Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Cut down on what you throw away. Follow the three "R's" to conserve natural resources and landfill space.

Volunteer. Volunteer for cleanups in your community. You can get involved in protecting your watershed, too.

Educate. When you further your own education, you can help others understand the importance and value of our natural resources.

Conserve water. The less water you use, the less runoff and wastewater that eventually end up in the ocean.

Choose sustainable. Learn how to make smart seafood choices at www.fishwatch.gov.

Shop wisely. Buy less plastic and bring a reusable shopping bag.

Use long-lasting light bulbs. Energy efficient light bulbs reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also flip the light switch off when you leave the room!

Plant a tree. Trees provide food and oxygen. They help save energy, clean the air, and help combat climate change.

Don't send chemicals into our waterways. Choose non-toxic chemicals in the home and office.

Bike more. Drive less.

Source: oceanservice.noaa.gov

Oven fires can spark for several reasons, from common user errors to appliance malfunctions. Grease and oil can quickly cause a flame when they come in contact with an oven surface. But even something like cake or cookie batter can become ablaze if it spills onto the oven.

Oven fires can also be the result of improper cleaning (or lack thereof). The food you’re baking can sometimes escape the pan and accumulate at the bottom of the oven. This usually causes a burning smell coming from the oven but can lead to fires if there’s grease dripping from the pan.

Simple Steps to Putting Out an Oven Fire

An oven fire can be dangerous, but there are things you can safely do to prevent a disaster.

Step 1: Leave the Oven Closed

Your first instinct might be to open the oven door. However, there is a chance the fire can resolve itself. If you remember from science class, fire needs a fuel source and oxygen to continue. Whatever is burning in the oven is the fuel source—opening the door will feed it more oxygen. With the door closed, the fire could go out on its own.

Step 2: Turn the Oven Off

If you can do it safely, shut off and unplug the oven. While you’re doing that, unplug any other nearby electrical appliances or devices. This could help reduce the chances of the fire spreading and causing further damage.

Step 3: Grab Your Extinguisher

Remember, not all fires can be put out with water. Oil, grease, and electrical fires are dangerous enough already—throwing water on them can make them exponentially worse. That’s why all homes should have at least one fire extinguisher in an easy-to-access location. A standard fire extinguisher can be used in most home fire situations.

Step 4: If the Fire Is Out, Ventilate Your Home

If the above steps helped you put out the fire, you’re clear to open up some windows. This will help the smoke and other odors escape safely. It also gives you a better chance to check out the damage.

Step 5: If the Fire Isn’t Out—Call Emergency Services

If the fire is still going or starts to spread, don’t put yourself or others at risk. Call your local fire department right away. Ensure all family members, pets, and guests are safely evacuated.

Can You Put Out an Oven Fire With Water?

It’s not safe to use water on an oven fire. The fire could have started from oil or grease, which means it can spread if water is introduced. Additionally, if you have an electric oven or any electrical appliance or devices nearby, you risk electrocuting yourself. Water is a conductor of electricity, so throwing it on an oven fire could put you or anyone nearby at risk.

Source: ctr-nw.com

Flash floods occur suddenly and usually within hours of excessive heavy rainfall. Flash floods become raging torrents of water, ripping through neighborhoods, streets, valleys, etc. sweeping away whatever is in their path. Flash floods can also occur with a dam or levee failure. Heavy rain should be a signal that alerts you to the possibility of dangerous flood conditions.

Flood WATCH

issued when conditions look favorable for flash flooding. A WATCH usually encompasses several counties. This is the time to start thinking about your plan of action and where you would go if the water begins to rise.

Flash Flood WARNING

issued when dangerous flash flooding is happening or will happen soon. A WARNING is usually a smaller, more specific area. This can be issued due to excessive heavy rain or a dam/levee failure. This is when you must act quickly as flash floods are an imminent threat to you and your family. You may only have seconds to move to higher ground.

Flash Flood EMERGENCY

issued for the EXCEEDINGLY RARE situations when extremely heavy rain is leading to a severe threat to human life and CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE from a flash flood is happening or will happen soon. Typically, emergency officials are reporting LIFE-THREATENING water rises resulting in water rescues/evacuations.

Source: weather.gov

1 – FLOODS ARE THE MOST COMMON NATURAL HAZARDS IN THE UNITED STATES

In terms of number of lives lost and property damage, flooding is the most common natural hazard. Floods can occur at any time of the year, in any part of the country, and at any time of the day or night. While heavy precipitation is the common cause of flooding, hurricanes, winter storms and snowmelt are common, but often overlooked, causes of flooding.

2 – FLOODPLAINS PROVIDE ROUGHLY 25 PERCENT OF ALL LAND-BASED ECOSYSTEM SERVICE BENEFITS YET THEY REPRESENT JUST 2 PERCENT OF EARTH’S LAND SURFACE

Floodplains are the low lying areas that surround rivers and other water bodies naturally flood on a frequent basis. Naturally frequent flooding makes floodplains the “lifeblood” to surrounding areas.

They provide clean water and wildlife habitat among many other benefits including one of the most visible functions, the ability to store large volumes of flood water and slowly release these waters over time.

3 – WETLANDS IN THE U.S. SAVE MORE THAN $30 BILLION IN ANNUAL FLOOD DAMAGE REPAIR COSTS

Wetlands act as natural sponges, storing and slowly releasing floodwaters after peak flood flows have passed. A single acre of wetland, saturated to a depth of one foot, will retain 330,000 gallons of water – enough to flood thirteen average-sized homes thigh-deep.

4 – OVER THE PAST CENTURY, WE HAVE EXPERIENCED MORE INTENSE AND FREQUENT STORMS

Over the last 50 years, Americans have seen a 20% increase in the heaviest downpours. With a changing climate, we know that the size of the nation’s floodplains will grow by 40 to 45% over the next 90 years, putting more people in harm’s way.

5 – DAMAGES FROM FLOOD LOSSES HAVE INCREASED TO AN AVERAGE $10 BILLION PER YEAR

In the first decade of the new millennium, extreme rainfall events combined with changes in land use have resulted in an increase in floods and an increase in annual average flood losses from $6 billion to $10 billion despite the billions of dollars invested in flood control.

6 – IN 2011 ALONE, THERE WERE 58 FEDERAL FLOOD DISASTER DECLARATIONS, COSTING OVER $8 BILLION AND CAUSED 113 DEATHS, BOTH EXCEEDED THE 30–YEAR AVERAGES.

A homeowner with a 30-year mortgage in a 100-year flood area has a 1 in 4 chance that such a flood will occur and more than double the chance of being damaged by a flood than by a fire.

Floods can happen everywhere, it just depends on whether the risk is high, medium, or low: people outside of “high-risk” areas (or the “100-year” floodplain) actually file over 20% of the flood insurance claims and receive one-third of disaster assistance for flooding.

7 – ROUGHLY 17% OF ALL THE URBAN LAND IN THE UNITED STATES IS LOCATED IN THE “100-YEAR” OR HIGH RISK FLOOD ZONE

If you live in a high-risk area and you have a federally backed mortgage, you must buy flood insurance. While flood insurance costs vary, flood insurance averages $600 a year. However, if your community participates in FEMA’s voluntary Community Rating System (CRS), you can receive up to 45% off your insurance premium.

8 – OVER THE COURSE OF A 30 YEAR MORTGAGE, HOMEOWNERS IN THE 100-YEAR FLOODPLAIN HAVE A 1 IN 4 CHANCE OR GREATER OF BEING FLOODED – TWICE THE PROBABILITY OF FIRE DAMAGE

Floods are not limited to the 100-year floodplain and 100 year floods can happen more frequently than once every century. Over 20% of the flood insurance claims and one-third of all flood disaster assistance is for flood damage outside the 100-year floodplain. The concept of a 100-year flood is a statistical projection that refers to a flood event that has a 1 percent probability of occurring each and every year. As the climate changes, the size and area subject to the 100-year flood will increase.

9 – FLOOD MITIGATION PRACTICES THAT REDUCE THE LOSS OF LIFE AND DAMAGES TO PROPERTIES PROVIDE $5 IN BENEFITS FOR EVERY DOLLAR INVESTED

When homeowners take steps to protect themselves and to reduce the impacts of flooding through mitigation practices such as elevating or flood-proofing their homes, moving out of harm’s way, and investing in “natural defenses” they can save themselves and taxpayer’s money because it’s less expensive to prepare for a flood than it is to keep cleaning up afterwards.

10 – LEVEES CAN AND DO FAIL OFTEN WITH CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES

An estimated 100,000 MILES OF LEVEES crisscross the nation. However, there is no definitive record of the exact number or the condition of those levees.

We do know that over 40 percent of the U.S. population lives in counties with levees and that many of these were designed decades ago for agricultural purposes but now have homes and businesses behind them.

The good news is there are proven methods to restore and reconnect our rivers. Setting levees back or otherwise modifying levees allows the floodplain to store more water naturally, keep people safe, and provide other benefits such as clean water and wildlife habitat.

Source: americanrivers.org