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In 3 Words
Make an Impact, a program to help you save energy, save money, and save the planet, is coming to an area near you! We'd love your help to kick things off by showing what individuals in the community are doing to live sustainably and conserve energy.
Take a fun photo or video of yourself (or with your friends, family, pets, anyone!) making a positive environmental impact and send it to MakeAnImpact@c2es.org. We’ll email you back to confirm your details and get your permission to use your submission.
The photo should feature a white page with three words that help tell your story. Be creative!
Shredding for Bedding
Janie Burgard, Alcoa TRACO - Cranberry Township, PA
Tip: Instead of buying new materials from the store, try repurposing materials that you already have around the house. This saves energy and money!
Saving on Electricity
My husband and I are just starting out on our own, so saving money is a huge motivator for us. However, we recognize the long-term savings in investing in energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances. Our goal is to be both sustainable and economical - and we see the difference reflected in our household bills!
Austin Snyder, Alcoa TRACO - Cranberry Township, PA
Programmable Energy Efficiency
Changes like energy efficient appliances and programmable thermostats save energy while positively impacting my wallet. Changes like using cast iron cookware instead of teflon or buying organic or less processed food, positively impacts my health. An added bonus is my guilt-free conscience, knowing I am not wasting our resources.
Debbie McCartan, Alcoa TRACO - Cranberry Township, PA
Plant More Trees
I come from Australia where the spread of salinity is a real threat to wildlife and human habitat. Mass deforestation from early settlers has meant that once fertile land is now baron and dry due to the rising groundwater. This concerns me hugely. Australia is a massive country yet most of it is inhabitable and the stretch of dry land continues to grow displacing farmers and indigenous communities. But there is much that can be done to combat this issue starting with planting more trees such as the maluka which is a salt resistant tree or even saltbush which livestock can eat.
I am totally inspired by the Green Belt Movement in Kenya to plant more trees created by Wangari Maathai. As a child the Karura Forest was a full and thriving forest but into her adult years the trees were in fast decline due to logging. She took a stand to make a positive change. Her idea was simple plant more trees. With the help of many hands she has overseen the planting of over 30 million trees!
So what do I do to make a change? As city folk it’s hard to be out planting trees on a daily basis but I support a charity that with a monthly donation plants trees on my behalf at 10 a month. That’s 120 new trees each year so hopefully if I live a long life then I would have helped over 5000 tress be planted. My very own forest!
Reija Johnson, London
Cut Down Consumption
I am a shopoholic; an addict in a consumer world. As a result of this I have amassed an enormous collection of stuff – clothes, gadgets, jewellery, shoes and bags (and the list really does go on). The sad thing is that in reality I actually only use about a quarter of all this while the rest lies redundant.
I have come to realise that this is ridiculous. In a world where almost half the global population lives on less than £2.50 a day my consumer guilt has officially kicked in. Not only do I not need most of this stuff, I certainly don’t need any more. While resources become increasingly scarce, I am feeding a system which is turning the globe into one giant landfill site, littering landscapes near and far (albeit unknowingly), consuming far more than my fair share of resources.
Consequently I pledge to cut down my consumption, to use the things I already own instead of buying more, to give what I really won’t use to charity shops, to save the money I might otherwise spend on ‘fast fashion’ and to try to consider the bigger picture every day. My challenge is to make it to September without buying anything I don’t actually need because actually, enough is enough.
Elizabeth Filkin, London
Garbage to Garden
"Our family has been composting for approx 10 years now. Between recycling and composting, our household garbage is 1/3 of what it used to be. A nice feeling knowing it is staying out of the landfill and being put back into use." - Robert Martin
Compost your food waste to reduce garbage and create natural fertilizer for your garden.
Robert Martin, Alcoa Howmet - Dover, NJ
Plant to Save!
Planting vegetables and fruits supplies edible food, reducing grocery money and reducing need for unnaturally preserved foods. Leftover waste and spoiled food can be used in cultivating worm compost to enrich the soil, to further support vegetables and fruits growth. Waste is recycled to be used to create more foods. Monetary and environmental costs are reduced. Moreover, with more plants, the air feels cleaner in the immediate surrounding area. It also is more convenient to just walk to the back yard and pick some vegetables to eat rather than drive to the supermarket. This also means less motor vehicle emissions. More so, we grow a large enough surplus that we share our excess produce with neighbors and workmates. For ourselves and for others, we Plant to Save: the environment, time, and money.
Nora Palm, Alcoa Fastening Systems - Fullerton, CA
Entertained by Recycling
Howmet Playhouse staff and patrons are very excited to have recycled hundreds of gallons of recyclables over the 2010 Summer Theatre Season. Through recycling printed programs, plastic cups, water bottles, and cardboard boxes we are raising awareness of recycling opportunities in the area and heightening the level of conscientious residents and theatre-goers. We feel great about doing our little part to make a big difference and are thoroughly Entertained by Recycling!
Karen Helmlinger, Howmet Playhouse, City of Whitehall, MI
Pull Out Recyclables
At our facility, we have created a program to recycle our absorbent mats (pigmats) that we use to capture oil drips and whatnot from machines. The Rezorb program implemented about a year ago now, but we still have problems with employees "throwing away" the rezorb mats into our production trash drums, which go to landfill.
Ray Rodriguez, pictured here, has an active role in looking through the drums, removing the Rezorb mats, and putting them in the proper container to be sent off for washing. This helps us prevent valuable mats, which could be washed and reused many times, from going to landfill.
Ellen Dempsey, EHS, Alcoa Fastening Systems, Torrance, CA
Heels Not Wheels
Walk or run instead of driving.
Bryan J. Sugita, Alcoa Fastening Systems - Torrance Operations, CA