Getty Images \ Erik Dreyer
READ MORE ABOUT:
Go Green This Summer: By the Numbers
- About 63 percent: of backyard BBQs in the U.S. are fired up with briquettes, but using them to cook up a standard hamburger results in 105 times more carbon monoxide than if you cooked it on a propane grill. Briquettes also give off a whole lot of harmful Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs when lit, and they’re something we can all breathe easier without.
- More than 70 percent: of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but less than 1 percent of it is actually drinkable. With much of that drying up through desertification or becoming too contaminated for human consumption, it’s clear that rethinking old water-use habits is a really important part of greening the future.
- 20,462 tons: The amount of CO2 according to Terrapass, a family of four heading from NYC to LA in their gas-guzzling 2007 Ford Explorer (4WD) would save over that same trip by air. Of course they may not be sane when they get there, but they’ll certainly have done their part to help cool the planet!
- 67 percent: of Americans a recent survey showed stress the importance of eco-friendly travel, and more than half (65 percent) state that it would somewhat impact their decision to stay at a hotel if they knew it was using solar or wind energy. In the same survey, 63 percent of respondents said they would pay a little more to rent a hybrid vehicle or stay at a "green" hotel, and 52% said they’d be willing to donate a small portion of their vacation budget to protecting the environment when booking a trip.
- 2,500 and 4,000 kilometers: the distance the ingredients for the average meal typically travel which is a 25 percent increase from 1980 alone. Ultimately, the average meal today uses up to 17 times more petroleum products and carbon dioxide emissions than an entirely local meal.
SOURCES: TreeHugger, Lenntech, PR Newswire, Worldwatch Institute
-
- {}
