By Caroline and Imanii

We live on Earth so it is our job to protect it. One of the easiest ways to protect our earth is to recycle. Almost anything can be recycled. All you have to do is put paper, glass, plastic, or metals in the right bin and the recycling company will do the rest.

In this decade it is projected that Americans will throw away over nearly four and a half million tons of office paper and nearly ten million tons of newspaper. Almost all of this material could be recycled. Every year enough paper is thrown away to make a twelve foot wall from New York to California. If every house hold in the U.S. reused a paper grocery bag, about 60,000 trees would be saved. Trees provide habitat, oxygen, medical plants, endangered plants, water, shade, filters air pollutants, and roots stop erosion. Rainforests once covered 14% of the Earth’s land surface; now they cover only 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be chopped down in less than 40 years. 100 acres of rainforest are cut down per minute.

Recycling one ton of paper uses: 64% less energy 50% less water 74% less air pollution. Recycling one ton of paper saves: 17 trees (35 feet tall) 2 barrels of oil (enough fuel to run the average car 1,260 miles) 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough to power the average home for 6 months) 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space (one family size pick-up truck) One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year.

Gibbs has recycled paper for over 20 years. Per student Gibbs recycles more paper than any other school in the Little Rock School District. Every month Gibbs recycles 2,350 pounds of paper and saves: trees gallons of oil 3.51 cubic yards of landfill space 4,680 kilowatts of energy 8,190 gallons of water

Green Living for dummies by Yvonne Jeffery is a great book. It has facts and tips on how to live an eco- friendly life. I would recommend buying this book because it can help you become a friend of the Earth!

Green Living for Dummies by Yvonne Jeffery Mrs. Gonterman, International Studies Specialist at Gibbs Magnet Elementary Mr. Miskin from Goldman Recycling