Kidz Zone

Earth Day was started in 1970 by a man named John Mc Connell. It is celebrated on April 22 worldwide. Earth Day is a very special day for all of us to think about earth issues. It is not only a special day in Towne Lake, but a day that the whole world participates in! There are many celebrations and events all around and here are some fun facts about conserving and recycling.

Donald Kyle is the Children's Editor for The TowneLaker. He is in Mrs. Chester's second grade class at Bascomb Elementary. Donald is also the son of Gina Carr and Don Kyle.

• Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees.

• The energy we save when we recycle one glass bottle is enough to light a light bulb for four hours.

• Each person throws away approximately four pounds of garbage every day.

• One bus carries as many people as 40 cars!

• More than 1/3 of all energy is used by people at home.

• Most families throw away about 88 pounds of plastic every year.

• We each use about 12,000 gallons of water every year.

• 1/3 of all water is used to flush the toilet.

• The 500 million automobiles on earth burn an average of 2 gallons of fuel a day.

• Approximately 5 million tons of oil produced in the world each year ends up in the ocean.

• Approximately 50 acres of rain forest are destroyed every minute.

• The amount of wood and paper we throw away each year is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years.

• Earth is 2/3 water, but all the fresh water streams only represent one hundredth of one percent.

• 14 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the ocean every year.

• It takes 90% less energy to recycle aluminum cans than to make new ones.

• 5 billion aluminum cans are used each year.

• 84 percent of all household waste can be recycled.

• A tiny leak in the sink can waste up to 6,000 gallons of water every month.

• For every 2,000 pounds of paper (1 ton) recycled, we save 7,000 gallons of water free from chemicals.

• Approximately 10 percent of every landfill can be cleaned up.

• Ivory comes from dead elephants. Consider not buying these.

• Fur coats often come from endangered animals. Consider not buying these.

• One gallon of motor oil can contaminate up to 2 million gallons of water. So dispose properly!

Here is an example of the water we use everyday:

 3 — 7 gallons for toilet
25 — 30 gallons for tub
50 — 70 gallons for a 10 minute shower
1 washing machine load uses 25 — 40 gallons
1 dishwasher load uses 9 — 12 gallons

Here is an example of how long it takes some things to break down:

 plastics take 500 years
aluminum cans take 500 years
organic materials take 6 months
cotton, rags, and paper take 6 months