Tag: water (Page 1 of 4)

5 ways to make your Thanksgiving more sustainable

5 ways to make thanksgiving more sustainable

We’re all excited for the upcoming holiday, but let’s also be conscious of our environmental impact. According to the USDA, Americans will throw away more that 200 million pounds of edible turkey meat this Thanksgiving holiday. Here are a few ways to prevent the wasteful and tragic aftermath of Thanksgiving.

  1. Eat local and/or organic. Many Thanksgiving foods like squash, potatoes, and apples are seasonal in the U.S. during the fall and can be purchased from a local farm. Local farms reduce the miles that the food has to travel to get to your kitchen, reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Some local farms are certified organic, but you should ask the farm if they have organic practices. You can also purchase organic produce from a grocery store. Organic produce protects farm workers from harmful chemicals and is safer for humans. Most importantly though, local and organic food tastes better!
  2. Don’t waste food! Americans waste 40% of all food produced in the United States according to the NRDC. You could give out leftovers to guests, eat it as breakfast, or even compost and transform food waste to benefit your garden. “Begin with the Bin” has a great resource for composting leftover food.
  3. Use reusable plates, silverware, glasses, and napkins. This is better for the environment, and no one likes cutting turkey with a plastic knife and having gravy soak through paper plates.
  4. Eat less meat. The meat industry is the largest source of methane gas, which is a major contributor to climate change. You don’t have to be a vegetarian, but try having less meat on the plate and filling the rest of it with healthy sides like squash and green beans! You could also consider purchasing a smaller turkey.
  5. Drink tap water. Americans spend $18 billion on bottled water, which creates mountains of plastic that will stay on this earth for a long time. If you are concerned about the water quality, investing in a filter for your tap water is a wiser alternative.

Sustainability Manager, Rethinking Power Management (Boston, MA)

In this newly-created role, you will flex your strategic muscle. As part of our team, you will work with forward-thinking clients to define and implement initiatives to achieve their sustainability goals, focusing heavily on energy and water reduction strategies. This may include efficiency and operational improvements, load management, and/or on-site renewable energy solutions as well as organizational support and healthy living initiatives. Your ability to think strategically and be hands on will be realized in the projects you manage.

For full job description, please visit http://www.rpmpowerllc.com/careers.html
To Apply: Please send cover letter and resume to: HR@rpmpowerllc.com

Various Internships, Corporate Accountability International (Boston)

Corporate Accountability, a Boston-based nonprofit with various campaigns, including one to eliminate plastic water bottle use, seeks fall interns. Their “internships are a unique opportunity to gain valuable organizing and non-profit experience. This is a hands-on program, designed to mentor and cultivate students interested in social justice, strengthen their understanding of a fast-paced campaign organization, and prepare them with the skills and experience necessary to challenge corporate abuse.”

 

Learn more/apply.

Project Associate, Solar Water Heating Programs, CSE, (San Diego, CA)

Mission: Accelerate the transition to a sustainable world powered by clean energy.

Our clean energy future depends on a strong, low-carbon economy that provides abundant jobs and business opportunities, a high quality of life and a clean, healthy environment. To bring about such a future, each of us must make wise choices now. The Center for Sustainable Energy® (CSE) provides people with information, incentives and opportunities to help make these choices easier. We work with policymakers, public agencies, local governments, utilities, business and civic leaders and individuals to transform the energy marketplace and beyond.

For the full job description, visit energycenter.org.

Application Deadline: Monday, May 30
To Apply: Please send a resume and cover letter along with salary history via e-mail to human.resources@energycenter.org.

4 Quick Tips to Keep Your Dorm Room Green During Spring Break

Spring break is finally upon us, and many of us can’t wait to head out for some much needed R&R. But whether you’re heading home, hitting the beach somewhere warmer, taking a road trip or going off the grid for a few days of hiking, don’t forget that all the systems that make your dorm room comfortable when school is in session keep working even when you aren’t!

If you’re leaving campus for the week, take a second while you pack or prep to go over this mini-checklist. Help ensure that your dorm room or apartment is using as little energy as possible while you’re away.

windowpic (2)

Not only will this help reduce heat loss, it’s also a good precaution to take in case of heavy rain and wind.

If you’re able to control your room temperature, turn it down to about 65 degrees, or slightly cooler than you normally keep it. You’ll be able to quickly bring your room back up to temperature when you return. (But fingers crossed that it’ll be warm enough that you won’t need to!)

(via Tufts Photo)

 

3. Report any leaking faucets.

Alert Facilities to the leak before you leave. Small drips add up!

(Photo via motherearthnews.com)

4. Unplug any non-essential appliances.

Don’t worry about your refrigerator, but if you have a coffee machine, toaster, alarm clock, desk lamp, hair dryer, game console or other appliance which doesn’t need to stay on during the break, unplug it to reduce phantom energy loss.

(Photo via unh.edu)

 

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