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Considering Learning About The World 's Complications Essay

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Considering learning about the world’s complications is quite strenuous, it is only realistic that thirst for environmental action arise. When taking a break and getting a bottle of water, another call to action is found in the style of carbon dioxide discharge reduction via water bottles. Not partaking in the sales of plastic water bottles and instead investing in a reusable bottle can dramatically decrease the carbon emissions of plastic bottle manufacturers. A special kind of plastic called polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is melted down to manufacture water bottles, and the process of making the material itself involves producing around 3 tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of PET made. Annually, this creates more than 2.6 billion tons of CO2 emissions just from the bottled water industry (“Bottled water and energy factsheet,” 2007). Along with the PET engineering emissions, the oil burned to produce water bottles releases even more C02. It takes around 3.4 megajoules of energy to make a typical one-liter (33 ounce) plastic bottle, cap, and packaging. Making enough PET to bottle America’s yearly quota of water requires more than 106 billion megajoules of energy. Because a barrel of oil contains around 6,000 megajoules, the Pacific Institute figures more than 17 million barrels of oil were needed to produce the nation’s water bottles (“Bottled water and energy factsheet,” 2007). Because a barrel of oil, when burned, releases almost 700 lbs. of C02, the environmental

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