- “To the dull mind nature is leaden. To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light.” --Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Kentucky has 89,431 miles of rivers and streams, and 637,000 acres of wetlands. - Kentucky Division of Water
- In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his or her adult weight in garbage. This means that each adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 lbs of trash for his or her children.
- “If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.” -- Rachel Carson
- 200 million gallons of oil are improperly disposed of each year. One gallon of oil can contaminate close to 1 million gallons of drinking water.
- How long does it take to break down? Plastics take 500 years. Aluminum cans take 500 years. Organic materials take 6 months. Cotton, rags and paper take 6 months.
- “Now I see the secret of making the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.” -- Walt Whitman
- Fix leaky faucets: 100 drops a minute wastes 350 gallons per month. - Kentucky Rural Water Association
- One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year.
- “Tug on anything at all and you'll find it connected to everything else in the universe.” -- John Muir
- 14 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the ocean every year.
- Recycle that Hershey’s Kiss wrapper! More than 20 million Hershey’s Kisses are wrapped each day using 133 square miles of tinfoil. Many people don’t realize all that tin is recyclable.
- “If you are thinking a year ahead, sow a seed;<br>If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant a tree;<br>If you are thinking a hundred years ahead, educate the people.”--Kuhn Stu
- Earth is 2/3 water, but all the fresh water streams only represent one hundredth of one percent (0.01%) of that total.
- Approximately 70% of the garbage Americans create is compostable, including wood, paper, yard waste and food waste.
- “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” -- Aldo Leopold
- Typical daily water usage: 3-7 gallons for toilet, 25-30 gallons for tub, 50-70 gallons for a 10-minute shower, 25-40 gallons for 1 washing-machine load, 9-12 for 1 dishwasher load.
- The energy saved from recycling 1 aluminum can is enough to run a TV set for 3 hours and a 100 watt light bulb for 4 hours.
- “The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.” -- EE Cummings
- Approximately 5 million tons of oil produced in the world each year ends up in the ocean.
- Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees.
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