Environment

Environment

Environment

The Environmental Action Team 

Our new Environmental Team met in April 2023 for their first meeting. Our purpose will be to educate ourselves and LWVOP members as we work together on environmental issues at both the state and local level. Issues could address current legislation along with deforestation, conservation easements, safe water, sanitation, landfills, recycling, reducing food waste. These and many others will also relate to environmental justice. 

Of special interest to the group is local and home composting, especially eliminating food waste thrown into local trash that ends up emitting methane. Methane is a gas sixty times more potent than CO2 in heating our planet. Team members are also gathering information about where plastic can be recycled in our area and how to eliminate the use of plastic in our own lives including our own LWVOP events. 

Look for the environmental “Tip of the Month — Just One Thing” campaign that will share ideas that LWVOP members can use to help save our planet by lowering our own carbon emitting footprints and by sharing these ideas with friends, family, or other organizations. See the first tip below that can help eliminate those huge plastic laundry detergent containers from ending up in a landfill for 1000 or more years. 

If you are interested in joining our team, please let Ellie Taylor know at elptyl [at] bellsouth.net.  The environmental team will meet again on May 10 at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom.  

“JUST ONE THING” 

A new monthly tip will be appearing in The VOTER as well as on the LWVOP website at lwvop.org.  Be on the lookout for our monthly TIP and remember  “Every Day is Earth Day!”  Past "Tips of the Month" are here.

TIP OF THE MONTH FOR SEPTEMBER 2023
Climate Change Reduction Tip 

COMPOSTING: putting food scraps to good use by creating new soil.  

There are a variety of commercial composters available online or in local stores.  Or you can build a small, fenced area outside.  You will need a balance of green materials—which are fresh, moist plant materials—and brown materials, which are dry, carbon-rich plant materials with no life in them. 

Green/wet materials :

  • Fruit and vegetable scraps
  • Eggshells
  • Grass clippings
  • Coffee ground/filters and tea leave/tea bags with staples 

Brown/dry materials:

  • Dry/dead leaves
  • Wood chips and wood ash
  • Straw
  • Chopped up twigs
  • Dryer lint
  • Paper towels or napkins 

NOTE:  Composting meat or dairy in your compost pile can cause unpleasant odors and attract vermin.  

For convenience you can keep a container in your kitchen then transfer to a composter. Turn the pile over to encase the newly added items.  Compost is ready to use when it looks, feels and smells like rich, dark earth.