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Imagine living a typical day in a typical American life.  Perhaps you wake up and take a shower, using shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.  Then you dry your hair and add some styling product.  You empty the container and toss it in the trash.  You eat breakfast, wiping up a spill with a paper towel, and brush your teeth.  You leave and drive to work, and on your way you stop for a coffee from a drive-thru.  At work, you drink a can of soda and throw your can in the recycle bin when you are done.  Your nose gets a little sniffly and you use a few tissues. For lunch, your office orders out Chinese food and you eat from a plastic container using plastic utensils, wipe your mouth with a paper napkin, and discard the plastic and napkin when you are done.

Lunch is over and you have used over twelve disposable items already.

After work, you go to a friend’s house for a cookout.  The table is covered with a plastic tablecloth and everyone uses paper plates, plastic cups and silverware, and paper napkins.  You have a great time and go home after the party with a plastic container full of leftovers.

How many disposable items do you use every day?  How much plastic do you use in your life?

We have been trained to believe more in convenience than environmental impact.  Sure, it seems like no big deal to just use a plastic spoon, but consider the effort of washing a spoon versus the energy consumed to create, package and transport a plastic spoon that will just be thrown away after one use.  And consider that millions of other people are using disposable items that seem like no big deal.  We must consider the global impact of our actions and become more purposeful in our use of everyday items.

From plastic-wrapped single-serving food items to razors to feminine hygiene items to hairbrushes to sandwich bags, Americans use a lot of plastic.

Consider the following facts about plastics from reusethisbag.com:

• The average American will throw away 600 times their own body weight in waste products over their lifetime
• Plastics make up approximately 10% of generated waste – that’s 60 times your body weight in a lifetime for a typical American
• In one year, we create enough plastic wrap and film to cover the state of Texas
• Eight percent of the world’s oil is used to manufacture plastics, most of which end up in a landfill within a year of being produced
• All the plastic thrown away in one year is enough to circle the planet four times over
• Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles per hour – switching to a reusable container eliminates the need for 100 disposable bottles annually
• Plastic is the largest source of litter in the ocean (60-90% of marine debris), and we add 14 billion pounds of waste to the oceans annually
• Garbage in the ocean kills over 100,000 mammals and 1 million birds each year
• In one week, the world goes through 10 billion plastic bags, only 1% of which are recycled
• The chemical manufacturing of plastics creates pollutants that harm the environment
• Plastic bags do not biodegrade, but light can dissolve them into toxic particles that pollute the air, and burning plastics releases harmful fumes
• Plastic bags eventually degrade in a landfill – after 1,000 years
• It takes 12 million barrels of oil per year to produce plastic bags for average U.S. consumption
• The petroleum used to produce 13 plastic bags could drive a car for one mile
• Plastics buried in landfills can leach chemicals into groundwater
• Chemicals used to produce plastics can be absorbed by the human body, such as Bisphenol A (BPA), which is present in 92% of Americans over the age of six
• High exposure to BPA correlates with increased rates of heart disease and diabetes
• One ton of recycled plastic saves 5,774 kilowatt hours of electricity, 685 gallons of oil, 98 million BTUs of energy, and 30 cubic yards of space in landfills
• Recycling plastic materials takes 88% less energy than making new plastic, yet only 25% of plastic produced in the United States is recycled

And that’s just the plastic.

Considering paper disposables, Americans use facial tissues, napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, paper cups, paper bags, and more.  All of these disposable items take valuable resources from the Earth, like oil, water, and crops like trees and cotton, and give us a moment of convenience before we throw them back where they came from, oftentimes too processed to be broken back down into earth.  Landfills are taking up more and more space on our planet, as we find new places to throw away our garbage.

What can you do to reduce this waste?

Using disposable items is so commonplace, it can be hard to consider some reusable options.  Think about the following replacements for commonly disposable items:

Bath products in plastic bottles: Recycle the containers when you are done, then repurpose a glass jar (no BPA!) to make your own lotions, hair products, and body scrubs. Or consider a shampoo/soap bar without plastic packaging.

Batteries: Get rechargeable ones.  Properly dispose of batteries instead of throwing them out in the garbage where they can leak chemicals.

Dental hygiene items: Try a biodegradable bamboo toothbrush, vegan floss in a recyclable paperboard container, and DIY mouth rinses instead of harsh chemical mouthwash.

Diapers and wipes: Go cloth!  Diapers take hundreds of years to degrade in a landfill, since they are made with plastic.  The 21^st century’s cloth diapers have made incredible advances since the days of leaks and giant safety pins.  There are also eco-friendly biodegradable (disposable) diapers on the market.

Disposable cups and takeout containers: Sit down and stay a while.  Most coffee shops have mugs, glass cups, and real dishes for customers eating or drinking in the establishment.  Takeout restaurants often have a dine-in option as well.  Bring a to-go mug from home if you need to grab a drink on the run.

Feminine products: Consider silicone menstrual cups and washable cloth pads.  They can save you thousands of dollars over your lifetime, and they don’t come with the risk of toxic chemical byproducts, genetically modified cotton fibers, or toxic shock syndrome.

Food containers: Skip the plastic containers for leftovers and use glass instead.  It won’t leach chemicals into your food upon reheating and can usually travel between oven, fridge, and freezer with no issue.

Media: Purchasing music and movies digitally reduces plastic used in the production of CDs, DVDs, and their cases.  You can also subscribe to an online service like Netflix to enjoy media digitally.

Napkins: Buy cloth, and simply toss them in the wash when you do laundry.  They will last for years instead of minutes.

Paper towels: For easy cleanup, keep a basket of old dish towels, microfiber cloths, cut up tee shirts, or old socks in the kitchen or bathroom.  Or consider a roll of “unpaper towels.”

Pet supplies: Scooping pet waste?  Try biodegradable bags made from plant plastic.  Eliminate harmful clay cat litter in favor of recycled newspaper litter you can make at home, or purchase commercially available litters made from corn, wheat, pine, or paper.  (Alternatively, train your kitty to use the toilet).  Use glass or steel dishes for pet food and water to reduce the risk of bacteria lurking in scratches on plastic bowls and, of course, to avoid BPA.  Make your own toys or purchase toys made from sustainable or recycled materials.

Razors: Go old school and get a razor with replaceable blades, instead of tossing the whole razor.  Or learn to use a shaving knife – just be careful.  You can also consider an electric razor (that plugs in or uses rechargeable batteries) to eliminate the need to throw away anything but your hair clippings (which are compostable, by the way).

Sandwich bags: Use reusable bags or sandwich boxes instead of one-use sandwich bags.

Shopping bags: Take your canvas bags to the supermarket, and eliminate the need for over 20,000 plastic bags.  If you have a stash of plastic bags, turn them into plastic yarn and knit yourself a new bag.  Many people already take their reusable totes to the grocery store, but you can also keep a stash in the car for department store clothes shopping or shoe shopping too.  Anywhere you would use a plastic bag, take a reusable one instead!  You can buy them cheap or make your own, up-cycling tee shirts or other materials to turn them into bags.

Silverware: Keep a set of silverware in your desk at work, and stash a reusable spork in your purse, car glove compartment, or travel bag for those impromptu lunches on the go when you may be otherwise forced to use plastic cutlery.

Sponges and scrub brushes: Use a washcloth or a natural bamboo brush with bristles made from renewable sources.

Tissues: Use a handkerchief, or invest in an organic cotton HankyBook, an innovative twist on the classic handkerchief.

Toilet paper: For the seriously eco-conscious, consider using cloth wipes in the bathroom instead of flushing all that paper.  If that’s too far over your line, stick to a recycled paper bath tissue to make an eco-friendly decision.

Remember the three Rs of environmentalism: Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Reduce your overall purchases, your dependence on imports, your attachment to the convenience of disposable items, and your waste.

Reuse the items discussed in this post, like glass containers for leftovers, cloth towels, handkerchiefs, canvas grocery bags, and more.

Recycle what you cannot reuse.  Look up the recycling guidelines for your community to see if there is a recycling program and whether or not it has any restrictions on the materials it accepts.  Consider composting your fruit and vegetable scraps instead of throwing them out.  Donate gently worn sheets, towels, and clothing instead of throwing it away.

Spend some time paying attention to the disposable items you use every day.  Make small changes, like taking a kitchen towel to work to dry your hands in the bathroom, or bringing your own cup to a coffee shop for your morning latte.  Keep a few canvas bags in your car for groceries or other shopping trips.  Use a reusable lunchbox (or one of your canvas bags) instead of a paper or plastic bag for lunch.

Switching to reusable materials instead of disposable just makes sense when you consider the environmental impact of creating and throwing out single-use items, the financial impact of having to purchase disposables again and again throughout your lifetime, and the personal impact of knowing you have made a good decision for yourself, your family, and your planet by investing in reusable products.  Though a reusable item may seem more expensive at first, it will quickly pay for itself when you realize it lasts for years and years and only takes a moment to clean or recharge, as opposed to lasting for a moment before it sits in a landfill for years and years.

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Environmental Impact of Daylight Saving Time

Does it Really Save Anything?

By: Oriana Turley

This time of year, over 1.6 billion people around the world set their clocks back an hour in an effort to use daylight more efficiently and cut energy costs. But more and more economists are saying that daylight saving time doesn’t save any energy at all. In fact, more recent studies indicate that daylight saving time costs more per household and creates more pollution.

Daylight saving time has been part of U.S. policy since 1918, in various forms, in an effort to conserve energy and use daylight wisely. Could it be that DST is actually bad for the environment?

The latest research suggests that may be the case.

Matthew Kotchen, a professor of environmental economics and policy at Yale University, crunched the numbers on daylight saving time. He found “that ‘saving’ daylight has cost electricity.”

For decades, the state of Indiana was split with regard to DST; some counties observed daylight saving time while other counties did not. In 2006, the entire state began observing daylight saving time. This provided Kotchen and his colleague Laura Grant with what they call a “natural experiment.” In Indiana, they found a prime set of circumstances to scientifically determine whether or not DST actually saves energy.

“Our main finding is that, contrary to the policy’s intent, DST increases electricity demand,” Kotchen said in his analysis.

Over 7 million records of energy bills and watt usage were pored over in their study, entitled: Does Daylight Saving Time Save Energy? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Indiana..

“We estimate a cost to Indiana households of $9 million per year in increased electricity,” Kotchen said in his report. “We also estimate the social costs of increased pollution emissions between $1.7 to $5.5 million per year.”

The rise in pollution is attributed to a rise in evening traffic. This increased traffic creates a rise in gas use, which in turn creates higher atmospheric pollution levels from burning that fuel.

And that is only in Indiana.

These effects are likely to be even worse in more extreme environments, where heating and cooling demands are higher. This is due to the fact that much of the data in the Indiana study indicated that the highest energy consumption was a result of heating and cooling costs, not household appliances or lighting.

“Our simulation results show that DST saves on electricity used for illumination but increases electricity used for heating and cooling,” Kotchen says in his report.

Milder locations might experience a lesser effect.

“Studies done in the 1970s by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that we trim the entire counter’s electricity usage by about one percent EACH DAY with Daylight Saving Time,” according to the California Department of Energy.

By making the sun set one hour later, the time period between sunset and bedtime is lessened by one hour, claims the CDE.

“This means that less electricity would be used for lighting and appliances late in the day.”

A California Energy Commission report, The Effects of Daylight Saving Time on California Electricity Use, also says that energy in the morning is cheaper, and DST could still save California households a significant amount of money.

“Summer Double DST would cause a smaller (220MW) and more uncertain drop in
peak, but it could still save hundreds of millions of dollars because it would shift electricity use to low demand (cheaper) morning hours and decrease electricity use during higher demand hours.”

Kotchen and Grant agree that DST could save on electricity and money used for household lighting, but say the savings are more than offset by increases in electricity use for heating and cooling.

This often cited Department of Transportation study from 1975, Kotchen says, only accounts for “consumption at the points of transition in the spring and fall,” not the net energy consumption for a full 365-day cycle.

By studying the year-round data and effects of daylight saving time, the “Indiana study provides the first and only empirical evidence of DST’s effect throughout the entire year, and the results suggest that DST costs, rather than saves, energy,” says Kotchen.

Benjamin Franklin first came up with the idea of DST in 1784. He wrote an essay called An Economical Project in which he detailed his revelation of how many candles could be saved if people realized how early the sun was up.

At the time he was an American delegate to France and thought it impossible that such “sensible a people, under such circumstances, should have lived so long by the smoky, unwholesome, and enormously expensive light of candles, if they had really known, that they might have had as much pure light of the sun for nothing.”

Though Benjamin Franklin was credited with the conceptual invention of daylight saving time, it was William Willet that introduced a bill to the British Parliament in 1909. This was the first time DST was introduced as policy. It was met with widespread opposition and the bill was not passed.

It wasn’t until 1916, a year after Willet’s death, that daylight saving time was introduced officially as a World War I economic measure to conserve fuel. Europe, and then the United States in 1918, wholly observed DST until the war ended when opposition rebounded. At this time the policy was again repealed.

In the decades since, policy concerning DST has bounced back and forth. During times of energy concerns, such as the 1973 oil embargo, DST was usually reinstated to conserve energy, according to a 1998 congressional report.

“Congress then asked the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) to evaluate the DOT report (of 1975). NBS found no significant energy savings.”

Throughout the century of policy changes there was little scientific evidence that daylight saving time actually saved anything. But it wasn’t until the study done by Kotchen and Grant in 2008 that the scientific community had data-driven proof showing that DST not only didn’t save energy, but actually gobbled up more.

There are, however, other factors that affect both positive and negative popular opinion on daylight saving policy.

Clocks all over the world are set forward one hour in the spring and back one hour in the fall but the people who set them don’t readjust as easily, says a 2007 study.

A large survey conducted throughout Europe analyzed the natural sleep patterns of people affected by daylight saving time. The findings indicated that the human internal clock has a hard time adjusting to the sudden switch in waking times. This has shown decreased levels of daytime activity and greater susceptibility to sickness and fatigue.

“When we implement small changes into a biological system which by themselves seem trivial, their effects, when viewed in a broader context, may have a much larger impact than we had thought,” said Till Roenneberg of Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich, Germany. “It is much too early to say whether DST has a serious long-term impact on health, but our results indicate that we should consider this seriously and do a lot more research on the phenomenon.”

Brad Sherman, a representative in Congress from California introduced legislation, H.R. 704, which would allow states in the Pacific time zone to adjust their standard time to help alleviate some of the energy crisis. In a statement in favor of daylight savings time made to Congress in 2001, Sherman said the benefits far outweighed the negative impacts, pertaining to environmental, safety or other concerns.

“Daylight saving time saves lives and prevents traffic injuries, allowing more people to travel home from work and school in the daylight, which is much safer than darkness. And, according to the DOT report, except for the months of November and December, daylight saving time does not increase the morning hazard for those going to school and work,” Sherman said.

When fall drifts into winter, most people appreciate the feeling of getting an ‘extra hour’ of sleep in the morning and the psychological effects of suddenly waking up with light outside can boost morale of those consistent early morning risers.

From spring into summer, the extended hour of evening light has shown to boost local business and gives hardworking families a little more time to spend together participating in leisure activities.

Some psychologists also suggest that by increasing the waking hours of sunlight, daylight savings also naturally increases the opportunity for outdoor activity and exercise, which can lead to overall healthier lifestyles. A healthier lifestyle, and more time spent outside, could also contribute to reducing energy costs by getting people out of their artificially heated or cooled homes and back into nature.

For over a century, policy concerning daylight saving time was created with the assumption that making the most of daylight would by environmentally friendly, while providing extra light for social activities and business.

But in the end, the energy saving benefits of daylight savings time are miniscule at best. And the more extreme the climate, the more it seems that DST is an energy sucker, despite the long-held impression that it is an energy conservation policy. The overall environmental effects of the policy are somewhat dependent on location, lifestyle and culture.

References

Kotchen, M., and L. Grant “Does Daylight Saving Time Save Energy? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Indiana” (2008)

U. S. Department of Transportation, The Daylight Saving Time Study:
A Report to Congress from the Secretary of Transportation
(1975).

U. S. Department of Energy, Potential Energy-Saving Impacts of Extending
Daylight Saving Time: A National Assessment (2006).

California Energy Commission, ‘‘The Effects of Daylight Saving Time on
California Electricity Use’’ (Sacramento: California Energy Commission,
2001).

Franklin, B., ‘‘An Economical Project,’’ Journal de Paris (1784)

Kantermann et al.: “The Human Circadian Clock’s Seasonal Adjustment Is Disrupted by Daylight Saving Time.” Publishing in Current Biology 17, 1–5, November 20, 2007. DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2007.10.025

Quotes pertaining to circadian rhythm study were sourced from a Cell Press Release of the research material listed above.

Representative Sherman’s formal statement to Congress, 2001

Image via whimquarterly.com