Earth Day 2012

Happy Earth Day!  

I love infographics and the one below from Recyclebank is perfect for today!

Share Responsibility for the Planet

Create a network effect on the environment with small changes to your everyday behavior -- Let's take going green viral!

• Fill a Pool: If all Facebook users shortened their showers by 1 minute we'd save enough water to fill 1,123,364 Olympic-sized swimming pools  
• Pin Your Green Idea: If every active Pinterest user pinned one reuse idea per month, there would be 12 million new green ideas on the web
• Power Down: If all Twitter users shut down their computers for one hour, it'd be like taking 9,128 cars off the road for a  year
• Up your Eco-IQ: If you set aside just two minutes a day to watching an environmental video, you'd set aside 12 hours a year to improve your eco-knowledge
• Donate to Illuminate: If every smart phone was recycled at the end of its life, enough energy would be saved to power 199,800 homes for one year.
• Hit the Pavement: If all Nike+ app users ran outside for just one day instead of on a treadmill $442,500 could be saved on electricity bills.  

Which Makes More Sense?

I love this chart.  I so often feel like individuals who put a lot of time, effort, and hard-earned income into making healthy, educated decisions and lifestyle choices are treated like they are crazy for not accepting the propaganda being pushed by big government and big business.

Double Click to View Larger 
Source: Occupy* Posters

So which make more sense to you? 

Regional environmental groups and community activists are spending their limited operating budgets in a massive conspiracy with 90% of the world's scientists to create a worldwide hoax and crash the global economy OR . . .
Big oil companies (and chemical companies like Monsanto, Dow, and DuPont) are spending their obscene profits to bribe anyone they can to protect their profits and limit any future liability their pollution may cause.  
Leave me a comment letting me know which makes more sense to you!

Environmental Benefits of Reduced Meat Consumption

Skip the Burger, Save the Earth :-)

Eating Less Meat Can Help Preserve Our Planet

REDUCE YOUR CARBON (AND METHANE) FOOTPRINT 
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the meat industry generates 1/5 of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide . . . far more than transportation. All livestock greatly contribute to CO2 emissions through their respiratory processes, but also of monumental concern is methane gas (CH4) emissions from their digestive processes. Methane gas is 21 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. With nearly 1.5 billion large ruminants like cows world-wide, both carbon dioxide and methane gas are being emitted into the atmosphere at astounding rates. These rates have been decreasing lately, but are still much higher than our Earth can continue to support, while remain a healthy environment for us.[1]

MINIMIZE WATER USAGE 
The water needs of livestock are tremendous, greatly exceeding those of vegetables or grains It takes 1,800 - 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of grain fed beef. With that same amount water, farmers could grow 16 pounds of broccoli, 25 pounds of potatoes, enough soybeans for three pounds of tofu or enough wheat for nearly five pounds of whole wheat bread.[2]

HELP REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL DEPENDENCE 
On average, about 40 calories of fossil fuel energy go into every calorie of feed lot beef in the U.S. Compare this to the 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy needed to produce one calorie of plant-based protein. Moderating meat consumption is a great way to cut fossil fuel demand.[3]

PRESERVE THE RAIN FOREST  
Cattle ranching is the largest impetus behind the destruction of the Amazon Rain Forest with deforestation occurring at an alarming rate. From May 20000 to August 2006 alone, Brazil lost nearly 58,000 square miles of forest—an area larger than Greece.[4]



Learn More:
Meatless Monday
Health Benefits of Reduced Meat Consumption
Beef Consumption at 50 Year Low

Sources:
[1] http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM
[2] http://www.sierraclub.org/sustainable_consumption/toolkit/choosing.pdf
[3] http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/
[4] http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html

Beef Consumption at 50 Year Low

Meat consumption in the United States dropped for the fourth year in a row with beef consumption at a fifty year low.[1] Whether this drop in meat-eating is due to the global recession or the concerns of better-informed consumers for their personal health and the health of the planet, I hope this trend will continue. The health and environmental benefits of eating less meat are numerous and far-reaching . . . significantly affecting not only the individuals who curtail their carnivorous tendencies, but our planet as a whole and all of its inhabitants.

Learn More:
Meatless Monday

Health Benefits of Reduced Meat Consumption

Environmental Benefits of Reduced Meat Consumption

Source:
[1] http://www.dailylivestockreport.com/documents/dlr%201-5-2012.pdf