Topics for Discussions of Environmental Issues for Kids

Environmental Issues for Kids

Although global environmental issues are considered to be one of the important subjects in the world today, it doesn’t mean that only adults get to speak about them. Part of encouraging children to learn about the world is also making them aware of what’s going on in the condition of our environment, such as for example, global climate change. Here are some tips on how you can teach environmental problems for kids:

Teach the children first about the ecosystem and the normal processes happening in the environment such as the water cycle. It would be nice if they already know about these natural processes at school. If they have adequate knowledge about these, it would be easier for you to talk about environmental ramification for kids.

Engage them in conversations that are relatable to them such as asking a child if he wonders why it rains or how come flooding happens in some areas. Flooding is one of the major environmental issues considered to be effects of climate change.

You may read environmental issues articles and ask children about what you learned. Be sure to only include those that they already know about and use terms that they can understand.

You may also let them read those environmental issues articles if you think these are easy for their eyes and for their understanding. Although some kids may still prefer to read books, many others choose to participate in activities that are highly stimulating such as watching movies. There are animated movies and other kid-friendly movies that you can watch with the kids to increase their knowledge about the environment.

Good topics on environmental implications for kids are usually the ones that they are able to observe in their everyday lives. Take for example, the air pollution. Teach them about air pollution and how it affects the environment after a day out in a busy city where traffic and pollution is apparent.

Have the kids participate in small, creative, and fun activities related to global environmental issues such as planting trees, preparing trash cans with the right labels for segregation, and recycling materials.

More topics on environmental issues for kids also include caring for animals. Bring them to a zoo or a pet shop or introduce the kids to wild animals through watching documentary films together.

When there’s breaking news on the TV or radio about natural disasters happening in certain places and the kids are starting to ask questions, answer them with an adequate explanation on how these effects of climate change take place.

Use of dioramas, pictures and cards also help in giving them visualizations of the nature climate change and other environmental issues for kids.

Aside from making them aware of the climate change effects, teach them also the causes of climate change such as deforestation. A child’s mind is a good soil for cultivating social and environmental awareness and helping them become aware of the effects of climate change or current environmental issues is a good step in developing their sense of responsibility.
Meme City gives you the latest pictures and memes for you to share to help in the education and efforts in going green.

Environmental Issues – They Concern Chefs As Well!

It has not probably escaped your notice that environmental issues have captured people’s interest. You can probably say that this is not surprising considering the fact that people are finally experiencing the effects of decades of environmental abuse. Mother Nature is indeed lashing back. Environmental debates are fairly common these days. Being a chef does not excuse you, however, from getting involved. You create your own ecological footprints and you are accountable for them.

Environmental issues generally fall under three categories — bizarre global climate changes, excessive use of resources, improper waste management.

Bizarre Global Climate Changes

There are numerous environmental issues but the one thing that you have likely heard people talking about is the bizarre climate that the whole world is experiencing. The effects of these weird climate changes have caused devastating damages, taking lives and properties. Unfortunately, there are many factors that contribute to climate change. Many of these factors are largely created by man.

Excessive and Abusive Use of Environmental Resources

There are many environmental issues that fall under this category. You have deforestation, land degradation and land being stripped off of fossil fuels. These three are just some of the many problems that arise from abusive use of environmental resources.

Improper Waste Management

Many environmental issues have resulted from people’s inability to manage their waste or trash properly. This category basically embraces all kinds of pollutions caused by humans which include air, water and land pollution.

Resolving Environmental Issues Your Way

It’s certainly a good thing that many people are getting involved in correcting environmental issues. As a chef, you can do a lot of things in order to reverse the damage that has been done to the environment. You can make positive contributions. Being environmentally friendly does not end with disposing potato peelings properly. As a leader, you can influence people to be more environmentally conscious.

Adopt an Environmental Cause

If you own your restaurant, you can get your staff or employees to volunteer for environmental causes. Since you are working in the food industry, perhaps you can get your employees to volunteer for a food feeding program.

You can also adopt environmental programs and support them. For instance, you can adopt a program which aims to provide clear water to many places in Africa or you can support one project that is designed to protect the rainforest in the Amazons. Support any environmental conservation schemes. Try to raise funds if you can in order to support a conservation program.

Recycle!

Another way of helping the environment is to adopt a recycling program in your workplace. You should also make sure that you get recyclable supplies. If you are going to purchase disposable dishware, you should get recyclable or biodegradable ones. Encourage your staff or employees to do the same.

Cut Back on Gas Consumption

There are also various ways of cutting back on gas consumption. You can also get your employees involved in your save-your-gas scheme. You can offer incentives to employees who choose to leave their cars at home. In fact, this method is proving effective among hospitality entrepreneurs. Aside from encouraging your staff to take the bus, you can also get them to set up a carpool system.

Another way of saving gas and cutting back on delivery expenses is to impose minimum order requirement. This will discourage small deliveries and unnecessary use of gas.

Prefer Local Producers

The food service industry has finally recognized that they have a social responsibility to support local producers within their community. If you choose to purchase products from local farmers, not only will you be able to help the local economy, you will also help in minimizing environmental wastages.

Spread the Word

You need to spread environmental consciousness. You can start with the people around you — your employees perhaps. Challenge people to care. Over time, you will eventually get people involved. Employ people who are environmentally conscious — people who purchase organic products and who boast of eco-friendly practices.

You can also train your staff and teach them how to be more eco-friendly. After all, you will reap the benefits as well. You will likely notice a considerable decrease in energy consumption once your staff learns how to conserve energy.

You can also spread the word and influence your guests, customers and clients. You can offer rewards or incentives to guests who adopt eco-friendly measures in order to address environmental issues. You don’t have to stop with your employees. Ideally, the more people you educate, the better it will be for the environment.

In Water Boat Hull Cleaning and Environmental Considerations

Most boat owners do not realize that it is not legal to clean algae off a boat hull in the water without environmental controls. The issues are that the algae or slimy green stuff, is void of oxygen and when you clean it, even without soaps, you would release it into the water, this depletes the oxygen in the water.The Coastal Commissions and EPA protect our waterways. The Federal Clean Water Act is specific about not allowing pollution into the waterways of the United States and that includes; ditches, streams, rivers, lakes, oceans and even storm drains.The trick is to clean it, let it float on top of the water within a floating barrier, then use a wet-dry industrial shop vacuum to remove it. The algae or slimy green stuff will not hurt anything but the EPA does not want it discharged into the water. Once the boat is more buoyant and lighter, much of the “below the waterline” will show up, making it easy to pressure wash and brush with a firm, but soft-bristle brush, allowing you to clean it in the water and get the rest by snorkel.Some believe that since the slimy green stuff is organic that it is okay to detach it from the boat into the water, not so. It needs to be collected, if possible you should clean the boat hull on dry dock and collect the wash water affluent for treatment. Additionally, you can read this article for more information on this complex issue:http://ezinearticles.com/?Water-Volume-Usage-in-Boat-Hull-Cleaning&id=70696

Environmental Automation – Control Office Environmental Features Remotely From the Internet

Even with an in-house technical support team, there are occasions when IT support is working remotely away from the server room. In fact, in today’s world remote access to network systems is the standard and not the exception. Remote control has now advanced into the office environmental and access control capabilities. Remote support and environmental automation is made possible using IP-ready management consoles and applications.The XBUS commercial and environmental console is used to control several components remotely. These devices makes possible for support personnel to access environmental applications and devices over the network, whether in-house or remotely, using standard IP protocol. Examples of commercial environmental automation applications include:• Keyless entry controls in office buildings and hotels
• After-hours indoor lighting
• Window blind control
• Outdoor lighting automation
• Lawn and landscape sprinkler system settings
• Server and network support and administration
• UPS managementIn earlier implementations, the costs associated with remote control often limited commercial and environmental automation to large, complex facilities. Today, everything from home offices to large institutions benefit from the convenience and reliability of remote access over the internet.Environmental automation is also used in building management for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning temperature control, as well as for food refrigeration and fire sprinkler system monitoring and management.Climate control is one way building facility managers seek to reduce energy consumption. One example industry is the self-storage industry. Self-storage companies often own large capacity buildings which may be single implementations or an entire chain of properties managed in locations throughout the country. The ability to control lighting, entry access and temperatures in these facilities remotely and automatically results in tremendous energy savings.The issue of large energy bills affects nearly every industry. Utility companies reduce costs by using IP-managed meter readings. The usage readings are collected remotely from water, gas and electrical meters.Another scenario is in large office structures where thermostat controls aren’t locked and easily changed by occupants. Reducing the building internal temperature during off-hours saves energy dollars too. Automatically controlling the temperature controls eliminates the dependence on an employee to lower the temperature on the thermostat after hours.Lighting is another energy drain that can be managed remotely and automatically with commercial environmental controls. While there is a cost to implementing environmental automation solutions such as these, studies indicate that the investment is quickly returned by reducing energy bills buy as much as 30-35% annually.Energy monitoring and control systems such as the XBUS help business save money on energy costs which can be redirected to other priorities. The XBUS is a low-cost solution easily implemented to solve a number of different remote management scenarios.