Turn the Tide—What the Numbers Mean
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Our Turn the Tide program allows you to take action and measure the positive impact you can have on the world environment. Our action calculators enable you to see how much of the following six scarce resources you can save through simple changes. But sometimes it's hard to imagine what exactly it is your helping to save, so we put together this short guide to give you an idea...
Climate
Having trouble picturing a hundred million pounds of carbon dioxide? Of course you are. After all, the king of the greenhouse gases is invisible. So consider this — cutting our CO2 emissions by a collective one hundred million pounds per year is the equivalent of taking more than 9,000 cars off the road!
- Learn more about climate change...
- Join Tide Turners in reducing carbon emissions even further. Take Step #1—Walk, Bike, Carpool…(Drive Less)
Water
Having trouble picturing the more than a billion gallons of water that Tide Turners have saved? Well then consider the following...
- A billion gallons of water would fill 1538 Olympic pools. Laid end to end, these pools would extend from Boston to Providence!
- Amount of water we'll save each year if every person in the U.S. took Action #2: 5.4 trillion gallons.
- Amount of water discharged from mouth of the mighty Mississippi River every 14 days: 5.4 trillion gallons.
- Learn more about water consumption...
- Join Tide Turners in saving even more water. Take Step #8—Reduce Home Water Usage
Grain
The amount of grain we'd save if we each inspire eight friends to match our action on Step #2 is more than 20 million pounds per year.
- Amount of grain consumed annually by the entire nation of Zimbabwe: 19 million pounds per year.
- Learn more about feedlot beef consumption...
- Join Tide Turners in saving even more grain (which can then either feed more people, preserve soil quality, or provide alternatives to oil). Take Step #2—Eat Less Feedlot Beef
Fisheries
Imported shrimp are one of the most popular foods in the US, but for every pound of shrimp caught, over five pounds of marine life is killed—this is know as by-catch. Having trouble picturing 20,000 pounds of by-catch?
- First try picturing a 200 pound sea turtle. Now picture that sea turtle with over 4,000 of its closest friends.
- You can also watch a video that shows why shrimp farms in developing countries aren't the answer either.
- Join Tide Turners in reducing by-kill even further. Take Step #3—Eat Eco-friendly Seafood
Toxins
Pesticides may be a commonplace item in many homes, but do you really know what affect they have on the world around you when you use them?
- A single ounce of the common pesticide diazinon is enough to exceed government aquatic life guidelines for 94 million gallons of water.
- Join Tide Turners in avoiding even more toxins. Take Step #7—Eliminate Lawn Pesticides
Forests
Having trouble picturing a couple hundred trees? OK, maybe not. This one's a bit easier to visualize than the others. But consider this – over 100 million trees worth of junk mail is crammed into American mail boxes each year. That's the equivalent of clearcutting the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every four months!