Community Spotlight: Environment

Below you will find statistics about Environment issues nationally and locally. You will also find ways to get involved in the community through volunteer, advocacy, and upcoming events and make a difference in these issues.

Also: visit our BE GREEN page to discover ways you can reduce your carbon footprint!

What are the statistics?

BIODIVERSITY

The American Geophysical Union suggests that more than 3/4 of Earth's land surface has been reshaped by human activity.
The U.S. loses 60,000 acres of wetlands per year due to contaminated runoff from human activity, climate change, expanding agriculture and the introduction of nonnative species [Environmental Frontlines and ELCA’s Living Earth].
Species now face extinction of at a pace 50-100 times their natural rate [World Revolution and ELCA’s Living Earth].
In the past 3 decades, 1/3 of the planet’s natural resources base have been consumed [Story of Stuff].
In the U.S., we have less than 4% of our original forests left [Story of Stuff].

GLOBAL WARMING

45 percent of carbon released from human activities in the 1990s is still in the atmosphere [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change].
Artic ice is melting almost 5 times faster than in previous decades [Earth Policy Institute].
In the U.S., the average food molecule travels 1,500 miles. Buying local is a way to reduce the carbon it takes for your food to move from dirt to dinner [Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture and ELCA’s Living Earth].
Coal for energy use is one of the primary reasons the U.S. produces 25 percent of the world's carbon emissions [Energy Information Administration].
The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population but consumes 30% of the world’s resources and creates 30% of the world’s waste [Story of Stuff].
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, 40,000 hectares of forest disappear every day due to demand for timber, paper, and most recently, biofuels [ELCA’s Living Earth].

SUSTAINABILITY AND WASTE

If everybody consumed at U.S. rates, we would need 3 to 5 planets [Story of Stuff].
The Container Recycling Institute reports that 86 percent of plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or litter. In a landfill, a plastic bottle will last 1,000 years.
For every 1 garbage can of waste you put out on the curb, 70 garbage cans of waste were made upstream to make the junk in that one garbage can you put out on the curb [Story of Stuff].
Each person in the United States makes 4.5 pounds of garbage a day. That is twice what we each made 30 years ago [Story of Stuff].
The average U.S. house size has doubled since the 1970s [Story of Stuff].

WATER

Plastic used for water/soda bottles is derived from crude oil. To meet U.S. demand, 17 million barrels of crude oil goes into water bottles, enough for 1 million U.S. cars for a year [Newsweek, "Is Bottled Water Better than Tap"].
40 percent of waterways in the US have become undrinkable [Story of Stuff].

WHAT ABOUT WISCONSIN?

According to Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine, global warming in Wisconsin could mean…

...wetter winters and drier summers with longer, hotter and more frequent heat waves.
…weather and climate changes that could require farmers to raise different crops.
…dairy cattle beleaguered by heat exhaustion and growing pest populations.
…poor air quality and higher concentrations of ground-level ozone, an air pollutant that causes severe health problems.
…warmer and more shallow river waters – conditions that could hurt populations of cold-water fish like trout.
…denser algae blooms and lower oxygen levels in ponds and lakes.
…more frequent floods, droughts, forest fires and damaging storms .
…changes in tree species that could affect the forestry industry and wildlife populations.
…increases in disease-carrying insect populations.

What can you do?

VOLUNTEER! ADVOCATE!

Contact these local agencies to get more involved.

Aldo Leopold Nature Center-Monona
To promote environmental education and provide opportunities for children to connect with nature. 300 Femrite Drive
Madison, WI 53716
(608) 221-3038
www.naturenet.com/alnc

Dane County Park Adult Conservation Team
To protect and interpret natural resources, educate the public, provide recreational opportunities and provide volunteer opportunities that give the community a sense of ownership of the parks.
3101 Lake Farm Road
Madison, WI 53711
(608) 224-3601
www.co.dane.wi.us/parks/adult/adult.htm

Friends of the Dane County Farmer’s Market
To connect the consumers and producers of our locally and sustainably produced food.
PO Box 1584
Madison, WI 53701
(608) 836-8621
www.friendsofdcfm.org

Madison Community Agriculture Coalition
To create a sustainable, just, and locally based food system in Southern Wisconsin.
PO Box 7814
Madison, WI 53707
(608) 226-0300
www.macsac.org

Olbrich Botanical Gardens
To be a locally treasured and globally renowned source of beauty and education celebrating the importance of plants in a sustainable world.
3330 Atwood Avenue
Madison, WI 53704
(608) 246-5807
www.olbrich.org

The Prairie Enthusiasts
To ensure the perpetuation of the remaining native prairies and savannas through preservation, restoration, and management.
222 S. Hamilton St.
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 835-7001
www.theprairieenthusiasts.org

Sierra Club - WI - Madison/Dane County
Dedicated to environmental education and conservation.
222 S. Hamilton St. #1
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 222-9376
www.4lakes.org

Sustain Dane
Dedicated to creating a community that deeply enjoys, cares for and is sustained by its unique environment.
222 South Hamilton Street #1
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 819-0689
www.sustaindane.org

Wisconsin Wetlands Association
Dedicated to protecting, restoring, and enjoying wetlands and their associated habitats through science-based education, advocacy, and action.
222 S. Hamilton St., Ste. 1
Madison, WI 53703
www.wisconsinwetlands.org

Also consult the United Way (www.volunteeryourtime.org) and Community Shares of Wisconsin (www.communityshares.com) for more volunteer and advocacy opportunities.