Going For Green
Allison Dianis, Rosa Wu, Erin Dianis
Brian Dianis
1-847-458-9572
Power Down
Polar bear at Memphis Zoo – Photo by Allison Dianis
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Assignment 1: Project Outline
We plan on collecting recyclables, such as batteries and aluminum cans, from local
businesses and residents. We also are going to start a website containing information on ways to
reduce global warming with links to pledge for each item, therefore enabling us to calculate the
resources saved.
Assignment 2: What Did We Do and How Did We Do It
In our project we collected cans from a local neighborhood and from one business. We
also created a website, goingforgreen.webs.com, to inform people about how they could help the
environment by doing little things. However, the focus of the website was to get people to pledge
to help the Earth. We posted many links
for people to pledge to do certain
things like cutting their shower time
This shows the amount of cans we collected after just 3
weeks. The garbage can is also full.
by one minute and planting a tree.
In total, we got 53 signature
but many of them pledged to do
beyond what we asked, like cutting 5
minutes from their shower time
instead of just one. We also had a
former team finalist, Canuck
Nanooks, help us enormously by
planting 1,250 trees. We collected
1,486 cans, which was 33.9 pounds of
cans worth $17.54 and all profits are
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to be donated to Polar Bears International. We also have addition cans to recycle but we have
not had time to turn them in.
At this point in time,
our Facebook© page
has 87 members.
As the project we on, we
encountered many problems. First
of all, a major problem was from
the lack of participation from
neighborhood in our can collection.
Most of the cans that we collected
were from the local small business.
We also had some problems of
getting people to sign our pledges.
In our first few weeks, we barely
had any signatures, but we solved
problem after a couple of e-mail
blasts and advertising we did on
several different websites, such as
Facebook©, howrse.com, zooadmin.net, and zootycoonwildlife.aforumfree.com.
We were also ecstatic every time that we received an e-mail from anyone who saw us
advertising our website. They all applauded our work and even gave us a few suggestions. We
really were not expecting the response that we received. We thought that it would have been a lot
harder to get people to participate and help us out, but the answer we got was fantastic. We were
also pleasantly surprised to find out the impact of our project! We accomplished a lot more than
we thought that we did.
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Assignment 3: CO2
Part 1 – Report of our results
We established a website on webs.com that contained information on going green and had a
page of links to online
www.goingforgreen.webs.com, our website for this project.
petitions that people
could sign, pledging to
make a small change to
make a different in the
planet. We also collected
aluminum cans from a
local restaurant and a
local neighborhood.
Change 1 Traditional Light Bulb to a CFL Bulb
12 pledges to change 1 light bulb + 2 pledges to change 3 bulbs = 14 light bulbs
1 bulb = 822 lbs over 5 yrs / 5 yrs = 164.4 per yr
164.4 per yr x 14 bulbs = 2,301.6 lbs of CO2 per year
1 car = 17 bulbs, 14 bulbs / 17 bulbs x 100 = 82.4% of a car off the road for 1 yr
Use Reusable Bags
9 pledges to use reusable bags
1 bag = 23.14 kg CO2 per year x 2.202 = 50.95 lbs per year
50.95 lbs x 9 pledges = 458.59 lbs CO2 per year
Use a Reusable Water Bottle
5 pledges to use reusable water bottles
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production of 2 bottles = 1 kg CO2
365 water bottles x 1 kg = 365 kg CO2 x 2.202 = 803.73 lbs of CO2 per year
803.73 lbs x 5 pledges = 4018.65 lbs of CO2 per year
Reduce Your Shower Time by 1 Minute
2 pledges for 5 minutes + 8 pledges for 1 minute = 18 minutes
1 minute of water running in the shower = 8.5 gallons
18 minutes x 8.5 gallons = 153 gallons per day
144.5 gallons x 365 days = 55,845 gallons per year
(52742.5 gallons) x (1 MG/ 1,000,000 gal) x (1450 kWh/MG) = 80.98 kWh per yr
(76.48 kWh) x (1.37 lb CO2/kWh) = 110.94 lbs CO2 per year
http://www.science20.com/science_mom/i_wanna_go_green_so_show_me_the_math, a site
that helped us calculated the CO2 emissions involving water.
Turn the Water Off When Brushing Your Teeth
6 pledges to turn the water off when brushing your teeth
7.5 gallons x 2 times per day = 15 gallons per day
15 gallons x 6 pledges = 90 gallons per day x 365 days = 32850 gallons per year
(32850 gallons) x (1 MG/ 1,000,000 gal) x (1450 kWh/MG) = 47.63 kWh per yr
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(47.63 kWh) x (1.37 lb CO2/kWh) = 65.25 lbs CO2 per year
Plant a Tree
1 pledge of 1 tree + 1 pledge of 1,250 trees = 1,252 trees
1 tree = 50 lbs of CO2 per year
1,251 trees x 50 lbs = 62,600 lbs of CO2 per year
Vegetable Garden
Not enough credible information to calculate, total of 7 signatures
Lower Your Thermostat 2 Degrees in the Winter
3 pledges
420 pounds of CO2 per year x 3 pledges = 1,260 lbs of CO2 per year
Aluminum Cans We Collected
$17.54 / $.40 per lb x 33.9 cans per lb = 1,486.515 cans
TV used 263 kWh per year for 3 hrs per day/ 365 days = .721 kWh per 3 hours
.721 kWh per 3 hours / 3 hrs x 2 = .480 kWh per 2 hours
1 aluminum can = energy for 2 hrs of TV
.480 kWh x 1486.515 cans = 713.5272 kWh saved
713.5272 kWh x 1.37 lbs CO2/kWh = 977.53 lbs of CO2
Total CO2 saved = 71,840.19 lbs per year
Total gallons of water saved = over 88695 gallons per year
Total kWh saved = 128.61 kWh per year, 713.5272 kWh from recycling cans
Part 2 – Our sources
CLF Bulbs
◦ http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3585_30068_30172-90210--,00.html
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Reuseable Bags
◦ http://www.dothegreenthing.com/wiki/display/WIKI/Transport+your+food+more+ec
ologically+-+don%27t+use+a+plastic+bag
◦ http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/metric_conversion_chart.html
Reusable Water Bottle
◦ http://timeforchange.org/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-definition
◦ http://www.ci.stillwater.mn.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={621B1F73-177940B7-A734-DD2F0098819C}
◦ http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/metric_conversion_chart.html
Shower Savings
◦ http://www.wsscwater.com/home/jsp/content/water-usagechart.faces
◦ http://www.science20.com/science_mom/i_wanna_go_green_so_show_me_the_math
Water Saved When Brushing Teeth
◦ http://www.wsscwater.com/home/jsp/content/water-usagechart.faces
◦ http://www.science20.com/science_mom/i_wanna_go_green_so_show_me_the_math
Tree Absorbtion
◦ http://www.carbonify.com/carbon-calculator.htm
Save Energy in Winter
◦ http://www.carbonify.com/carbon-calculator.htm
Aluminum Cans
◦ http://www.oberlin.edu/recycle/facts.html
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◦ http://www.container-recycling.org/facts/aluminum/data/UBCcalculate.htm
◦ http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/appliances/small_appl.html
◦ http://www.science20.com/science_mom/i_wanna_go_green_so_show_me_the_math
Assignment 4: Impact on the Community
We have seen quite a few fundamental changes within our community. By directly
contacting our friends concerning what we were doing for the project, we received a lot of help
from our them, ranging from spreading the word through Facebook© or actually signing the
petition themselves. Also, a few people who we do not know personally signed our petitions,
showing that our project has affected a larger spectrum of people than we expected. In addition,
we have noticed that when people did stop us when we were wearing our Project Polar Bear
shirts that people seem sincerely interested in what we have to say. For example, one time when
we collecting cans, while wearing our t-shirts, a group of middle school students stopped us to
ask about our cause and what we were doing. We explained that we were collecting cans to
recycle and to save the polar bears. They told us that the remembered the flyer that we had
passed out in their neighborhood the previous week.
Assignment 5: Impacts on Us
Rosa –
This project has not only influenced me it has also influenced my family to be
more environmentally friendly. In an effort to do more for my cause I tell people how the
little bad things they do affect the environment. For example, usually in a week, my
cousins and I would go through about 20 plastic water bottles. We would never recycle
the used bottles because it was too much of a hassle. But now, from this project’s
influence on us, we recycle them when we can. We just store all the water bottles in one
place and when we have time, we would just take it down to the recycling center. We also
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recycle a lot more paper by the blank side of old worksheets as scrap paper. I have also
cut down my shower time from 15 minutes to 8 minutes.
Allison -
This project reinforced some of what I had already been doing. By researching for
this project, I discovered how much some of the simple things I do actually help the
planet, such as turning the water off when brushing my teeth, using a reusable water
bottle, and using CFL bulbs. It also motivated me to take more steps to live a greener life,
like eating more organic foods and shortening my shower time even more. I have
specifically learned just how much carbon dioxide the reusable water bottle I’ve had for
two and a half years has saved, making me very proud of what I have accomplished. I
also feel as if I have set an example for others, especially the example I set during lunch,
bringing a reusable water bottle and a lunchbox with reusable containers.
Erin -
This project has affected me in so many different ways. I now bring a reusable
water bottle every day to school and to soccer. I feel that I am setting an example with my
friends by bringing a reusable water bottle to school. I have also noticed that now more
people are bringing reusable water bottle bottles to soccer practice. Also, because of this
project I now take shorter showers and I turn off the lights when I am done in a room. A
few times I have turned off a light when someone was in the room and opened the blinds
to let in natural light. This project
has affected me in many different
ways and has had a positive effect
on my life.
Allison
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Erin
Rosa