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OKAEE Documentation
501(c)(3) Documentation Letter 1045 Contact Information OKAEE PO Box 2382 Stillwater, OK 74076-2382 E-mail: info [at] okaee [dot] org Phone: (405) 521-2384 |
Use Less Stuff WeekPress ReleaseApril 9, 2002 The first Oklahoma Use Less Stuff Week has been set for April 18-24, 2001. The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is coordinating this campaign and partnering it with Earth Day held annually on April 22. Ellen Bussert, DEQ, says, "Since Using Less Stuff is something everyone can easily do to celebrate Earth Day April 22, we thought combining these events would be helpful to Oklahoma citizens." Although Americans continue to recycle at higher rates, the massive amount of trash sent to landfill sites continues to grow. The United States Environmental Protection Agency reported that in 1990, the national average of waste was 2.46 pounds per person, per day. However, Oklahomans continue to average 4 to 5 pounds of waste per person, per day. With 45 percent of Oklahoma's population now served by some type of recycling program, we should be doing better. However, to make a real impact on saving resources and energy, we must learn to not create so much waste in the first place, by reducing and reusing products and packaging. As with recycling, source reduction can be practiced effectively on a corporate, community, or personal level. It helps the environment, but it can also be financially rewarding. If you simply use less stuff, some good things will happen. For one thing, you'll save money every time you shop. Also, your town will save money. That's because the cost of preventing waste is zero, while the cost of recycling, not to mention landfilling, can be very expensive. Thus, prevention means more money for important services such as education, crime prevention, road maintenance and human services. Using Less Stuff therefore plays a major role in efforts to develop a sustainable society, one that makes efficient use of resources while minimizing impact on the environment. When speaking at the Oklahoma EE Expo in February, John C. Ryan, co-author of, Stuff, the Secret Lives of Everyday Things, described the impact of American consumers' habits, "We all agree that modern technology does wonders for us, but the American way of life has the biggest impact on the world's resources than any other country. We consume 120 pounds a day in resources. Americans comprise only five per cent of the world's population, yet we use 25 per cent of the world's energy. We own one-third of the world's cars, computers, paper and plastic. We consume one-fourth of the world's aluminum and one-fifth of its beef and coffee. We use or degrade forty per cent of the world's vegetation that grows each year, we use one-third of the fresh water used by inhabited regions, degrade two-thirds of the world's forests and three-fourths of its grasslands." Ryan, who does not even own a car, told the Expo crowd, "The issue of how we live and the choices we make in our daily life make impacts worldwide. Most of the resources needed to produce our 'stuff' are used behind the scenes somewhere and not seen by us, but everything we use has an ecological wake or a secret life." To foster a sustainable society, Americans must strive to Use Less Stuff. With the mounting support of government, non-profit organizations, business and the public, awareness of this vital issue will continue to grow dramatically. Oklahoma's Use Less Stuff campaign, spearheaded by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, provides information and promotional materials for interested citizens. Contact Susie Shields, Use Less Stuff campaign coordinator, at 405.702.5166 or susie.shields@deq.state.ok.us for more details. Back to the ULS page. |
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