Marine Conservation - Conservation of Marine Life and Habitats

Conservation and protection of marine life is becoming more important as we better understand the importance of the oceans and our impacts on them. Learn about conservation issues, current events and threats to marine life, ways to help the ocean and how to become an ocean activist.

CONSERVING WILDLIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative.

Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems. Deserts, rain forests, plains, and other areas—including the most developed urban sites—all have distinct forms of wildlife. While the term in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by human factors, most scientists agree that wildlife around the world is impacted by human activities.

Humans have historically tended to separate civilization from wildlife in a number of ways including the legal, social, and moral sense. This has been a reason for debate throughout recorded history. Religions have often declared certain animals to be sacred, and in modern times concern for the natural environment has provoked activists to protest the exploitation of wildlife for human benefit or entertainment. Literature has also made use of the traditional human separation from wildlife.

Energy Efficiency

The following tips will help curb energy use at home:Turn down the Thermostat. Ideally, keep your home heated to 68 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 60 at night. Use extra blankets and sweaters instead of turning up the heat. Likewise, in the summer, dress cool to save on air conditioning costs and energy.

Lower your water temperature. Turn your heater down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. You'll cut your water-heating costs by 6-10 percent.Purchase Energy Efficient Products and Equipment. By looking for the Energy Star label on products and equipment, you can reduce your energy bill by 30 percent and your electric lighting charges by 40 percent while cutting pollution.

Insulate the house. Make sure your house is well insulated and, if heated or cooled, never leave windows or doors open. Raise shades on winter days; lower them in the summer. Seal all leaks. Block windows and doors with weatherstrip tape and inexpensive door sweeps and install blinds to reduce outside heat transfer. Install storm windows—they are added insulation for your home.
Insulate pipes and fixtures. Insulate the hot water heater and heating and cooling pipes. An insulation blanket for a water heater will pay for itself in a year or less and will reduce heat loss by 25-40 percent. Seal little holes around water pipes and stuff insulation into big holes around plumbing fixtures. Also, by covering waterbeds, you produce insulation and save up to 1/3 of the energy it uses.

Replace your showerhead. By using a low-flow showerhead, you reduce water consumption and energy usage to heat the water. They pay for themselves in only four months.Turn unused appliances and equipment off. Turn off equipment and lights at night and on weekend - unplug appliances when they are not in use.Use fluorescent lighting. By replacing your light fixtures with energy conserving fluorescent bulbs, you will save 75 percent of the energy used with incandescent bulbs. If you currently have fluorescent lighting, consider using a more efficient type that has an electronic ballast that burns cooler.

Clean or replace filters regularly. Be sure to check furnace, air-conditioner, and heat pump filters regularly. By cleaning your heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment, your units will last longer, avoid costly down time, and improve indoor air quality.Increase natural light. Paint your exterior and interior walls in a light color so more light is reflected. Paint the edges of the window in white so more light reflected inside. During the day, open blinds to bring in natural light instead of turning on lights.

Reduce paper usage. By double siding on copiers, reusing single-sided paper, using electronic mail, and circulating documents with routing slips, an organization can save a significant amount of energy and natural resources. One ton of waste paper saves enough energy to power an average home for 6 months.Use public transportation or carpool. Not only does this save energy costs, but it extends the life of your vehicle.

Water Conservation

More efficient water use begins with individuals, in the home and place of work. Heating and pumping water requires chemicals and energy. When we waste less water, we conserve fuel, and reduce the pollution generated by burning fuel and treating water with chemicals. Taking these and other steps, and encouraging others to do so, makes good economic as well as environmental sense.

In the Bathroom

• Install a toilet dam or plastic bottle in your toilet tank.
  
• Install a water-efficient showerhead (2.5 gallons or less per minute).
  
• Take short showers and draw less water for baths.
  
• When you buy a new toilet, purchase a low flow model (1.6 gallons or less per flush).
  
• Check your toilet for "silent" leaks by placing a little food coloring in the tank and seeing if it leaks into the bowl.
  
• Turn off water while brushing teeth and shaving.

In the Kitchen or Laundry

• Compost your food scraps rather than using a garbage disposal in your sink.
  
• Keep a gallon of drinking water in the refrigerator rather than running the tap for cold water.
  
• Run your washing machine with a full load of clothes. Wash with warm water instead of hot, rinse with cold water instead of warm. Wash with cold water when you can. (When possible) hang your wash out to dry.
  

Outdoors

• Install a drip-irrigation water system for valuable plants.
  
• Use drought-tolerant plants and grasses for landscaping and reduce grass-covered areas.
  
• Cut your grass at least three inches high to shade the roots, making it more drought tolerant; keep your mower sharp for the healthiest grass.
  
• Try to water only in the evening or very early morning to minimize evaporation.
  
• If you use porous pavement (gravel is a good example) instead of asphalt for driveways and walkways, the rain can recharge groundwater supplies instead of running off and contributing to erosion.
  
• Use a broom instead of a hose to clean off your driveway or sidewalk.
  
• Wash your car less often or wash it at a car wash where they clean and recycle the water. If you do wash your car at home, use a bucket of soapy water rather than running the hose.
• Keep a spring-loaded nozzle on the hose.

CONSERVE WATER PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Water conservation refers to reducing the usage of water and recycling of waste water for different purposes like cleaning , manufacturing , agriculture etc.

Call for reluctant Earth revolutionaries to unite and slay the economic growth machine consuming ecological being.
A disease is ravaging Earth as ever more people, consume ever more, destroying natural ecosystems that are our shared habitat. In a few short centuries the violent, expansionist and deeply ecologically unsustainable Western mindset has become virtually universally accepted. The meaning of life is more, ever more of everything, at the expense of a finite biosphere. The emptiness of such a vacuous worldview is revealed through changing climate, devastating human inequities and an irredeemably corrupt economic system.
More than just a climate crisis, humanity is facing profound over-population and injustice that are spurring dozens of inter-related ecological and social crises. Billions suffer as their basic human needs go unmet, while billions more gorge themselves. Forests, prairies, streams, rivers, estuaries, wetlands, lakes, soil, oceans, air and all the rest are all life's flesh and blood. Humanity, Earth and kindred species have entered the late stage condition of ecological overshoot -- whereby our cumulative demands upon ecosystems exceed their life-giving capacity and cause them to collapse.
We are eating creation. Hardly anyone is thinking or acting at the necessary scale to avert global ecological Armageddon. Market based solutions are pervasive with corruption and inequity. Nothing we do is going to maintain an affluent life, as it is now for some. Widespread economic decline will certainly accompany abrupt climate change and global ecosystem collapse; indeed, it has begun. If existing political systems are unable to deal with the inevitable collapse of the growth machine, at the same time as pursuing rigorous environmental policy-making, then new political structures will be necessary.

Why should you consider ways to conserve or save electricity?

The first point is electricity is an outcome from other energy sources. To put this into perspective, during 2006 in the US, about 49% of electricity was generated from burning coal, nuclear about 19%, whereas geothermal, solar, wind and biomass each contribute about 1% or less.

This explains my second point which is a majority of the electricity generated in the US during 2006 came from non-renewable energy sources.

We can expect this to change over time, perhaps more rapidly. This is my third point in the sense the innovations which led to our situation today will likely carry forward with even more evolution. With increased focus by everyone with applying energy saving tips, development and adoption of new technologies the next 100 years should be interesting.

In the meantime, my suggestion is to look for ways to conserve or save electricity in your household. I believe you will find that when you conserve electricity in your home will not necessarily change your lifestyle or comfort level.

BEST WAY TO CONSERVE ENERGY-USE ENERGY SAVING LIGHT BULBS TO CONSSERVE ELECTRICITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the best ways to conserve energy in your home is installing energy star qualified energy saving light bulbs, replacing those old incandescent bulbs. This is by far one of the easy if not best ways to save energy in the home. By doing so you will surely cut conserve electricity and cut your bills. Are you still not convinced on why we should use energy saver light bulbs to conserve energy in the home?

The most significant point is first to see where you are spending and therefore potential for saving energy. In the average house electricity costs for lighting normally amount to about 12% of your annual energy costs. This gives an indication that there is some opportunity here for energy conservation. So your first step could be to take a look at your monthly electricity bill and do a quick calculation.

So what are these energy saver light bulbs?

They are known as compact fluorescent lamps (CFL’s) and combine the energy efficiency of florescent lighting that has been used in the commercial sector for decades. The only difference is now instead of long fluorescent tubes, you have energy saving light bulbs that fit into common lamp fixtures in your home. This makes the change one of the more easy ways to conserve energy.

What’s in it for you?

For starters energy saving CFL light bulbs consume about 75% less electricity than normal incandescent light bulbs. That is a considerable energy savings potential which explains why they are considered to be one of the main ways to conserve energy in the house. Did you know that incandescent light bulbs have been around sicne the very early days of electricity? maybe you may want to read up on the history of electricity and related timelines.
Additionally, the lifespan of these low energy light bulbs is up to 10 times longer than your normal bulbs. With that in mind, when you replace incandescent bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs, the overall energy savings (your electricity) is compounded over about 10 years.

Teaching Kids to Conserve

The EPA is educating children about energy-efficiency, and what they can do to help save our environment.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is teaming up with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and parent-teacher organizations to train the next generation of eco-conscious citizens. Through the EPA’s Change the World, Start with Energy Star campaign, the groups will focus on teaching kids about global warming.As part of the program, kids and their families will learn how to save energy by taking the Energy Star pledge, which includes switching to energy-efficient lighting, fully insulating homes, replacing energy hogs with more energy-efficient appliances and other home energy saving tips. Already, more than 2 million Americans have taken the pledge. According to Energy Star, if every American household followed suit, we would save $18 billion in annual energy costs.
Continue reading about the campaign at Energy Star's Change the World webpage.