Entry bubble Earth Day…Is Every Day

By: Joanne | April 29, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

clouds, sky and horses

Earth Day was last week—remember? You know Earth Day is more than just a day to feel guilty and obligated to plant a tree, don’t you? The first Earth Day was organized to make people think about ecology, encourage respect for life on earth, and to heighten awareness of soil, air and water pollution.

Earth Day is a reminder that environmental responsibility is every one's responsibility, and the choices you make every day can protect or pollute the environment. Start at home by making sure that your home is as energy-efficient as it can be. Not only will it save energy, but it’s going to save you money, and I think we can all agree that we’d like to pay less to heat and cool our homes.

The Environmental Protection Agency has lots of ideas for reducing air pollution and conserving energy, using water wisely, and making environmentally friendly choices.

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Entry bubble Make Every Day Earth Day

By: Editor | April 22, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

In honor of Earth Day, we welcome guest blogger Jeffrey Levy, who has worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency since 1993. He started out protecting the ozone layer and is now EPA's Web Content Manager.

Jeffrey and a friend sitting on a mountaintop

"Environmental protection."  To me, that phrase often raises images of massive cleanups, scientists taking water samples, and courtrooms. But it's also about individual choices that add up to big differences.  For instance, even my kids know to turn out the lights and toss cans in the recycling.  And Earth Day is all about learning what you can do.

But as fun as Earth Day can be, it's not enough to pay attention to the environment one day a year.  So as corny as my title is, how can you make it a reality?

To start, check out our Earth Day site, where you can:

  • Get daily environmental tip emails or use our widget to put them on your own site
  • Listen to podcasts
  • Read how to help protect the environment at home, at school, etc.

Staying on EPA's site, talk to us in our brand-new blog, Greenversations.  I get to talk to EPA employees all over the country who will be writing, and they've got some great stories.  For example, did you know EPA has a professional team of SCUBA divers?

If those links aren't enough to keep you busy, check out USA.gov's info about the environment from other agencies.

Reading's interesting, but get out there!  For me, anyway, sitting on a mountaintop reminds me why environmental protection matters.  Take a hike, find a federal camping spot on recreation.gov, or take advantage of your state parks.

Okay, I've gone on long enough.  Now it's your turn: share what you're doing for Earth Day and how you can make it every day!

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Entry bubble Proper Prescription Drug Disposal

By: Sommer | April 04, 2008 | Category: Health

A recent study announced that pharmaceuticals like sex hormones, mood stabilizers, and acetaminophen were found in the U.S. drinkingblue pills spilling out of a pill bottle water supply. YIKES! When I read the article, it didn’t really strike close to home, until…

A couple weeks ago when my nesting instinct took me on a trip to the top shelf of my linen closet to a basket full of expired medications and first aid supplies.

So, this was my dilemma; do I contribute further to the problem by just cavalierly tossing the stuff in the trash like I had originally planned? Not if I can help it! But, what do I do? I’ve heard of some prescription drug take back programs but in my search I couldn’t find one in my local area. (I wish I lived in the Great Lakes Region – they’re collecting old pharmaceuticals to commemorate Earth Day – how cool!)

While there's lots of advice on taking meds, from what I could find, there's a lack of clear info about what to do if you no longer need the medicine and have to dispose of it. And, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m a little confused by the guidance on proper disposal – I’ve read, “Crush Don’t Flush” from the SmaRxt Disposal campaign but the ONDCP says that flushing is appropriate in certain circumstances.

I don’t feel fully comfortable that the instructions I found will completely protect the environment, but I guess it’s better than doing nothing. Here’s how I’ll dispose of my pills:

  1. Remove them from their original containers
  2. Crush the pills and put them in a sealable container – probably a plastic zipper bag
  3. I’ll add coffee grounds to the bag (they recommend mixing the crushed pills with an “undesirable substance”)
  4. Then I’ll throw the bag in the trash.

I’ll also be sure to remove any identifying information from prescription drug containers before I recycle them (if they’re recyclable, of course).

Here are some other resources I found:

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Entry bubble Going Green on St. Patrick's Day

By: Jake | March 17, 2008 | Category: General

Four Leaf Clover

Today is St. Patrick's Day, and it is a great holiday for me because the world is immersed in my favorite color. Most people with (this includes me) or without Irish-American heritage wear green, some bars dye beer green and cities like Chicago dye their rivers green.

While St. Patrick's day is an official holiday in Ireland, it is not a federal holiday in the U.S., so we probably won't see too many federal buildings in the U.S. with green banners. Federal agencies are starting to think green though. Last year President Bush signed an executive order that requires federal agencies to "go green" and achieve 11 goals in the coming years in order to become more environmentally friendly.

Here on GovGab we've posted about ways you can "go green" by recycling, composting, conserving water or even growing your own Christmas Tree and we still have a way to go before we cover every way you can conserve. In the meantime, take a look at the Environmental Protection Agency's website, and if you looking for a way you can go green today, check out these green St. Patrick's day recipes.

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Entry bubble EPA's 2008 Earth Day Photo Contest!

By: Jake | March 10, 2008 | Category: Fun

A Waterfall in Shenandoah National ParkWhen the weather starts to warm up and you start to itch with cabin fever, you now have a good reason to dust off your camera, put on your hiking boots and channel your inner Ansel Adams.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Earth Day 2008 Photo Contest starts today, and the winning picture will best depict EPA's mission to "protect human health and the environment." Anyone 18 and up can submit up to 3 photographs (that don't depict violence, drugs, nudity or hate) for which they own the copyright to the Flickr 2008 EPA Earth Day Photo Contest group (you will need to already have or create your own Flickr account) or by email.

Submissions are due by midnight EST on March 24 and must include the photographer's name, place where photo was taken and have up to a 3 sentence description. In April 10 finalists will be put into a special Flickr group so the public can choose a winner. Three winning photos (one from each photo entry category) will be announced on Earth Day and will be posted on the EPA homepage along with the other finalists. The winning photos may be used in EPA publications and materials in the future.

I wanted to take a few shots of my own for this post, but the weather hasn't been too conducive to photography (cold and/or rainy). Instead I looked to see if I had any photos that would fit into any of the three entry categories: Enjoying the Environment, Protecting the Environment and Nature and Wildlife. I took the waterfall picture while hiking in Shenandoah National Park. It's no Ansel Adams, but I think it would be a good entry for the Nature and Wildlife category. When the weather clears up, I plan to take more.

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