| There's no doubt about it: if you're a patriot, you should | | | | 4% of U.S. annual oil consumption, or roughly 219 million |
| feel great about recycling. | | | | barrels of oil, goes into the manufacture of plastic. |
| Think about it. Recycling saves trillions of kilowatts of | | | | Thus increasing the amount of plastic we recycle can |
| energy every year. It conserves our natural resources. | | | | make a significant impact on oil use. |
| It makes our country's air, water and soil cleaner by | | | | In 1997, the U.S. recycled 13 million cars, which |
| limiting pollution, and it stimulates our economy by | | | | conserved 32.5 billion pounds of iron ore, 18.2 billion |
| creating new jobs. | | | | pounds of coal and 1.5 billion pounds of limestone. |
| Politicians and pundits from both the Left and the Right | | | | Aluminum can be recycled forever. Over 2/3 of all |
| strongly agree that we should decrease our | | | | aluminum ever created is still in use. Most of the 1/3 not |
| dependence on foreign oil. So recycling makes you a | | | | still in use is aluminum cans in landfills. |
| true patriot who's doing something to make the people | | | | Be a Patriot: Limit Pollution |
| and economy of our great nation cleaner, healthier, | | | | Recycling just half of your annual recyclable household |
| richer and stronger! | | | | waste saves 2400 pounds of CO2 being released into |
| I can see some folks in my mind's eye (not you, of | | | | the atmosphere. Many scientists contend that |
| course!) with a slight sneer of disbelief on their faces. | | | | human-released CO2 is a leading cause of global |
| So allow me to share some basic statistics from the | | | | warming. |
| Environmental Protection Agency and other reputable | | | | Recycling household and car batteries keeps heavy |
| sources that back up my argument. | | | | metals such as mercury, lithium and cadmium from |
| Be a Patriot: Save Energy! | | | | being released into our air and water. Heavy metals, |
| In 2003, the energy savings from recycling 54 billion | | | | when consumed by people and other animals, cause |
| aluminum cans exceeded the energy equivalent of 15 | | | | numerous health problems and diseases. |
| million barrels of crude oil, or the amount of gas the | | | | The EPA estimates that 200 million gallons of used |
| U.S. uses in one day. | | | | motor oil are improperly disposed of each year. |
| Another way to look at it: recycling 1 can = 3 hours of | | | | Recycling used motor oil keeps it from polluting your |
| TV, so in 2003 the U.S. saved enough energy by | | | | ground and fresh water. |
| recycling cans to run 162 billion hours of TV, or about | | | | Americans dispose of 270 million waste tires each |
| 25 hours of TV for every man, woman and child on | | | | year. Illegally-dumped and stock-piled tires are fertile |
| Earth. | | | | breeding grounds for rodents and mosquitoes, and |
| The Center for Ecological Technology found that the | | | | illegally-burned tires release oil and soot into the air and |
| glass industry uses 50% less energy to create glass | | | | ground water. |
| from recycled glass than from raw materials. | | | | Be a Patriot: Stimulate the Economy |
| Americans recycled about 40 million tons of paper | | | | Recycling creates a net gain in jobs - 5 to 1 over landfill |
| products in 2003, creating an energy savings of 163 | | | | management. |
| trillion (yes, with a "T"!) kilowatt hours of electricity. | | | | Jobs created by recycling cover a wide variety of skill |
| Recycling one pound of plastic soda bottles - or PET | | | | sets, including basic labor, manufacturing, |
| plastic - saves 1200 BTUs of energy (1 BTU is the | | | | entrepreneurship, advanced science and engineering. |
| amount of energy needed to raise a gallon of water | | | | Recycling creates new "green" technologies designed |
| by 1 degree Fahrenheit). | | | | to take advantage of the reclaimed resources. |
| 2005 saw the U.S. recycle 5 billion pounds of PET | | | | The National Recycling Coalition reports that recycling |
| plastic, which equals a savings of 60 trillion BTUs of | | | | has created 1.1 million jobs, $236 billion in gross annual |
| energy. | | | | sales, and $37 billion in annual payroll. |
| Be a Patriot: Conserve Natural Resources | | | | So there you have it. Patriotic people recycle! I |
| Americans disposed of 83 million tons of paper | | | | challenge you to come up with another activity that |
| products in 2003. According to the EPA, by recycling | | | | every family in the country can so easily do to make |
| nearly half of that, we saved 705 million trees and 290 | | | | such a huge difference in so many critical areas of the |
| billion gallons of fresh water. | | | | health of our great nation. |