INTERNET RESOURCES

American Solar Energy Society.  http://www.ases.org .
Understand why solar energy is important in the conservation of our environment.

Center for Neighborhood Technology.  http://www.cnt.org .
Promoting public policies, new resources and accountable authority to support sustainable, just and vital urban communities.

Earth Day Network.  http://www.earthday.com .  Be Part of Something Really Big!

Earth First!  http://www.earthfirstjournal.com .  A movement.

ECOMALL.  http://www.ecomall.com .  Earth-friendly products.

Endangered Species Map.
http://eelink.net/EndSpp.old.bak/Endangered.html .  Great for school projects and assignments.

Environmental Law & Policy Center.  http://www.elpc.org .  Information on  energy, transportation, natural areas and eco products.

Friends of the Parks.  http://www.fotp.org .  Information for park activists  who transform parks into vital community centers.

Greenpeace USA.  http://www.greenpeaceusa.org .
Non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems.

Midwest Renewable Energy.  http://www.the-mrea.org .
Information on promoting a sustainable future through renewable energy and energy efficiency.

National Audubon Society.  http://www.audubon.org .  Learn to conserve and restore the Earth's natural ecosystems and its diversity.

National Geographic Society.  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/index.html .
Find out about nature, history, people, and cultures around the world.

Nuclear Energy Information Service.  http://www.neis.org .  Current and  credible information about the hazards of nuclear power and radioactive wastes, and about viable energy alternatives to nuclear
power.

Sustain.  http://www.sustainusa.org .  Information on regional transportation  issues, genetic engineering and organic agriculture.

Vegan Street.  http://www.veganstreet.com .  Comprehensive resource for healthy eating and natural products.

Virtual Global Warming Museum. http://www.environweb.org/edf .  Cool site on global warming.

Can you answer these questions?  Test your eco-knowledge.
1. Will strong CAFE standards affect Starbucks?

2. What is the most energy-efficient mode of transportation?

3. Which produces more greenhouse gas emissions - your car or your house?

4. What kind of light bulb is the energy equivalent of an SUV?

5. How many people live on the earth today?

6 .How much faster than the human population is the car population growing?

7. Does a city resident have as high a chance of being mugged as a suburbanite has of being hurt in an automobile accident?

8. How much energy does it take to dry your clothes on a clothesline?   

ANSWERS TO ECO-IQ QUIZ.

1. Not at all.  CAFE standards are based on a 1975 law, which works to increase automobile efficiency by establishing corporate average fuel efficiency standards.  These require each manufacturer to
achieve a certain efficiency level for all the car models in its total fleet, averaged together as a whole.

2.  Bicycling is the most efficient mode of transportation, even more efficient than walking!  A bicyclist traveling at ten miles per hour uses about 100 BTUs per passenger-mile - as opposed to a pedestrian who uses about 500 BTUs per mile at 2.5 miles per hour.

3.  The average house contributes twice as much greenhouse gas pollution as the average car.  The average home produces as much carbon dioxide as two cars.

4. The halogen torchiere is the lighting equivalent of the SUV. It casts an extremely bright light straight up, which reflects off the ceiling and fills the room.  Halogen torchieres suck up 300 to 500 watts of power and can add $100 or more to your yearly electricity bill.

5. The world's existing human population -six billion-is already three times as great as the planet's long-term carrying capacity if all people seek a level of affluence comparable to that currently enjoyed in, say, Sweden.

6.  With the beginning of the new millennium, the car population is increasing five times as fast as the human population.  And our cars are stunningly inefficient.  The average new car sold today in America has worse fuel efficiency than the older car it replaces.  Americans buy only two million small cars a year, compared to five million a year in Europe.

7.  No, the suburbanite has a higher chance of being injured in a commuting accident.  According to High Mileage Moms, a study by the Surface Transportation Policy Project, suburban mothers make an
average of five car trips a day getting to work, running errands, and hauling children and elderly parents.  Single suburban mothers spend 75 minutes a day behind the wheel, while married mothers drive an average of 66 minutes.  Commuting accidents have become epidemic.

8.  To dry clothes on a clothesline takes exactly as much energy as a dryer.  The difference is that solar energy is free and renewable.

This quiz is an excerpt from Denis Hayes' The Official Earth Day Guide to Planet Repair.  For your own copy, write Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC  20009.