Fun Facts

Five W's of Water Shortage

What is Peak Oil?

Fun Facts

• The temperature below the frost line, year-round, is 58 degrees Fahrenheit –  only ten degrees below room temperature.
• The average home produces between six and 10 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
• If you stacked up all the tires in the world, the tower would reach half way to the moon.
• Creating an aluminum can from new materials takes 95% more energy than making that same can from recycled aluminum.
• Changing 16 standard incandescent bulbs in favour of compact fluorescent light bulbs reduces emissions equivalent to taking one motor vehicle off the road for a year. *

*Recent information shows that some persons may develop health problems as a result of being exposed to compact fluorescent bulbs. Health Canada has initiated a study to measure UV emissions and electromagnetic field exposure levels from compact flourescent lights. The results of this study are expected to be published by autumn of 2009. LED bulbs are an eco-friendly alternative as well, although the current price of these bulbs may be somewhat prohibitive for the average family. Be sure you are fully informed about any eco-decision you make for your household before implementing it.

• In the average North American household, 40% of all electric power used by home electronics is consumed while the devices are turned off.
• A typical home solar energy system pays for itself with the cost savings from lower energy bills in 11 to 15 years. (Based on a 40-60 per cent supply system 
• More than 1,000,000,000 people - or 1 in 6 people globally - lack access to a safe drinking water. Water-born diseases are responsible for the majority of deaths worldwide.
• A family of four using low-flow showerheads instead of standard models can save between 15,000 and 20,000 gallons of water annually.
• Microwaves are up to five times more efficient than electric ovens. If every North American cooked only with their microwave for one full year,  it would save as much energy as Africa consumes during that same timeframe.
• In the next 20 years the world must increase its water supply by more than 20 percent. Meanwhile, 40 percent of water supplied to homes in North America is flushed down the toilet. 
• About 1/6^th  of the wood delivered to a construction site isn’t used. It ends up in the landfill as wood waste scraps.
• One half of the forests that originally covered half of the Earth's land surface are gone. Only one fifth of the Earth's original forests remain intact.
• Only 10% of the energy used by an incandescent bulb produces light; the rest is given off as heat.

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The Five W's of Water Shortage

Water … we are 75% water . . .our planet is 75% water. Unfortunately, only 3% of our planet’s available water is fresh water. What’s worse, 68% of that is locked up in the polar icecaps. Click here for a closer look at how Earth's water is distributed.

Add industrial waste, acid rain and global warming into the mix and you start to see how vital it is to have a safe supply of water, free of contamination and ready to use at the flip of a switch.

In North America, we take our water resources for granted. We allow it to escape foolishly with leaky fixtures, we use it unnecessarily in yard care and irrigation, and we wash countless harmful cleaning products down the drain every day.

Use biodegradable, low-phosphate cleaning products, irrigate with waste water, capture rainwater for your garden and don’t run the faucet any longer than necessary. We all need to treat our water resource with more respect. In the long run it’s more valuable than gold. Seventy-five per cent of your body is not made up of gold . . .

• Who?
  • Everyone
• What?
  • Needs to protect their water resources
• When?
  • Today and every day
• Where?
  • At home, at school, at work
• Why?
  • So it’s there for you and your children in the future

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What is Peak Oil?.

Peak Oil is a term that was coined in the last decade referring to a point when humankind will reach the crest of oil production globally. At this point, all of the oil which has been easy to find and extract will have already been taken. 

The downhill side of this Bell curve will be a slippery slope as supply will no longer be able to provide for the demand. It is hypothesized that prices will spike and our oil driven global economy will be in danger of collapse. 

Many speculate this point in time is still 20 years off. Others speculate we have already reached it, citing the exploitation of the tar sands as the oil industry’s last ditch effort to survive. Whether Peak Oil has already happened or is yet to come, oil is being burnt faster than it is being created in the earth’s crust. Our hunger for it grows daily as developing nations long to be more like Europe and North America. Besides, why shouldn’t everyone in the world enjoy the luxuries we have in North America? Why shouldn’t each of the one billion citizens of China drive an SUV and take vacations to tropical destinations? Imagine the problems that might bring. But then again, you may not have to imagine it … 

Alternative forms of energy need to be found in order to maintain our present quality of life and social order. Although there have been incredible advances in solar, wind, geothermal, inter-tidal and hydrogen energy in the past decade, still more needs to be done if we are to kick our fossil-fuel addiction. 

It may be cliche, but the truth of it is, if you’re not part of the solution, you really are part of the problem. Click here to learn more about the Peak Oil crisis.

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