Environmental Success Stories

Environmental Success Stories

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Important Quote

-"What we are living with is the result of human choices and it can be changed by making better, wiser choices."-

Robert Redford - American actor, directory, producer and environmental supporter.

Click on the story headlines (if underlined) to view the full story about each of these successes.
Recycling Success Stories Many communities have already began their own recycling programs to encourage others to recycle. Following are a few examples:

Residents in Rockford, Illinois can win more than $1000 through their 'trash lottery.' Through this innovative program, residents are randomly selected for separating recyclable materials from their garbage, and are paid from the city's savings in landfill costs!
Due to a strong community support for recycling in King County, Washington, plans to incinerate waste were postponed.
In the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, a goal has been set to cut its waste by 52% by recycling. The city's residents have one of the highest recycling rates in the nation.

Drug Store Successes A man was concerned about that the Bausche and Lombe packaging could be much more recyclable than it was. He wrote a letter to the company suggesting that they do away with the box and the unrecyclable plastics or make a plastic that can be flattened with a zipper top. Soon there after he got a reply on a company letterhead saying why they do the things that they do. He was left with a number saying that he could call them if he wanted to discuss his views. Well he didn't call, but a year later he wandered into a Drug Store and picked up some saline and found on the back a notice that said that they had did away with the box and made the package recyclable.

Los Alamos National Laboratory has cleaned up Radioactive emissions going into the air The Los Alamos National Laboratory recently notified the Department of Energy that they are in compliance with the new clean air act, by putting radioactive emission monitors on 28 air emission stacks that let out radioactive emissions.

A Partnership to save birds In Ontario, Canada an observatory helps preserve birds with Environment Action 21($89.568 given to them by a community funding program) money. They are taking a census of the birds and going to put them in a captive breeding flock in order to increase their dwindling populations.

Restoration program reenacted after 40 years Forty years ago environmentalists made a plan to renaturalize the creeks that ran through hectares and agricultural land into the Avon river, in Canada. Forty years later Environment Canada's Action 21 funding program donating $50,000 for a two year habitat restoration program.

CFC Reduction CFCs are chemicals that deplete the ozone layer. In 1996 the SEDA Act prohibits the manufacturing, importing, and exporting of these chemicals in Canada.

The Envirohome An envirohome was created in Nova Scotia. This home uses 75 percent less energy than the typical household. It has low-flow faucets, a kitchen recycling center, a solar powered water boiler, a fireplace with a pollution reducing unit.

Cooperative success stories This is a collection of Cooperative success stories involving many endangered animals. These cooperative efforts were by private land owners, federal and state agencies, local government and non-government organizations.