REnew your Thinking & REnew the Earth

by
Grant Campbell
 Distributed by

P.O. Box 9644

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310-9644
954-776-5585
email: dyoung@browardaudubon.org
Web site and Blog: www.browardaudubon.org

Board of Directors 2007-2008

Doug Young, President Devin Avery, Vice President

John Makos, Treasurer Hedvah Schuchman, Ph.D., Secretary
Lisa Baumbach-Reardon, Ph.D. Grant Campbell
Justin Freedman Jonathan Estrin
Margaret McPherson Barbara Walker
Marti Reynolds Chris Nicolas
 REnew your Thinking & REnew the Earth

With population growth comes a demand for more goods, more products, more raw materials, and more
foodstuffs. This is good for the manufacturers, the growers, the wholesalers and retail merchants, good for
the consumer and good for the economy.

It is devastating to the environment. Raw material producers strip-mine or open pit mine for ores,
destroying wildlife habitat and leaving gaping holes in the once pristine earth and sometimes leaving
behind toxic tailings.

Massive Strip Mine

Farmers grow their crops using phosphates, pesticides, and herbicides that wash into our lakes, streams and
rivers, killing off natural flora and fauna and polluting our aquifers. In order to get the most production
from farms, farmers have gone to clean farming which eliminates fence rows, a major portion of our
wildlife habitat.

. Crops are planted right to fence

Lines eliminating wildlife habitat

Irresponsible loggers clean cut our forests to realize the highest return possible from the area, resulting in
more habitat loss, less carbon dioxide absorption, less oxygen production and more greenhouse gases.
Clean cutting of forests results in more greenhouse gas production than all fossil fuel burning combined.
 Clear-cut logging, El Dorado forest,
Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

Hunters and poachers decimate wildlife populations driving some species to near extinction. Fishermen
over-fish our lakes and oceans, leaving precious little brood stock for future generations, resulting in
smaller and smaller average catch sizes. Shark hunters kill sharks just for their fins. Beluga sturgeons are
killed for their eggs to put caviar on our plates. Sea turtles are reaching or are at endangered status.

Sea turtles are near extinction

Ever-increasing demand for housing eliminates wetlands and wildlife habitat, and places more and more
stress on our dwindling water supply. Our lakes and rivers worldwide are at record low levels. The Great
Lakes, that inexhaustible freshwater source, are at their lowest levels ever. Freight ships are sailing with
reduced loads to prevent grounding. Lake Meade is predicted to be dried up by 2050. Lake Okeechobee is
at its record low level. Water is being consumed faster than the water cycle can replenish our aquifers.

A Lake Okeechobee boat ramp

that was fully operational in 2004
It is past time to rethink our policies in all areas. We need moratoria on mining, hunting and fishing. We
must stop urban sprawl and start building vertical. We need to recycle as much as possible, including our
waste water.

As much as 80% of our water consumption goes to irrigation, whether it be crops or lawns. The amount of
water we throw away daily almost equals our irrigation needs, presenting an ideal case for using recycled
water. Further treatment and filtering could convert this wasted water to potable water, further easing the
burden on our aquifers.

We must boycott items that are harvested irresponsibly, such as shark fins, caviar and tuna caught in nets
without turtle excluding devices. When we stop buying environmentally unsound products, the retailers
will stop buying from the wholesalers and the wholesalers will stop buying from the manufacturers, the
hunters and the fishermen and the market for these goods will cease to exist.

We must stop filling our landfill areas with non-degradable items such as plastic grocery bags and
disposable diapers that can last in landfills for up to 2000 years. Grocery bags can easily be replaced with
reusable canvas or heavy duty paper bags. Empty them and save them for the next trip to the store. If you
must use plastic bags, be sure to recycle them properly, along with plastic bottles and Styrofoam containers.

Plastic in a landfill can last years

We can save vast numbers of our trees by recycling our paper products. Paper and cardboard can be made
into new paper that can be recycled over and over, leaving trees to grow to maturity for the production of
lumber and wood products.

When purchasing home products, opt for products made from sustainable resources such as plantation
grown lumber, or better still, purchase products made from materials that will not deteriorate.

We must stop indiscriminate destruction of our wetlands and other wildlife habitat for the sake of
development. Most development serves to enrich the developers at the expense of the environment.
Benefits to the consumer are secondary. What we destroy today upsets the balance of nature for all time.

WE can make a difference if we concentrate our efforts. The effort you make will have a cumulative effect
when coupled with your neighbors efforts. As John F Kennedy once said, "We can each do a little, and we
should".