|
Indeed, according to the non-profit organization,
Clean Virginia Waterways, floating balloons--which
may look like delicious jellyfish to unsuspecting
sea creatures--are responsible for the deaths
of thousands of sea turtles, dolphins, fish
and seabirds, many whose populations are
already endangered due to other man-made
threats.
Consumers and event planners should not
be misled by industry groups who maintain
that balloons pose no environmental threat
because they are constructed of biodegradable
latex. Even though most latex is biodegradable,
it takes at least six months to break down
in the environment, and only when exposed
to sun or water. So says the Balloon Council,
a trade group of balloon makers which otherwise
encourages balloon releases and dismisses
arguments that balloons are either polluting
or injurious to wildlife. Meanwhile, Mylar
balloons, while less common than their latex
counterparts, are not biodegradable and
can be toxic in their own right when ingested
by wildlife.
Interestingly, the Balloon Council labels
as “misinformation” claims that
wildlife can be injured by ingesting balloons,
yet duly warns on its website that young
children under the age of eight “may
choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken
balloons.”
According to the Michigan Environmental
Council, which coordinated one recent beach
clean-up event where volunteers picked up
more than 4,500 discarded balloons along
the shores of Lake Michigan, the solution
to the problem is simple: “Don't participate
in balloon releases, don't use balloons
as decorations during outside events, and
when you hear of a balloon release being
organized, inform the organizers that what
they are doing is littering.”
Mass release of balloons is illegal in several
U.S. states, including Connecticut, Florida,
Tennessee, California and Virginia, and
similar legislation is pending in Massachusetts,
Maryland, New York, and in some municipal
locales. Meanwhile, Great Britain’s
Marine Conservation Society has kicked off
a campaign to educate the public about the
dangers of balloon releases. The group is
asking corporate and government event planners
in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to sign
onto its Voluntary Ban on Balloon Releases.
CONTACTS:
Clean Virginia Waterways, www.longwood.edu/cleanva/
Michigan Environmental Council, www.mecprotects.org
Balloon Council, www.balloonhq.com/BalloonCouncil/
Marine Conservation Society, www.mcsuk.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear EarthTalk:
Other than calculators, what are some other
accessories and gadgets
that are now available solar-powered?
—
Frank Rogers, Concord, NH
While solar-powered calculators have been
readily available and inexpensive for two
decades, only recently has such technology
been applied to other tools, accessories
and small appliances.
Perhaps the most widespread use of energy
from the sun today is for charging up small
electronic devices like flashlights, watches,
palm pilots and cell phones. Solar cells
are also being put to use around the home
increasingly to power garden, pool and security
lighting as well as automatic watering and
lawn-feeding devices. And as photovoltaic
technology improves, people are using small
solar cells to power up bigger devices like
radios, cameras and even laptop computers.
A good assortment of such items can be ordered
from online stores such as Brunton, Sundance
Solar, Real Goods, Global Merchants and
Energy Federation (EFI).
Well beyond the realm of gadgetry, EFI sells
a solar-powered oven, made by Sun Ovens
International, which is working to protect
the environment and raise the standard of
living for the poor worldwide by developing
solar cooking technologies that reduces
the developing world’s reliance on
scarcer and scarcer wood products. The interior
of the oven is heated by passive solar energy
when the oven’s reflectors are opened
up and pointed toward the sun. According
to the EFI website, “even though it
is called an oven, food can be baked, boiled,
and steamed at cooking temperatures of 360°
F to 400° F.” Here in the developed
world, the Sun Oven can save resources and
keep the air cleaner when used for backyard
cooking or on camping outings.
According to Wired Magazine, climber Sean
Burch used solar cells to charge his laptop
and phone during his solo ascent of Mt.
Everest in 2003. “The sun was so bright
at 18,000 feet that it wasn't a problem
at all,” said Burch, who didn't have
the manpower to bring along the hundred-pound
batteries used by bigger climbing crews
to power communications devices. “It
was nice because I had my computer, solar
panels and phone and I could communicate
as well as anyone,” he said. Indeed,
by strapping small photovoltaic cells onto
their backpacks, panniers and kayaks, adventurers
heading out into the wilds can stay in touch
with loved ones--and rescue crews if needed--more
reliably and for less money than ever.
Despite the profusion of solar-powered devices,
environmentally-conscious consumers know
that it is greener not to buy something
that they don't need. According to the website
GreenChoices.org, people should only buy
gadgets that are “genuinely useful
additions to a green household, things that
actually save energy or water, or make living
green easier.”
|
