Recycling is one of the main steps which are taken by the environment activists to protect our planet earth from the harmful effects of global warming. Global warming is one of the main issues which the people from every corner of the world are highly concerned about. Global warming can be can be reduced to a certain amount of level if we start recycling products made from paper and other degradable materials. One can help in reducing the global warming of our planet by recycling a number of materials which includes recycling the products made from aluminum, steel or tin, plastic and glass items along with paper which is widely recycled and used motor oil and even shopping bag, Mesh or Hemp bags for shopping. One can save a large amount of carbon dioxide production by recycling all these products as if not recycled most of these products in total can produce approximately three thousand pounds of carbon dioxide.
Today environmentalists have warned each and every one of us on this planet that global warming is a huge issue. Also with the increasing levels of pollution and population, the world would soon come to an end. We are also running out of energy resources. Is this the kind of life we are going to leave for our children? Start at home and try to save the planet before it’s too late.
Green home plumbing is the hot talk right now. It is an efficient way of building homes and saving energy and resources at the same time. It’s basically an eco-friendly way of implementing the plumbing system. Most waters are consumed in bathrooms and kitchens in our homes. So implement this system in those areas. You can save and even recycle the water. This means less but satisfactory consumption and avoiding waste as well as time and energy that you were about to spend in mending the damage.
Going green is the current trend these days which implies to our room décor as well. Apart from being eco-friendly, the process is affordable too.
The point is to use renewable and recyclable materials for decorating. Thus, for room accessories, opt for organic building materials like wool, cotton, hemp or jute. Recyclable wooden furniture and flooring (made from cork or bamboo) are another good option. The organic stuffs help to purify the air in your house. Cover the floors with various area rugs (woolen or cotton). They help a lot to preserve heat needed especially in the winters. Stones are also eco-friendly and you can utilize it for the floors, cabinets or counter tops.
While painting the room, avoid the regular paints since they emit toxic substances. Try out the natural and zero or low VOC paints. Invest in solar energy since it does not release any hazardous green house gases unlike the fossil fuels.
Are you planning to design your home? It is better to be eco-friendly. Going green is the latest trend and also beneficial for our well being.
Try to choose a lot that has a southern opening to allow the passive solar heat through the windows. Your architect must design the house accordingly so that your home gets enough heat during the winter and can block heat in summer. It would help a lot in saving and consuming the energy. It is good if you have a pond beside your house (for geo- thermal heating). Install solar panels on your roofs. It will gather the sun light and convert it to energy for the home. Place plants on your roof which will absorb the sun beam and filter the toxins from rain water.
Regular paints give out fumes or gases (Volatile Organic Compounds) harmful for health. Thus paint your homes in colours that have low or no VOC. Use gray water for the dual purpose of washing and flushing in toilets.
Today, the prices of vegetables are unpredictable just as the stock market. It is on a rise one day and one day it becomes totally unaffordable. So, in order to survive through these situations, everyone should have a vegetable garden in their backyards.
Usually, we use of backyards to host barbeque parties as well as to do other things. In some cases, we never maintain our backyards and it is always locked up. So, why shouldn’t we use our backyards to cultivate vegetables?
The first thing to make sure before planting veggies is the amount of sunlight that your backyard gets. Normally, all veggies require 5-7 hours of daylight. If that is not possible in your backyard, you should choose other vegetables or grains that require less sunlight.
Then you should check the soil to determine which plants will grow efficiently there. If the soil is unusable, you can use organic inducers to make it useful.
Eco- responsive renovation for homes is the new mantra of the 21st century. It is time to go green for revamping homes. Since enough damage has already been meted to the environment, the only way to undo it is by having an environment friendly décor for your homes. It has the latent art to bank a lot of energy expenditures.
First of all, don’t use organic paints for your walls. Use natural and non-organic wall furnishings or paints. Climate sealing doors for reducing drafts is also important. Fitting the thermal and energy saving bulbs is the call of the hour.
It’s advisable to insulate your entire external house as it helps in saving a lot of energy. Use rugs made of recycled materials like wool or jute. Floors made of bamboo or timber material helps a lot to conserve the energy. It’s preferable to have a solar heating facility for your kitchens. Don’t wait; conserve your environment from your home first.
Your checklist to a green home is below:
• Location of your green home: Your ideal green home should be accessible from subway system and other transport facilities. Green homes should never be built in a location that is susceptible to environment.
• Building materials: Check thoroughly whether it is constructed or renovated with green materials like non-toxic paints, sealants etc. Wooden features must be certified by Forest Stewardship Council or made of bamboo.
• Energy efficient technology: Green home should use energy efficient lighting, solar panels and Energy star rated appliances. It is ideal to have a water efficient bathroom fittings and kitchen.
• Design and size: Choose a green home that is smaller in size so that large amount of heating or cooling is not required. Design should incorporate shading mechanism like trees, canopies, green screens on the outside. Skylights, light shelves, windows etc should be proper to allow sunlight during the day.
These are some of the things that you should check before moving into your green home.
Heating up your home during winters can consume energy beyond normal. But this can be changed with eco heating techniques. Some of the eco heating ideas are:
• First and foremost seal up cracks and install good weather-stripping on your windows. Also put thick curtains, this will also keep your room warm and cozy.
• Keep the thermostat a degree lower than it used to be. This will save a lot of energy.
• Install a geothermal heat pump; this will heat up your room naturally. Ground is heated up naturally and during winters, the geothermal pump circulates a liquid beneath your home, this liquid gets hotter and is pumped up to a heat condenser from where heat is released.
• Buy energy star rated appliance for your home. You wont believe to what extent they lower your electricity bills.
These eco heating ideas are great to rely on, so try something new this winter.
Zero energy homes are not a run-of-the-mill home at all! It is the most energy efficient home that also generates its own power. These homes get electricity supply from the local electric service but they also send power back to them. This is a very special function of these homes. So if you take an annual estimate, you may observe that this will lead to a zero annual electricity bill. Isn’t that great! Zero energy homes are constructed with very high standard energy-efficient techniques. They use equipments that renew energy used and return it back.
The homeowner buys electric only when this renewable energy is unable to meet up energy demand some day. At times when renewable resources generate more power than required, power is sent back to the electric utility. This generally happens on a sunny day when nobody is present at home to utilize power. So, it is a great means of eco friendly living in every sense of the term.
Doing laundry uses up a lot of natural resources and also pollutes the environment with chemicals from detergents and other cleaning agents. So how can we switch to eco-friendly or green way of doing laundry? Read on for more information:
- Firstly, do not use old machines as they consume a lot of energy
- Secondly, always make sure you are not overloading the washing machine, as clothes will not be cleaned properly and it will lead to a second washing, wasting more water.
- Clothes dryer consumes a huge amount of energy; it is always better to dry them on a line.
- While washing, use cold water this will save energy as it consumes great energy to heat up the water. Use hot water for killing germsin sheets and towels.
- Lastly, you can iron your clothes while they are mildly damp, that will cut cost on your steam iron.
These are the simple ways in which you can do your laundry the green way.
