Earth Day 2008: Earth Day Should Be Every Day Of The Year

How Old Is The Earth? Find Out Here

by Thomas Hagey
Apr 22, 2008







Get Out There And Do Your Part

Global Warming and recent storm tragedies have caused the human species to stop and think about how our lifestyles may have already put us on a collision course with ecological disaster. What can we do to help prevent this from happening?
 
Despite warnings from reputable sources; no matter how much advice we get from authorities on the importance of taking control of our personal and household waste; we still don't seem to get the connection between our inaction and the related consequences.
 
I recently visited a landfill site. We are not doing nearly enough to separate our waste. There are still tons and tons of recyclable, reusable waste being buried every week. If we are concerned about the soaring costs of waste disposal, then it is up to US as residents to help our landfill authorities separate our household waste at the home level. We can make those trips to the dump ourselves and help put waste in its place.
 
It's Up To Us
 
There is no other species like us. While whales and other mammals may have a more sophisticated means of communication they are not the species of choice to make the necessary changes to help save the planet and ultimately--ourselves!
 
While surfing the internet to find ecological revelations for our Earth Day readership, I happened upon a test which will help us understand where we stand personally in the ecological equation. Most of us think that for the most part, other people are doing the wasting. I discovered that while I turn off lights and appliances which aren't being used; I have a fuel efficient vehicle; I separate my garbage by breaking down organic matter, cardboard, plastics and metals, and I put them in their respective places, it would still require 3.2 earths to support "my" ecological footprint. This is unacceptable for me, and to the other people I share life with. I was astonished.
 
If you are like me, you too will be shocked to discover that there is only 1.0 (one point zero) earths in this solar system and our world cannot afford to support 8 billion people who are even trying a little bit to keep their own waste under control -- never mind those who believe that the world is their personal trash can. Those offenders that throw garbage out the window of their car abandon it in the ditches of remote side roads, or who simply leave fast food refuse sitting where they consumed it and saunter away leaving it for the wind to blow away. It is unacceptable behavior.
 
Change your Light Bulbs
 
Lighting accounts for 12% of the electricity use of an average home and a staggering 25% of commercial energy usage. Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs: they are four times as efficient as incandescent bulbs—and last up to 10 times longer!
 
Plant Trees
 
Trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen which is released into the atmosphere. Planting a tree in your neighborhood can help beautify the area while absorbing 2,000 pounds of CO2 over its lifetime. In contrast, the destruction of trees by burning not only reduces the number of trees absorbing CO2, but also releases their stored carbon. Protecting an acre of rainforest from slash and burn techniques can avoid 80 tons of greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere!
 
Buy Energy Efficient Appliances
 
By purchasing energy efficient appliances Canadian consumers can reduce your CO2 emissions annually by an amount equal to that emitted by 2.5 million cars and save a total of $1 billion on their utility bills. Recent innovations have resulted in the arrival of a new generation of energy efficient refrigerators. These latest models are 15% more energy efficient than models already deemed to be energy efficient by comparison with the older energy guzzlers. Now energy efficient washing machines use 50% less energy and less water than conventional models, and can save you up to $100 a year on your utility bills.
 
Conserve Energy
 
As much as 44% of all household energy in North America is spent on heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. You can save significant energy and money with simple measures such as adjusting your thermostat or shutting down equipment. A home energy audit can help you understand how much energy you use and how you can reduce it. Unplugging appliances such as televisions, stereos, and computers while not in use can have a big impact too: the International Energy Agency estimates that the power consumed by these appliances just while on standby is responsible for 1% of the entire world's CO2 emissions.
 
Use Hot Water Efficiently
 
Heating water requires energy: the less hot water you use, the lower your CO2 emissions. Installing low-flow faucets and showerheads or using warm water instead of hot can greatly decrease the carbon dioxide emissions from your home. Turn down your hot water heater and wrap it in an insulating blanket and you can further reduce your CO2 emissions by up to 1,500 lbs a year.
 
Buy Clean Energy
 
Utility companies across the country offer green energy to their customers. Green energy options— such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric power —emit far fewer greenhouse gases than conventional fossil-fuel based power sources. If your utility does not allow you to choose green energy as your power source, you can still offset the carbon emissions from your energy usage by buying renewable energy credits. By using either method to invest in clean energy, you are helping the green power industry to grow and adding to the amount of green power put onto the grid.
 
Drive Less -- Drive Smart
 
If Canadians drive an average of 12,000 miles a year, with an average of 20 pounds of CO2 emitted per gallon of gasoline consumed, the typical passenger car releases over 5 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. By driving less and improving the gas mileage of your vehicle, you can greatly reduce your carbon emissions.
 
Reduce Waste -- Support Recycling
 
Reducing, reusing and recycling can also decrease your carbon emissions. By reducing your garbage by only 10%, you can reduce your CO2 emissions by as much as 1,200 pounds a year. Reusing durable manufactured goods can help cut down the waste you produce and the CO2 emitted to produce them. Recycling is also an important factor. One aluminum can, for example, can save enough energy to power a TV for two hours, while recycled paper uses 60% less energy than making paper from virgin trees.
 
Offset Your Emissions
 
Carbon offsetting is a way to compensate for the amount of CO2 emissions you produce with an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide reductions. A variety of offsets are being offered by non-profit and for profit companies to counterbalance emissions from your choices at home or traveling. Tree planting is probably the most common, but verifiable renewable and energy conservation offsets are also becoming increasingly available.
 
Eat Green More Often
 
According to a report from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, the meat industry produces about 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions come from the energy required to produce feed for livestock as well as from the gases produced by the digestive systems of cattle. By limiting meat, especially beef, you can help slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. Eating locally and organically produced food also reduces your carbon emissions. Most food travels between 1200 and 2500 miles before it is eaten. Eating locally produced food one day a week can reduce your CO2 emissions by 6000 pounds a year.

Ecological Foot Print

What's Your Ecological Footprint?


The following link will take you to a
questionnaire with pull down menus. Simply select the multiple choice answers which most represent your lifestyle.Try to be as accurate as possible (be truthful even though you may not like the outcome) . At the end, the program will produce your ecological footprint...you will discover how many earths it will take to support your lifestyle. Click Here Now to start.









 
How Old Is The Earth, And How Do We Know?
 
Creationists might tell you that the Earth and the universe was made in 7 days by an Almighty God … and then that’s where the wheels come off the track so it seems…Did Adam and Eve arrive in Eden post Dinosaur Era? Or did dinosaurs even exist? Darwinists have a different idea about how many candles we should be blowing out on this year’s birthday cake for Mother Earth. Evolution may not make the world go 'round but it does help to explain the existence of fossils.

Archbishop James Ussher(Ireland, 1654) had a more exact date in mind. He used calculations from the genealogy in the Bible to determine Earth was created October 23, 4004 BC, 9:00 am. This was probably a good try given the time period (and given the fact that he was probably under great pressure to come up with an answer by the end of the week) but today most people are leaning towards a more scientific approach.

You Don't Look A Day Over 4.54 Billion Years
The generally accepted age for the Earth and the rest of the solar system is about 4.55 billion years (plus or minus about 1%). This value is derived from several different lines of evidence.

Unfortunately, the age cannot be computed directly from material that is solely from the Earth. There is evidence that energy from the Earth's accumulation caused the surface to be molten. Further, the processes of erosion and crustal recycling have apparently destroyed all of the earliest surface.

The oldest rocks which have been found so far (on the Earth) date to about 3.8 to 3.9 billion years ago (by several radiometric dating methods). Some of these rocks are sedimentary, and include minerals which are themselves as old as 4.1 to 4.2 billion years. Rocks of this age are relatively rare, however rocks that are at least 3.5 billion years in age have been found on North America, Greenland, Australia, Africa, and Asia.
While these values do not compute an age for the Earth, they do establish a lower limit (the Earth must be at least as old as any formation on it). This lower limit is at least concordant with the independently derived figure of 4.55 billion years for the Earth's actual age.

Assuming that most of us won’t be around for the next 4.55 Billion year birthday we may very well want to be good to the earth while we can so that there will be cake and ice cream for the future generations whose very existence depends on what you and I do right now.


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