An extensive study to identify the primary causes of environmental damage was conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The results are published in the book, A Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices. The book lists individual activities that do the greatest harm, in order of their severity, and offers us suggestions about how to reduce our impact. Here are our 3 most damaging activities, and what we can do about them:
Priorities for Personal Action
1. Operation of Cars & Light Trucks
With over 207 million cars and trucks registered in the US, our vehicles have a huge impact causing a major share of our air pollution, water pollution, global warming and destruction of animal habitats. The manufacture, operation and disposal of all these vehicles also add to their impact.
UCS found that our personal transportation is responsible for about 40% of air pollution and greenhouse gases, and 23% of toxic water pollution. Construction of highways and parking lots contribute significantly to the disruption of wildlife habitats. According to the UCS findings here are the most effective actions we can take with regard to our personal vehicles:
Choose a place to live that reduces the need to drive. For many of us the biggest part of our driving is going back and forth to work. Living near work, or public transportation (as well as places to shop) can make a big difference in the miles you drive (and the time you spend driving).
Think twice before buying another vehicle. Do you really need a new car? Just the process of manufacturing a new vehicle causes significant pollution. If you do need to buy a vehicle, avoid getting one that is bigger or more powerful than you really need. Cars average 40% better gas mileage than SUV's and light trucks. Do some homework and choose one that is rated as low-polluting and fuel efficient. (The Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid, for example, get especially good mileage.)
Whenever practical, walk, bicycle, take public transportation or carpool, instead of driving alone.
2. Consumption of Meat & Dairy Products
There are over 280 million people in the US to feed! Enormous amounts of land, water, and energy resources are required to provide us with all that food. With 60% of our country's land area devoted either to growing crops or to livestock grazing, the damage to our ecosystems is massive. That damage comes in many forms: the destruction of wildlife habitats; the effects of fertilizers, pesticides, animal wastes, and erosion on water quality; methane (greenhouse gas) emissions from livestock; and air pollution from fossil fuels used in food production. The good new is that much of this damage can be prevented by our personal choices.
UCS found meat production causes considerably more harm to the environment than production of plant foods. In 1995, 103 million cattle, 60 million pigs and 7 billion chickens were raised in the US. About 40% of US land is used for grazing livestock, resulting in degradation of wildlife habitats. The manure generated by livestock is ten times more than all municipal solid waste generation. The untreated animal wastes are typically left to pollute ground water and account for 16% of all household water quality problems.
Meat and poultry consumption alone is responsible for about one quarter of the threats to ecosystems and wildlife. Compared to meat, much less land and other resources are needed to grow grains, fruits and vegetables to obtain the equivalent nutritional value. When plant foods are cycled through livestock to produce meat, we loose 90 percent of the protein, 99% of the carbohydrates, and 100% of the fiber. It 's much more efficient for us to eat the plant foods directly (and much better for our health). Beef production has the greatest impact, using 20 times more land, 5 times as much water, and creating 18 times more water pollution than the nutritional equivalent from grains.
The most effective and responsible action to take is to reduce your meat consumption and eat more like a vegetarian. (Plus, the health benefits are huge!)
3. Production of Grains, Fruits & Vegetables
About 17% of US land area is used to grow grains, fruits, and vegetables for human consumption. The primary source of environmental damage comes from the process of cultivating crops. The widespread use of chemical farming methods multiplies the harmful impact of growing crops. The use of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides cause water pollution and affects wildlife. Loss of living, organic soil content results in degraded soil (with loss of nutrients in the food) and the practice of frequent tilling speeds soil erosion and increases water usage.
Organic farming uses techniques that do far less harm to the environment. Chemical poisons are avoided, soil quality is built up, no-tilling practices and cover crops cut down soil erosion and water use. Studies have shown that experienced organic farmers can equal or even surpass the average crop yields of chemical farming.
UCS concludes that shifting to certified organic produce is the most effective action we can take to reduce the impact of our consumption of plant foods.
