GO GREEN!!!

The OHCE/4-H Partnership

OHCE – GO GREEN

4-H – i-green

• Goals• Create awareness• Educate • Change behavior• Report changes

What OHCE members/groups can do…

• Volunteer to assist with or teach i-green programs

• Work with local volunteers, schools, church groups, etc. to establish recycling programs

• Save aluminum pull tabs for Ronald McDonald House

• Invite 4-H members to speak at local group meetings

• Conduct joint service projects

What 4-H members/groups can do…

• Speak at local and county OHCE meetings• Organize & assist with community

beautification projects• Assist with community recycling programs• Organize pull-tab collections for Ronald

McDonald House• Promote conservation with peers• Help the elderly with simple conservation

measures• Organize school “re-use” projects

About i-green…• Youth take one of the i-green surveys

• Water• Energy• Resources• Recycling

• Educational programs• County Educator• Volunteers

• 6-8 weeks later, youth take surveys again• Educator/volunteer tabulate results

Thank You!

Civic Group Presentation

OHCE and 4-H members can use the following slides for short presentations to civic/community groups

GO GREEN!!!

4-H Environmental Stewardship Team

and

OHCE Resource

Management Committee

About GO GREEN…• Take the GO GREEN survey• Evaluate your habits• Commit to make changes• Share the message with others• Increase community awareness• Take the GO GREEN survey again• Report changes

Green Counties

Make a Difference

Use Less…

• Water• Energy• Chemicals• Disposables

Protect …

• Natural Resources• Landfill Space• Water Supplies• Our future

Save Money!

Use Less Water…

If we continue to use water at the current rate, 36 states should expect local, regional or statewide water shortages in the next five years

US Faces Era of Water Scarcity

Circle of Blue

Home Water Use

Bathing20%

Cooking2%

Lawns35%

Cleaning4%

Toilet25%

Drinking2%

Laundry10%

Other2%

Use Less Water

Indoors• Be sure your home is leak-free• Fix leaky toilets• Repair/replace dripping faucets• Turn off water while brushing teeth or

shaving• Take a short shower, instead of a bath

Outdoors• Avoid over-watering/over-fertilizing• Use drought tolerant plants• Water early in the morning

Use Less Energy

Heating31%

Cooling12%Water Heating

12%Lighting11%

Computers & electronics

9%

Appliances9%

Refrigeration8%

Other8%

Use Less Energy

• Clean furnace/AC filters• Turn the heat down in winter• Turn the AC up in summer• Close drapes to keep heat out in summer

and block cold in winter• Turn off lights • Use CFL bulbs with energy star labels• Cut the power to electronics• Lower the water temperature to 120°F• Install a programmable thermostat• Consider a home energy audit

Use Fewer Resources

• Reduce packaging• Dump disposable products• Reuse bags, containers, etc.• Choose recyclable products

(and recycle them)• Reduce junk mail• Share newspapers, magazines, etc. • Look for the ENERGY STAR label

Leave a smaller “footprint”

• Compost• Improve your soil• Reduce material sent to landfills by 25%

• Recycle• Recycling aluminum is 95% more efficient than

mining and refining new aluminum• Every ton of paper recycled saves 60% of the

energy, 17 trees, 7000 gallons of water and 60 pounds of air pollution

• One ton of scrap from discarded computers contains more gold than can be produced from 17 tons of gold ore

Leave a smaller “footprint”

• Choose Reusable• Washing dishes and dishtowels has a smaller

impact than putting disposable products in a landfill

• Use a refillable water bottle• Re-chargeable batteries save money and keep

chemicals out of landfills• Make reusable shopping bags

• Buy Recycled• Plant Trees• Use fewer chemicals

Leave a smaller “footprint”

• Be an eco-friendly traveler• Take only the maps/brochures you need• Participate in hotel conservation programs –

hang up your towels and make your bed• Invest in refillable bottles for shampoo and

other toiletries• Leave unopened bottles of complementary

products for the next traveler• Electronic check-out reduces paperwork – and

uses less paper• If the nearest trash can at the rest stop is full,

hold onto your trash until you can dispose of it properly

Little changes…

Can make a big difference