Green

Eco Homes – Reduce Your Impact on Our Environment

Climate change and environmental effects are much talked about topics today. We hear of carbon footprints, greenhouse gases and carbon offsetting all the time. The question is what can you do to help? The best place to start would be right at home.

Start off with the easy things. It doesn’t have to involve drastic changes. They are as simple as:

– Walking to the local grocery
– Turn off lights
– Wash clothes at low temperatures
– Turn appliances off, not on standby
– Call instead of sending cards
– Use material you have at home instead of buying wrapping paper
– Take your own bags when going out shopping

You can even consider turning your house into a power station. Ingenious ways to conserve energy include using resources such as wind power, solar power, rain water harvesting, a ground source heat pump and insulation, to name a few.

Soon, governments will force you to reduce your carbon footprint, introducing environmental policies. One such Carbon Credit Scheme rewards those using less carbon and penalizing households with low energy efficiency. Poor eco homes ratings could also make your house re-sale value fairly low.

In Scotland and England, an eco homes assessment gives new houses a rating based on their environmental impact. The criteria for the assessment include internal factors as well as any potential external factors as well. Categories that are assessed include: energy, transport, pollution, materials, water, land use, ecology, health and wellbeing and management.

Five Unusual Eco Friendly Products

The RITI Coffee Printer for a PC that uses used coffee grounds – or tea leaves if coffee is not consumed in the household – as the ink supply. In addition, the printer is manually operated, each line created as a lever on the top is slid back and forth.

The Bware Water Meter. This is a device that attaches to a waterline or faucet and measures the amount of water used by the device attached to it. One of the more difficult aspects of leading a greener lifestyle is to have awareness of the resources being conserved. Without a method of measurement, any perception of the amount of use or conservation is purely subjective, especially with commercial utilities.

The HydroWind power generator that generates 12VDC for campers is a grand gadget. It uses running water – from a stream, for example – to turn a waterwheel or the wind to turn a fan connected to a generator to recharge batteries.

The sunLight. A flexible solar panel that is wrapped around an LED and rechargeable battery core to form a powerful green flashlight.

The solar cooler. It uses solar panels and a Peltier cooling system – both off-the-shelf items – engineered originally for sub-Saharan environments with a lack of electricity to keep malaria drugs cold. A much more practical application is undocumented: the cooler compartment is the perfect size for a six-pack of beer in 100% recyclable aluminum cans. For centuries, the sun has been the enemy of beer, now it can be put to an ecologically green application well worth consideration.

Global Warming- The Myths and the Realities

Greenhouse gases are paramount to life, because they keep the Earth’s surface warm. Unfortunately, the concentrations of these gases have dramatically increased in the atmosphere in the recent past, which makes the planets temperature much warmer. Scientists believe this increase in temperature will have a negative, severe impact on the Earth’s future.

Despite what you might have read or heard, It is not true that global warming and the extra carbon dioxide will actually benefit the Earth by stimulating crop growth. Warming that is not too severe will still have a massive impact on our environment. The effect of global warming will increase temperatures and the levels of the seas causing damage to coastlines and their communities. The carbon dioxide levels will raise the acidity of the oceans, which will harm marine life.

Scientists believe higher levels of carbon dioxide under certain conditions can act as a plant fertilizer, however, they now believe that the carbon dioxide fertilization effect on crops has been exaggerated in natural ecosystems. The fertilization effect can decline as plants become acclimated after only a few years. The increased carbon dioxide may aid the detrimental, weedy species of plants more than beneficial species.

People cause global warming by cutting down forests and through the burning fossil fuels. It is not just a natural process, from things such as volcanic eruptions, cosmic rays and sunlight. Scientists have ruled these natural environmental nocturnes out. Today there are a much higher level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as much as twenty five percent more than in the past.

Why You Should Use an Eco-Friendly Printer

It’s a simple fact: Printers are power-hungry; they use far more energy idling than they do operating in many applications. Most are made from virgin materials and of environmentally unfriendly plastics. When it’s time to replace an old technology printer for a more energy-efficient, made from recycled materials, ink-saving and paper-saving eco-friendly printer, how is the old one disposed in a responsible and environmentally sound manner?

When considering energy-efficiency, it’s not only precious natural resources that are being saved by using an eco-friendly printer. Daily cost savings are instantly realized on the electric bill. In an environmentally green house, the power generated by the solar array, wind generator, and lower thermal generation from the AC-DC inverter all contribute to thermal and electrical inefficiency. The newer printers use less than half the electricity in normal printing operations than their older equivalents. Timed power-off or sleeping modes can save up to 80% of the electricity used than if the printer is always on and idling. Energy Star compliance is a good starting point when considering a new eco-friendly printer.

More than 80% of most printers are made from virgin plastics. With recycling efforts and awareness increasing nationwide, more consumer recycled plastic is available than ever. Some manufacturers are using the more biodegradable grades of plastics in the manufacture of their eco-friendly printers. Printers use a lot of ink. While this may be profitable for ink manufacturers, it’s not conducive to a healthier environment. The cartridges themselves are generally made from virgin materials. Some manufacturers have established free ink cartridge recycling and many of the larger office equipment retailers and computer stores offer either cash or a cash-saving coupon when an old ink cartridge is brought in to exchange for a new one.

Some of the more responsible and environmentally conscious manufacturers are offering significant trade-in allowances for making the move to an eco-friendly printer from a list of selected older technology printers that are the most egregious offenders. Some of the newest technology is surprisingly affordable. Other cost savings may be possible at tax-time for qualifying purchases; consult a tax professional to determine if a tax credit or other qualifying deduction is available.

Currently, there are over a dozen large original equipment manufacturers with eco-friendly printer models available. It’s doubtless there will be more in the future. It was not that long ago when an Energy Star compliant computer was the exception. Today, it’s very difficult to find a computer that is not Energy Star rated. The consumer drives the market and environmentally-conscious people will make their will known to the manufacturers. With today’s engineers – who were raised in a world of environmental responsibility – it’s simply a matter of time and energy.

Tips On Going Green

One important action you can take to make an impact on our environment is to purchase items with less packaging. While it is true you can choose products with cartons that can be recycled, such as plastic or paper, it is even better to choose products that have little to no packaging in the first place. As you shop for fresh produce such as vegetables and fruits, take along your own green bags. These are reusable bags that prevent fruits and veggies from spoiling as fast. Wash the green bag after use and use up to 10 times per bag. As you purchase other items, keep in mind which ones contain the least harmful packaging and which ones use less of it. You’ll be doing our landfills service by shopping consciously.

To extend your eco-friendliness even further, shop at natural health food stores such as co-ops and other grocery stores that specialize in health food, local food or organic food. Here, you can fill your own containers from home with dried goods such as lentils, beans and other staples. This also reduces the amount of packaging used and it is often made locally and organically, which is a positive for both you and the earth.

Shopping at health food stores also allows you to “vote with your dollars”. It is a common phrase that refers to the economy reflecting where you are spending. If you shop at major grocery stores that are globally dangerous, then that is what will be mass produced. However, if you decide to use your money to purchase goods that are eco-friendly in practice, this will reflect upon the economy as well. Choose products that are made with less preservatives, less packaging and less dyes. While it may be more expensive now, it is more beneficial to humans and the earth in the long run.

For further reading, we recommend this article on Green removals.

Simple Ways We Can All Go Green

Lately, there has been a great deal of emphasis placed on conserving our planet’s resources, recycling, and saving energy. Below, we will examine some simple ways we can all go green.

Plastic and styrofoam drinking cups are difficult to recycle, and the disposal of these cups are detrimental for our environment. This problem can be solved by purchasing a reusable water bottle. A stainless steel bottle is a good choice, and most are lead free. Packing your lunch is another simple way to cut down on food costs in your household. Brown bagging is planet friendly if your lunch is packaged in reusable lunch bag, stainless steel water bottle and stainless steel sandwich holder. The result is a healthy and delicious lunch, and there is no paper to throw away. Another simple way to go green, is to set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter, and a few degrees higher in the summer. This will add up to savings at the end of one year. Washing your clothes in cold water is also a good green tip. 85%of the energy used in machine washing clothes, goes to heating the water. Unplugging appliances when not in use will add up to a significant energy savings, that includes the cell phone charger. Many homes have three or four cell phone chargers plugged into the outlets at one time, due to many family members having their own cell phones. Saving water is as important as saving energy, so reduce your shower time by a few minutes each day and install a low flow showerhead. We can all save gas if we walk or bike instead of drive to destinations that are near to us. Carpooling is a good idea to save gas if it is possible, one more way we can go green.

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