Eco Trivia

		Ice caps are white, and reflect sunlight, much of which is reflected back into space, in turn cooling Earth; but with the ice caps melting, the only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth.
		Scientists blame global warming for the declining penguin population, as warmer waters and smaller ice floes force the birds to travel further to find food.
		Stressed by cyanide fishing, harbor dredging, coral mining, deforestation, coastal development, agricultural runoff, careless divers, and now global warming, there is a devastating loss of coral across the world.
		With accelerated global warming, and the ice covering melting, the earth would be absorbing more sunlight, and is on its way to becoming hotter than before.
		Due to global warming the polar ice cap in the Arctic region is shrinking and rupturing; if this continues, summers in the Arctic would become ice-free by the end of this century.
		Everytime we burn oil, coal and gas to generate electricity and power, we produce the heat trapping gases that cause global warming.
		Deforestation is one of the main causes of atmospheric carbon dioxide; burning and cutting millions of acres of trees each year, it is responsible for 20-25 per cent of all carbon emissions.
		Water vapor is the most prevalent and most powerful greenhouse gas on the planet; it holds onto two-thirds of the heat trapped by all the greenhouse gases.
		Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct!
		Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute!
		One-third of the water used in most homes is flushed down the toilet.
		A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.
		Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.
		A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose -- and even longer if it's in the landfill.
		Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours
		Energy-saving lightbulbs last around ten times longer than ordinary lightbulbs- over 10,000 hours.
		A laptop is more environment friendly than a desktop. It consumes five times less electricity.
		An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now!
		A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15 per cent.
		Tissue paper is a major source of waste. It takes 60,00,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.
		A ton of recycled paper equals or saves 17 trees in paper production.
		A plant on your desk acts as a natural filter, absorbing airborne pollutants and computer radiation while replenishing oxygen levels.
		Lawns only need watering once a week, post rain only after two weeks. Do watering early morning for minimal evaporation and water conservation.
		Crawling traffic contributes eight times as much air pollution as traffic moving at regular highway speed.
		Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year!
		Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth and soaping your hands. This can save around 16 litres a day. That's 11,000 litre of water per person per year.
		A dripping tap can waste over 20,000 litres of water every year.
Source: Green.NDTV