recent emissions standards as well as finalizing carbon dioxide emission standards for new power plants.

Click here to learn more of what is in store.

 

UF TREEO provides training to those interested in Building Energy Efficiencies, to see the full list click here.