Aug. 20 of this year was Earth Overshoot Day, the day we have surpassed the amount of resources that could be sustainably used in a year. Each year we are are using up our year’s worth of supplies faster; in 2003 Overshoot Day day fell on Sept 22 and in 1993 Oct 21 .The earth cannot keep up with the demands made upon it and Earth’s resources are dwindling to precarious levels. Only one third of earth’s resources are left.
One light bulb uses 60 kilowatts of energy an hour. The average personal computer uses only 10 kilowatts more in the same amount of time. If we turn every light bulb on in every classroom, it is comparable to running hundreds of computers concurrently.Air conditioning accounts for 12% of annual energy consumption in America. By closing the doors when the air conditioner is on, a substantial amount of energy is saved because the cool air stays in the room and less energy is needed to keep the room at a comfortable temperature.Schoolloop has a feature that allows homework to be turned in electronically; however, very few teachers take advantage of this paper-saving alternative. The amount of paper saved if just half of the assignments assigned daily were turned in electronically could potentially save hundreds of trees if used consistently. Ask your teachers if you can turn in assignments electronically.According to AP Environmental Science teacher Andrew Goldankranz, other schools in the bay area have started implementing stickers on their paper-towel dispensers that say “Remember this came from trees.” These simple stickers have dramatically decreased paper towel usage at the schools that use them by reminding the students that there are consequences for excessively using paper.