Creative Solutions for Small Businesses
and the Environment

THE ENVIRONMENT

Modern industrialization and consumer society have begun to threaten nature's capacity for resource renewal and the continuation of ecosystem sustainability. It is becoming increasingly clear that everyone must take responsibility for the choices they make.

Consider these facts:^**

• Every ton of new paper leads to the use of 17 trees, 42,000 kWh of energy, 26,000 liters of water, and releases 27 kgs of pollutants into the air.

• Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; they now cover 6%.

• 40% of U.S. rivers and 46% of U.S. lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.

• U.S. oil production peaked in 1971 and many experts believe worldwide production will peak sometime around the year 2010.

• Since 1750, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by about 32%, primarily due to the combustion of fossil fuels and land use changes.

• Earth's average surface temperature has increased by about 1°F; most of the warming over the last 50 years is likely due to human activity.

• 20% of the world's coral reefs have been lost and 20% have been degraded.

• The species extinction rate in the past few hundred years is around 1,000 times higher than rates typical over the planet's history; 10% - 30% of mammal, bird, and amphibian species are threatened with extinction.

• Worldwide water withdrawals have nearly tripled since 1900 to 700 cubic meters per person per year.

• Snow cover has decreased by about 10% since the late 1960s according to satellite data.

Berces Design is dedicated to reducing our environmental impact through several simple but important steps:

• Our website and email service is powered by 100% solar energy

• Our office is completely lit by natural light during daytime hours

• We are a paperless office, operating and advertising almost entirely through electronic, solar-powered media


^**Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency