FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Learning is asking the right questions

Q: Why give a green hoot about sustainability?

A: When becoming green and sustainable, the ultimate goal is not only to help the environment from here to Timbuktu but to make a better, more healthy life for yourself, your community and the businesses that provide for your community.

1. Did I just step in something gross?

A: You might have, check the bottom of your shoe.  Also, it might be your “Carbon Footprint” you’re worried about.

Q: What is a Carbon Footprint and what size am I?

A: Your carbon footprint does not correlate to the size of your Nikes, no it’s the measurement of how your daily activities impact our environment, and in particular how it affects climate change. Your Carbon Footprint relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc. If you want to take a look at your Carbon Footprint you can to here

Q: I’m really worried about being able to buy the new iPhone but I also like breathing oxygen, can sustainability help me with both?

A: Yes!  According to the EPA, sustainability is defined as,

Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations. Sustainability is important to making sure that we have and will continue to have, the water, materials, and resources to protect human health and our environment”
–http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/basicinfo.htm

Q: How can I start living a more sustainable lifestyle?

A: Going about the business of everyday tasks are an easy way to get started. Something as simple as turning off computer CPU and monitors at the end of the day, turning out lights when you leave a room, and installing sensor faucets in the bathroom. Most basic sustainable practices are common sense thinking that avoid waste and best of all are FREE or at a very low cost, but doing simple things like these can make your business more sustainable and more profitable at the same time.

Q: What are the benefits of Recycling?

A: There are boundless benefits to recycling as opposed to creating useless piles of decaying garbage. Some of the most common benefits include: cutting back on the use of landfills and incinerators, reducing pollution caused by manufacturing products from raw materials, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling also saves energy by using fewer fossil fuels to transform already made products into new ones as compared to transforming raw, unchanged material into a new product. This will help conserve natural resources such as fossil fuels, timberland water.

A: Your carbon footprint does not correlate to the size of your index finger.  No, it’s the measurement of how your daily activities impact our environment, and in particular how it affects climate change. Your Carbon Footprint relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc. If you want to take a look at your Carbon Footprint you can to here

Q: What can I do to reduce my carbon footprint?

A: Some quick and easy ways to start reducing the ole Carbon Footprint size are:

• get on public transportation
• take a fun walk to close by places
• buy products with less packaging
• recycle your stuff
• take shorter showers to use less water
• turn off the water while brushing your teeth
• use the water from your shower that flows to adjust the temperature to water the plants instead of letting it flow down the drain.  (A regular old bucket is great for this)
• use the cold water for your laundry
• buy locally grown products, farmer’s markets are great for this.  Also, many Grocery Stores will have a “local producers” section.
• unplug appliances that are not in use
• turn off the lights when you are not in the room.