Why Take this Challenge? While it may seem inconsequential to quickly grab a disposable cup, the cumulative effect of doing so day in and day out takes a tool on the environment. Production of disposable coffee cups requires the consumption of natural resources, including trees, water, and energy (which is likely heavily reliant on fossil … Continued

Why Take this Challenge? Many consider the holidays the most wonderful time of the year. Our tradition of gift wrapping also helps to make the holidays the most wasteful time of the year. Wrapping paper alone counts for a significant volume of waste during the holiday season. After that paper has been torn from the … Continued

Why Take this Challenge? The holidays are a wonderful time for connection with family and friends. Showing your affection for others is a powerful expression but must it be in the form of a physical gift? Let’s face it – trying to read the tea leaves to guess what a friend or family member might … Continued

Why Take this Challenge? Litter is a troubling problem. We can find it virtually anywhere – our cities, our suburbs, even our national parks. It is sickening to think that our only way to escape it’s seeming omnipresence is by penetrating to the deepest parts of the world’s uninhabited places. Even then, we may not … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? Stormwater (rain and snow) flushes material into storm drains, including trash, dirt, oil and other pollutants. Some stormwater goes to water treatment facilities and is treated and released into Lake Erie, clean and clear. However, when rains are heavy sewers can overflow, sending untreated water – including raw sewage and other … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? Turning off lights saves energy and it also saves money. To calculate how much energy you save for every hour each light bulb in your house is switched off, first check the watt rating printed on it. If the bulb is a 60-watt bulb and it is off for one hour, … Continued

While more flying is great news for people who love to travel, it’s bad news for the environment. Flights were responsible for 2.4 percent of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2018 — a figure expected to grow more than threefold by 2050. In the face of aviation’s rising emissions problem, the United Nations created … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? We spend billions each year on something that’s forgotten in minutes. According to a report from Sundale Research, Americans spent $12.7 billion on gift wrap in 2017. The majority of wrapping paper, ribbons, and gift bags are not recyclable in most circumstances, according to Earth911. The glossy, laminated finish makes gift … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? While more flying is great news for people who love to travel, it’s bad news for the environment. Flights were responsible for 2.4 percent of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2018 — a figure expected to grow more than threefold by 2050. In the face of aviation’s rising emissions problem, … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? Organic food is produced without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and hormones. Food that does not meet this criteria is often called non-conventional and conventional practices are more taxing on our soil and water. While all of the impacts of conventional agriculture have nott been studied yet, disruptions to natural food chains, toxic … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? Employers often make decisions about waste based on how they can save money, and how they think their competitors are spending. Employees can influence these decisions by drawing attention to issues that impact their satisfaction at work, particularly if they make positive changes that can be advertised for public relations. Maybe … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? It is nearly impossible to leave your home and not see trash where it does not belong, especially if you live in a densely populated area. THere is lots of reason you bump into litter, from a blustery wind, to a curious raccoon, to a careless neighbor. Whose job is it … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? Packing lunch may save you money, but it’s not helping the environment to throw-away bags, packaging, and containers each day. Consider the packaging for foods specifically designed for lunches – personal-sized fruit cups, chip bags, and yogurt. Can you buy one larger package and make your own portions? Can you bring … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? When you think of being green, your first thought might be of lush green trees, and for good reason! In addition to offering you a nice, shady place to sit in the summer, trees do a ton of work to help improve the environment. One of the biggest ways that trees … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? Bad news for those of us who like to take long, hot showers- your cleaning routine is a huge water-waster! According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average shower is only 8 minutes long, but uses a whopping 18 gallons of water (https://www.epa.gov/watersense/shower-better ). And baths are even worse, using … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? If you are trying to reduce your carbon footprint, reducing your vehicle emissions is a great place to start. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 28% of the greenhouse gas emissions being released into the atmosphere come from vehicle transportation (https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks ). Additionally, driving a car requires … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? Your food often travels a great distance before it lands on your plate, and both the transportation and production of large-scale produce production takes a negative toll on the environment. Shipping food across the globe requires the use of busses, trains, airplanes, and ships, which all use oil and generate massive … Continued

What Is A Rain Barrel? A rain barrel is a container that is connected to your house downspouts in order to collect rainwater running off the house. The water travels down the downspout and gets stored in the container for future use. Rain barrels can be purchased from your local hardware store or made from … Continued

Last week we discussed the importance of recycling and where you can recycle if you do not have a city-wide recycling program. This week we will cover what you can recycle. It is extremely important to follow the recycling guidelines of your city to ensure that what you put in the recycling bin will be … Continued

What is happening? The City of Cleveland has not renewed its contract for recycling, so the contents of our recycling bins are now headed for the landfill every week.  Mayor Frank Jackson confirmed that the recycling contract had not been renewed because it becomes too costly to sort recyclable materials and blamed residents for not … Continued

What is Happening? The Trump administration finalized a substantial rollback of EPA rules and regulations under the Clean Water Act that will make it easier to discharge pollutant into America’s streams and waterways. The Clean Water Act was enacted in 1948 and significantly amended in 1972 with the goal to establish regulations around discharging pollutants … Continued

Why Take This Challenge? The Minimalism Challenge was developed by The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. It is a slightly easy way to remove clutter from your home and life. The premise is simple: Each day for 30 days, you get rid of that number of items. Day 1 is 1 item, Day … Continued