EarthTalk Q&A

Do government “Energy Star” ratings for major appliances take into account their “cradle-to-grave”

If you’ve been wanting a hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle but have been reticent to shell out the extra bucks, 2006 just might be your year. Beginning this past January, in accordance with the new Energy Policy Act, the federal government began awarding unprecedented tax credits to consumers who go hybrid.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that those who care for God’s creation take environmental issues seriously. But only in recent years have Sunday sermons and other religious services put green topics front and center.

When Survivor first aired in the summer of 2000, environmental groups cheered producers for choosing nature as the setting for such a high profile series. And by the time the series was only a year old, it was garnering green praise from all over, including from Australian environmental officials

Controversy over the benefits of recycling bubbled up in 1996 when columnist John Tierney posited in a New York Times Magazine article that “recycling is garbage.” “Mandatory recycling programs,” he wrote. ”

Disposable dishware is ubiquitous in our modern “on-the-go” culture. That’s why nearly 100 billion plastic, paper and Styrofoam cups end up in American landfills and incinerators every year. Human health is the real loser when it comes to our consumption of such products, which are typically made from petroleum-based plastics, hazardous foam or chlorine-bleached virgin paper.

While it is true that real sea sponges have been in use since the Roman Empire, synthetic alternatives made primarily from wood pulp became commonplace by the middle of the 20th century when DuPont perfected the process of manufacturing them. Today most of the sponges we use are made from a combination of wood pulp (cellulose), sodium sulphate crystals, hemp fibers and chemical softeners.

The first European explorers who landed on the eastern coast of Canada in the late 17th century estimated the local seal population to number around 30 million. With such an abundance of wildlife and a huge demand around the world at the time for seal oil and pelts

“Indoor air pollution” in homes and offices has been studied extensively in recent years—with sometimes alarming conclusions that have led the building industry to rethink many aspects of design and choice of materials.

What is the environmental impact of sugar, aside from its not-so-healthy aspects?