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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!
Doing Our Part
Andy's daughter Shea (center in picture) explains the reasoning behind "Doing Our Part" in the following way - "We are doing what we can to 'protect the planet'. Even though we are children, we can help by recycling items like plastic bottles, aluminum cans, glass, cardboard and newspaper. I love to play outdoors and go to the beach. I want my children to be able to enjoy it too."
Twin sisters Samantha & Shea with brother Tanner, children of Andy Duncan, Casthouse General Supervisor, Mt Holly
Water Wind Clean
Raise the sails and off we go. No motor... just the wind. Sailing is the best way we know to relax and it is environmental friendly, too.
Eddy Sikes and wife Wanna Sikes, ABS Coordinator, Maintenance & Engineering Department, Mt Holly
Compost Waste Food
We created a small compost pile for waste food. Any unused portion of fruits and vegetables and food that has expired goes into the pile instead of the trash or garbage disposal. The compost pile and normal recycling allows our family to generate less than 20 gallons of trash per week.
Dennis Gregory, Technical Specialist, Casthouse, Mt Holly
Small Steps Matter
My daughter Rachel and I have taken some small steps at home to make an impact. In 2007, we replaced our thermostat with a programmable one. We set it up so that the heating and air conditioning unit doesn't come on as often when no one is home during the weekdays. While we have debates on how warm or cold the house should be, we all agree that it only matters when there are people in the house. We also replaced almost all of the sixty incandescent light bulbs with CFLs. That is a total reduction from about 3600 Watts to 900 Watts. We have gotten used to having to wait a minute before the light is bright, but that's OK. The CFLs definitely last much longer. If I look at the monthly comparison that my utility provides on my bill, I believe that the small steps that we have taken are saving me $40 a month in electricity costs. Small Steps Matter!
Henk Van Der Meyden, Environmental Manager, Mt Holly
Switch to Save
We work to try to keep the minimal amount of light on in our house because:
(1) This one is real important - it saves money on electric bills each month.
(2) If we conserve energy, it cuts down on power plants production which helps the environment
(3) My wife doesn't have to go around the house yelling "We don't work for SCE&G - Turn off the lights!" - When Mama is happy, everyone's happy!
Wayne Guest, Saw Operator, Casthouse, Mt Holly
Compost Yard Waste
The Watkins family has been recycling for years. We compost all our organic waste in a compost pile or in our worm bin. We also recycle all our shredded confidential documents to the worm bin! The children know not to dare throw away any glass, metal, or paper recyclables! We also volunteer for Backyard NatureScope, an environmental field day for kindergarten through fifth grade students in Berkeley County, SC. Hopefully we have reduced our carbon footprint enough so future generations will be able to enjoy our beautiful South Carolina lowcountry.
Family of Beth Watkins, ISO Standards/Laboratory Supervisor, Casthouse, Mt Holly
No More Plastic
The Infinger family is converting from using plastic bags to reusable cloth bags when grocery shopping. It’s been a work-in-process mostly remembering to grab them on the way into the store. I never gave much thought to what a difference a little plastic bag would make on our environment. After using the bags for a while now I feel so much better making our mark in saving our planet…MAKING AN IMPACT, one bag at a time.
Zachary Infinger, son of Yvonne Infinger, Cost Accountant, Mt Holly
Intalco Employees Make an Impact
This spring, the employees at Intalco Works in Washington held a Make an Impact Earth Day event to encourage sustainability and energy saving actions.
University of Washington Geologist, Eric Steig Ph.D, addressed a brownbag seminar to talk about climate change and what Antarctic warming trends mean for the rest of the planet. Around 50 employees and community members came out for the event and stayed on to collect a free recycling bin to use at home.
Intalco employees rounded out their Earth Day activities with a volunteer event with the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association. Nearly 20 Intalco employees joined another 65 community members for the event at the Association's nursery. Volunteers helped with weeding, planting and general clean-up of the nursery in preparation for summer.
Through the dedication of the employees at Intalco Works, a variety of energy saving actions have been taken at the plant – resulting in a projected annual savings of over $120,000. Both at home and at work, Intalco employees are making an impact!
Chase Carter, Matt Lutrell & Nick Payne, Alcoa Intalco Works
Grow My Food
My 15 year old son Cody Dangerfield and his Paw Paw, Retired Mt. Holly Supervisor John Wilson, enjoy tending their tomato plants. Not only do they grow their own food but they cultivate a relationship too.
Cody and John, family of Becky Jones, Casthouse Administrator, Mt Holly
Naturally Shop Green
With children, it is important to start early teaching our children good green habits. One easy way to begin is with reusable cloth shopping bags. Take these with you to the store and bring your groceries home in them. This small change in can significantly reduce the amount of plastic shopping bag trash that is generated. Plastic shopping bag waste pollutes our environment, kills wildlife and contributes to our ever increasing landfills...so please remember to Shop Green!
Wade and Hayden, children of Barry Singletary, Safety Team Leader, Mt Holly
