There are about 200 species and about 30 genera in this family. Many species are threatened or endangered due to loss of habitat or habitat fragmentation. Two species of woodpeckers, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and the Imperial Woodpecker, have been considered extinct for about 30 years (there has been some controversy recently whether these species still exist).
The stiffened tails of woodpeckers are crucial for their climbing and foraging techniques. The tail is used as a prop. Here a Black-rumped Flameback rests while foraging using its tail for support. The smallest woodpecker is the Bar-breasted Piculet, at 7 g and 8 cm (3¼ inches). The largest woodpecker was the Imperial Woodpecker, at an average of 58 cm (23 inches) and probably over 600 g (1.3 lb). The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is (or was) slightly smaller at 50 cm (20 inches) and a weight of 500 g (1.1 lb). If both the Ivory-billed and Imperial Woodpeckers are indeed extinct, the largest extant woodpecker is the Great Slaty Woodpecker of Southeast Asia, at about 50 cm (20 inches) and 450 g (1 lb). A number of species exhibit sexual dimorphism in size, bill length and weight. In the piculets it is often the females that are larger, amongst the woodpeckers that show sexual dimorphism it is usually the males that are larger.
Most species possess predominantly white, black and brown, green and red plumage, although many piculets show a certain amount of grey and olive green. In woodpeckers, many species exhibit patches of red and yellow on their heads and bellies, and these bright areas are important in signalling. The dark areas of plumage are often iridescent. Although the sexes of Picidae species tend to look alike, many woodpecker species have more prominent red or yellow head markings in males than in females.
Motor Oil, Tires and Car Batteries
All three of these products are big environmental problems, but all three are easily recycled.
Used motor oil contains heavy metals and other toxic substances, and is considered hazardous waste. Each year do-it-yourself oil changers improperly dump more oil than the tanker Exxon Valdez spilled into Alaska's Prince William Sound. One quart of oil can kill fish in thousands of gallons of water. Motor oil containers should mention the danger of used oil to humans and the environment
Computer Printers
Most printer cartridges are easily recycled, refilled or re-built. But printer vendors sell the printer cheap, and make their real money selling supplies. They don't want you be environmental.
The "right" environmental solution is to sell new cartridges with a postage paid mailer for returning the old one. Some forward-thinking companies, such as Hewlett-Packard, have been known to do this, especially for laser printers . Sometimes you can find free envelopes for donating cartridges to a refiller, but don't bother with refill kits. They may save money, but they are messy, and you use as much plastic as a new cartridge.
Paper
Most types of paper can be recycled. Newspapers have been recycled profitably for decades, and recycling of other paper is growing. Virgin paper pulp prices have soared in recent years prompting construction of more plants capable of using waste paper. They key to recycling is collecting large quantities of clean, well-sorted, uncontaminated and dry paper.
Glass, Steel, Aluminum Cans and Foil
Glass, steel or tin and aluminum are easy to recognize and recycle. For clarity, a recycling symbol should be present, but most people have little trouble sorting these materials. Glass bottles must not be mixed with other types of glass such as windows, light bulbs, mirrors, glass tableware, Pyrex or auto glass. Ceramics contaminate glass and are difficult to sort out. Clear glass is the most valuable. Mixed color glass is near worthless, and broken glass is hard to sort.
There have been marketing experiments with plastic and steel cans that look exactly like aluminum cans. Recycling plants have been damaged by these fakes. The distinctive shape of an aluminum beverage can must be reserved for aluminum beverage cans only.
Plastic
With a little bit of care much plastic can be recycled, and collection of plastics for recycling is increasing rapidly. Plastic recycling faces one huge problem: plastic types must not be mixed for recycling, yet it is impossible to tell one type from another by sight or touch. Even a small amount of the wrong type of plastic can ruin the melt. The plastic industry has responded to this problem by developing a series of cryptic markers, commonly seen on the bottom of plastic containers. These markers do not mean the plastic can be recycled, these makers do not mean the container uses recycled plastic. Despite the confusing use of the chasing arrow symbol, these markers only identify the plastic type.
