Green Scene – National Geographic Kids Blogs

Phenomenal Friday Fact

To produce each week’s Sunday newspapers, 500,000 trees must be cut down. If your family gets the newspaper, make sure you recycle it. Play Recycle Roundup to practice your recycling habits!

Photograph by Tady, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

It’s estimated that Americans go through 100 billion plastic bags a year; this averages to 360 bags per person. You can help reduce this number by making your own reusable grocery bag!

Photograph by Robin Loznak, My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

A full bathtub uses 70 gallons of water, but a five minute shower only uses 10-25 gallons. How much water do you use? Check out our Water Calculator to find out!

Photograph by DRosayna13, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Photograph by Beans, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

A dishwasher uses 11 gallons of water per use. You can save water by only running the dishwasher when it is full, and talking to your parents about switching to an energy efficient model.

Are you a Water Wiz? Take the quiz to find out!

Photograph by horseluvr, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Each year, more than 260 million tons of plastic products are created, many of which will end up in a landfill or the ocean. When in water, some plastics release chemicals that can damage habitats for marine animals and contaminate the seafood we eat. Some animals might even mistake the plastic for food and die. You can help care for the ocean by taking part in community clean-ups, disposing of trash responsibly, recycling and reusing items, and more.

Watch the video to discover more ways you can help care for the ocean.

Learn more about protecting the ocean.

Phenomenal Friday Fact

A hot water faucet that leaks one drop per second can add up to 165 gallons a month. That’s more than one person uses in two weeks. So don’t ignore that leaky faucet!

Study these tips to learn how to conserve resources.

Photograph by rosiegirl, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Did you know Americans throw out enough iron and steel to continuously supply all the auto makers in the entire nation? That’s a lot of cars! Discover ways you can Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Photograph by coconnell, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Currently, cardboard and paper combined make up over 73% of materials in landfills. Do your part by recycling appropriate materials. Play Recycle Roundup to practice your sorting skills.

Photograph by She Shot It_97, NG Kids My Shot

75% of all water used in the household is used in the bathroom. Find ways you can help conserve water.

Photograph by spiderblood, NG Kids My Shot

You might not know it, but water goes in to making many of the things we use every day. Did you know it takes 713 gallons of water to make one t-shirt and 3,170 gallons of water to make one pound of chocolate? Check out The Hidden Water We Use to learn more about how much water it takes to produce cheese, coal, and other everyday objects and foods.

Are you a Water Wiz? Play the game to test your smarts.

Photograph by coconnell, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Did you know that 75% of each tree that is cut down for paper production is not used in a paper product? Next time you need to buy paper, make sure it’s recycled!

Photograph by Photography 4ever, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Running your faucet for 5 minutes uses up enough energy to run a 60 watt light bulb for 14 hours.

Check out Green Tips: Conserve Resources for ways to save energy.

Photograph by FutureChrisJohns, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Enough plastic is produced in the United States each year to shrink wrap Texas.

Photograph by Zella, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Only 1% of the water on Earth can be consumed by people. The rest is salt water or is frozen.

Are you a Water Wiz? Take the quiz to find out!

Photograph by GoldenDog, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Each year, enough plastic bottles are thrown away in the U.S. to circle the Earth four times.

Do your part to reduce and reuse! Take a look at our Green Tips.

Photograph by NatureGirl, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

The ozone hole over Antarctica is still larger than North America. Check out NASA Ozone Hole Watch’s updated satellite imagery.

Get tips on how to save energy.

Image courtesy NASA Ozone Watch

The University of Maryland is the winner of the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon, a program that challenges international teams of college students with designing, building, and operating cost effective, energy efficient, and attractive solar-powered houses.

WaterShed, the University of Maryland’s house, is focused on water conservation and recycling. The house features a “green” roof that reduces rainwater runoff and increases the house’s energy efficiency, a garden, an “edible wall,” and a composting station.

Check out more photos of WaterShed and the 18 other competing houses.

Which house would have gotten your vote?

Photographs by Jim Tetro/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

Time for another Phenomenal Friday Fact!

Over the past 25 years, 8,763,377 volunteers have cleaned up
291,514 miles of coastal land and waterways in 152 countries and locations
while participating in the Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup. Although the event is only one day each year, it is still the world’s largest volunteer effort for ocean health.

Volunteers have collected a whopping 166,144,420 total debris
items worldwide since the first event 25 years ago. This includes 52,907,756
cigarettes, 7,825,319 plastic bags, 1,248,892 balloons, and much more.

Not all items recovered are so ordinary! Some of the weirdest
finds include a whole toilet, a wedding dress, a family of crawdads living in a
purse, and even a grand piano!

Even though the 2011 International Coastal Cleanup has passed, you can still help! Grab a parent and host a Clean Seas Party.

Have you ever participated in a park or creek cleanup?

Photograph by Martin Rowe

Wangari Muta Maathai, founder of The Green Belt Movement, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, died on September 25, 2011 at the age of 71. She started the Green Belt Movement to encourage people worldwide to protect the environment. Maathai believed, “The planting of trees is the planting of ideas. By starting with the simple act of planting a tree, we give hope to ourselves and to future generations.”

Since Maathai started the movement in 1977, more than 40 million trees have been planted across Africa, improving the land and the lives of the people who live there. Their goal for the future is to plant one billion trees worldwide. Maathai was the first African woman and the first environmentalist to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai is well-known for her achievements in environmental activism and human rights advocacy, specifically in women’s civil rights.

Will you help them reach their goal by planting a tree?

Read more about Maathai and her work at The Great Energy Challenge.

Phenomenal Friday Fact

It takes three liters of freshwater to make one liter of bottled water.

Photograph by evsoho, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Did you know there’s a garbage “island” floating in the ocean? The patch, also known as the Pacific Gyre, is at least the size of Texas, and made up of debris including plastic bottles, toothbrushes, packaging scraps, and more.

Do your part and spread the word about The Great Garbage Patch and recycling plastic items whenever possible!

Photograph by pabloholyturtle, NG Kids My Shot

Phenomenal Friday Fact

Approximately 11,600 cedar trees are cut down to make the 2 billion pencils made in the U.S each year. Do your part to conserve trees and ask your parents to buy recycled or mechanical pencils.

Visit The Great Energy Challenge and Green Tips: Back to School for more great ways to go green this school year!

Photograph by sgf-pictures, NG Kids My Shot

Time for Another Phenomenal Friday Fact!

A hose can waste up to 6 gallons of water per minute if you leave it running! So, the next time you plan on washing your bike or your parent’s car, use a bucket and sponge instead (that only uses a few gallons)!

Photograph by coconnell, NG Kids My Shot

Another Phenomenal Friday Fact

You can save up to 50 percent more water by using an energy efficient dishwasher instead of washing a full load dishes by hand. Be sure to tell your parents the next time it’s your turn to do the dishes!

Photograph by lovenaturephoto, NG Kids My Shot

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