Going green is a commendable goal and should be something that all people think about and put into action on a regular basis. Going green doesn't need to be a complicated expensive radical lifestyle change. Remember the small things that we do to help the environment add up. When many people do many small things, the results are exponential and very green.
Here are some of the things you can do when going green. These are easy things that only require a little thought and a slight adjustment in behavior or lifestyle.
Ten easy "Going Green" things to do
change the light bulbs to low wattage high efficiency florescent bulbs.
turn of the lights when you are not in a room. Use natural lighting when possible.
recycle and reuse (notice how much of your trash can be recycled).
use power strips for your electronics so they can be easily turned off at night.
consolidate shopping to one day a week so you drive less.
take public transportation when possible.
start a personal vegetable and herb garden.
open you windows and turn off the ac/heat whenever possible.
buy locally when possible and utilize the internet for shopping
wash clothing in cold water only.
Now there's ten easy things that make going green a realistic way of life for you and your family. These aren't huge things - they're easy. The only one that costs money is purchasing florescent bulbs, but they last longer and use less electricity, so it equals out the price and may even save money over the long run.
So, going green isn't really that hard if you think about it and put out a little effort. You can implement all of these items at once and make a difference right off the bat. If hundreds or even thousands of families make going green part of their lives by following these 10 items, then imagine the impact on the environment.
If you're interested in going green - and hopefully you are, then consider using the easy to follow list above to help you in your efforts. When we all do our part to help with environmental issues, we all benefit. Cleaner air, better and more abundant water, better landfills, higher quality and more abundant food, healthier populations, and a more diverse flora and fauna. Going green doesn't have to be complicated or costly. Just make a decision to do what you can for that day to make our planet and our people healthier and more green.
When you implemented these easy going green items, come back to this site and let us know how it went. Did you see a lower electric bill, did you end up with some great tasting organic vegetables that you could share with your neighbors, did you meet someone special on the bus? Let us know and let your friends know too, so they can start going green.
The Going Green Ripple Effect
The thing about going green is that with so many people on the planet, there is what I call a ripple effect (either positive or negative) on the environment. If enough people put out the smallest effort to go green and create and maintain a cleaner, stronger environment, the effect is similar to throwing many small pebbles into a pond. One pebble creates a small wave that travels outward from the source. But many pebbles, thrown at regular intervals (consistency), make the wave grow larger and larger. The cumulative effect is larger than one large pebble thrown into the pond. Get it? In other words, when many many people make going green a priority, there is a large effect on the environment. This makes the planet a better place to live and helps to sustain us into the future.
Make Going Green Your Priority Today
We all have busy lives. Most of us work, take care of children, go to church, have social lives, etc. I get it. Life's busy. But if we can make going green a priority in our lives and just take simple steps toward helping the environment, we will have a positive impact on our planet. I'm not telling everyone to go out and buy a $70,000 electric car. Just start with the basics. Turn the lights off, unplug things that aren't being used, put plastics in the proper place... easy stuff. Going green is not rocket science. It's just a matter of caring enough to put out a little effort.
If you could use green technology and build your own solar panels for less than $200 and not only save money on your electric bill, but potentially make money from the electric provider, would you do it?
As solar panel green technology gets more sophisticated and the cost of making solar panels becomes cheaper and easier, more and more homeowners are turning to solar for their energy needs. And now, many are making their own solar panel to supply part or all of their energy needs.
Building solar panels is not that tough, especially when you have a great guide to follow. If you're interested in exploring the possibility of utilizing green technology and making solar panels for your home, I recommend you check out this video.
Todays corporate world revolves around the globalized business, multinational environment and mobile workforce all equipped with the best IT infrastructure. However, these technological developments result in using up more of the environmental resources available around us. Thus, organizations need to look out for techniques, which would keep them ahead in the technologically competitive world while shouldering the social responsibility of energy conservations, global warming. The use of environmentally sustainable computing techniques, or Green computing will go a long way making technology holistically efficient.
Wikipedia defines Green IT as "the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems which includes monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systemsefficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment. With an aim to reduce the use of hazardous materials, be energy efficient, promote the recycling of obsolete products and factory waste, the concept of going green makes the organization environment friendly and cost efficient. Such Green initiatives increase the availability of IT infrastructure and provides a platform for a higher level of IT provisioning and management. Read more...
1 comment - What do you think? Posted by
ficarro -
November 5, 2011 at 7:42 pm
Going green at home is not too hard with a few thoughtful tips. Keep in mind the cleaning materials you use in your daily routines. Some cleaning materials are harmless to the environment and don't create an environmental issue. Others are so harsh that they should be avoided completely. Chemical compounds, such as chlorine bleach, ammonia, sodium hydroxide and phosphates found in a variety of conventional cleansing solutions are dangerous to the environment. So, try to make use of ecologically sound cleaning options made up of biodegradable ingredients for cleansing your home.
The ecologically sound solutions are not only beneficial for the environment, but also for humans. Many don't realize the health risks involved in being exposed to dangerous chemicals that are commonly found in cleaning supplies and household items. The more environmentally friendly cleaners are typically safer for humans and less likely to be carcinogenic or cause irritations or illness.
In our efforts at going green, we can also consider simple appliances and gadgets that use little or no electricity. Some of these items use solar power or alternative energy sources.
Solar water fountains are suitable for any garden or backyard. They are uncomplicated to install and help save much more power above time. Solar fountains are a great way to go green and be one with nature and they are affordable. They operate silently and smoothly with constant flow of water which attracts birds and animals.
These simple changes add up and truly make a difference. When more and more families start going green, the planet becomes cleaner and more ecologically sound. The environmental issues get smaller (or at least different). Join us in making the world a better place. Start using green technology and going green today with your home. Read more...
When more people want to go green, a great way to be environmentally friendly is through fabrics and materials. This is a hot trend where fashion goes green. Many green materials are considered for fabrics instead of traditional cotton. Those natural resources include bamboo, corn, organic cotton, hemp, silk, even coconut shells. In this article, we will discuss one of them - bamboo - the going green material.
Bamboo
Bamboo fabric has a good reputation from the benefit to both human and earth in the clothing industry. Bamboo fabric has a soft touch and a stronger fabric. Due the fabrics structure, the fabric is very breathable to stay cool in the summer and warmer in the winter. Also, it can absorb 3 - 4 times more water than the traditional cotton fabric without sticking to your skin. It is very good for sports wear or casual wear. At the same time, the benefits of bamboo are abundant to the earth. It grows very fast to be ready for harvesting in four years. It does not require replanting because of the robust reproduction ability from its root networking. Moreover, bamboo naturally grows with no irritation, poisonous pesticides, and fertilizers.
The best part of going green fabrics and materials is that it doesn't even require green technology. It's more going back to basics than anything else. In this case the old ways are a bit better for the environment and going green is easy and nice. Read more...
You may not realize that something as simple as roofing can be an environmental issue. You went to all the trouble of picking a reputable roofing company. You made sure they follow basic green technology principles. You even asked them to use the most environmentally sound materials to do your roofing repair or replacement. Now, you are starting to relax and sitting back while they do the work and you anticipate a great new roof. But, have you ever wondered what happens to the shingles that fell to the ground while they work?
If your roof is made from asphalt shingles, you might be surprised to know that there are green technologies that can make great use of these materials. Most people know that putting asphalt shingles in a landfill can cause environmental issues and is not optimal. But few people realize that the asphalt from your roof can be recycled and used to build roads or repair streets that you drive on every day.
This type of green technology and the recycling of materials helps keep landfills cleaner and makes road repairs and building less expensive. According to one report, the management and maintenance of roads can leave a similar carbon footprint comparable to the oil industry and cause damage to the environment. But use of recycled roofing material can reduce this effect by nearly a forth. Many roads today are surfaced or resurfaced with a blend of new and recycled asphalt to help with the environmental issues and costs involved with maintaining road surfaces.
So, whenever asphalt isn't manufactured from scratch but instead comes from recycled roofing material, it has a positive effect on the environment. Many roofers are unaware of the benefits or ways of recycling asphalt shingles. They may have to be educated by the clients they serve. If more and more homeowners insist on environmentally sound, green technology, the businesses will be forced to learn. Remember, every little bit helps and there is a significant number of homes with asphalt roofs that will need to be repaired or replaced at some time. And of course we can't escape the need for roads and the repair of roads. Read more...
The main purpose in peoples life should be saving the earth. You can save the world by utilizing products like printers, papers, ink which are friendly to the environment. As you all know that tons and tons of trees are being chopped off for making papers which is bad for environment. You can save trees by using recycle papers. The quality of this paper is not that good when compared to virgin papers. But the lifestyle and technology in this century have changed the mind of people a lot regarding the friendliness for the environment. Printing industries are considered to be the most unsafe industry. These consume lot of energy and water and also pollute the air and water with dangerous toxins.
These industries use petroleum ink which produces carbon emission gas from it. Inhaling of this gas can cause you problems like asthma. They are the major cause for damaging the environment by polluting the air with poisonous gas. These also cause the volatile organic compounds which contaminate the soil and underground water. So instead of this ink try to use eco - friendly inks (soy or vegetable ink) which is extracted from natural environment. The soy ink is extracted form soya and the quality of color is better than normal printer color. You can refill your printer cartridge ink than spending extra money on new one.
Green printer is a form of printing objects and words with friendly colors and papers. This printing saves time, currency and also the subsistence cost of the printer. Printing uses a lot of energy, so print when you feel it is necessary. Global warming can be saved if you publish on both sides. These printers are very costly but are very good for investment. The printing industry utilize on an average of 35,000 liters of water everyday.
If you really want to save the globe then stop using non friendly printers. Thats because these are free from all kinds of chemical composition. Now the technology and science has improved a lot in past 10 to 15 years. But there are still many people who fail to see the need of these printers. Why dont people take advantage of these technologies and save the world from global warming? For example you can find most of the books on net which are known as e - book. You can easily read the whole book on computer than spending money and damaging the environment. When the non recycled papers are burned, methane gas is produced in the air. This gas is very poisonous and dangerous for plants and trees and even for human beings which again brings us to destroying environment. So wake up and save the environment before its too late.
Although builders and DIY enthusiasts have been discussing the eco-friendly building techniques since early 1970s, it was not before the recent couple of decades when official globally accepted eco-friendly house certification systems went underway. It is completely understandable that he builders would need a trustworthy assessment system to steer themselves away from the unsustainable practices.
The first system for that purpose was set up in the UK in 1990. It is called BREEAM – short for the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method. It attracted an international appreciation almost right away due to the strict assessment standards and the rather obvious set of evaluation methods.
Even though the BREEAM is a globally accepted system, several European countries have developed their own local deviations based on the BREEAM principles. Initially, the English system was aimed at newly built industrial buildings only.
Ten years later a new branch - EcoHomes was established to evaluate the residential properties. The latest revision of EcoHomes happened in 2006 and it is now pretty much in sync with the current eco-friendly house development trends.
Across The Ocean
A substitute certification system was established in the USA in 1998, called LEED – short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It applies to both commercial and residential properties. Both the English and the American system are point based. The LEED focuses more on the local USA situation and is strongly attached to the US Dollar currency rate, somehow limiting its global application.
Yet, it is internationally recognized, mainly due to the clever marketing campaign and a good boost from the Government. Countries like Canada and India, where the US Dollar has a strong following, has adopted an imitative eco-friendly house certification system.
Although one can take a course and become an accredited LEED professional, it only means that you can give advice to the builders and assist them in preparation of the documentation that would prove that the object has green credentials. Once the documentation is approved by the US Green Building Council, there will be no follow-up and nobody would inspect the completed house. Therefore the certification is given on a documentation basis not on the actual achievement basis.
In the meantime the BREEAM appoints trained assessors who will inspect and evaluate the way the home is being built. Besides, the English certification system is much more oriented to the reduction of CO2 emissions and cutting the embodied energy of the used materials.
For that very reason it receives some criticism but that is also probably the only way forward to meet the CO2 reduction targets. The traditional building materials like mineral insulation sheets and cement are produced using old carbon intensive methods. BREEAM discourages and limits the use of such materials.
The Main Rationale of Certification Systems
If most of the units built in the USA and Great Britain are not eco-friendly, what's the purpose of these certification systems, you might enquire. Today they are tools that are employed to change the way we observe buildings and the way they are being constructed.
A house with a LEED certification can be sold for at least 10% more than a similar traditional home. In the nearest future, as people become more familiar with green certification, building green will become even more popular and the prices of traditional builds will plummet. So if you want to make more money in the future, you will have to build green.
Both systems, BREEAM and LEED have their positive and negative sides and they have developed so much during the recent years that any new system created by other countries will more or less derive the main philosophy from those two big guns.
The thing about going green is that with so many people on the planet, there is what I call a ripple effect (either positive or negative) on the environment. If enough people put out the smallest effort to go green and create and maintain a cleaner, stronger environment, the effect is similar to throwing many small pebbles into a pond. One pebble creates a small wave that travels outward from the source. But many pebbles, thrown at regular intervals (consistency), make the wave grow larger and larger. The cumulative effect is larger than one large pebble thrown into the pond. Get it? In other words, when many many people make going green a priority, there is a large effect on the environment. This makes the planet a better place to live and helps to sustain us into the future.
When more people want to go green, a great way to be environmentally friendly is through fabrics and materials. This is a hot trend where fashion goes green. Many green materials are considered for fabrics instead of traditional cotton. Those natural resources include bamboo, corn, organic cotton, hemp, silk, even coconut shells. In this article, we will discuss one of them - bamboo - the going green material.
You may not realize that something as simple as roofing can be an environmental issue. You went to all the trouble of picking a reputable roofing company. You made sure they follow basic green technology principles. You even asked them to use the most environmentally sound materials to do your roofing repair or replacement. Now, you are starting to relax and sitting back while they do the work and you anticipate a great new roof. But, have you ever wondered what happens to the shingles that fell to the ground while they work?
