LIVING GREEN TIPS

Live Green:


The Earth has a fixed amount of natural resources - some of which are already consumed. So as population development greatly strains our finite resources, there are fewer resources useable. If we mean to leave our youngsters and grandchildren with the same standard of life we have savored, we must preserve the foundation of that standard of life. We save for college educations, dental orthopedics, and weddings, but what about saving fresh air, water, fuel sources and soil for future generations?


Most of us are aware that we need to go green to help save our planet. There are some benefits to going green as well. Are you aware that you can save money by being environmentally friendly?


The health of our environment greatly depends upon the choices we make to reduce toxic emissions and limiting the use of dangerous chemicals. Did you know that what's best for the environment is usually what’s best for us as well?


More than half of the total population in America has access to curbside recycling bins which collect certain types of plastics, paper and also glass.


Being eco-friendly is very important these days and keeping an environmentally friendly yard is just as important. When it comes to gardening, if you need something done there is most likely an organic solution for it.


Lately the planets health has been a big concern. As a result many suppliers of building materials are going "green," and making much of their products eco-friendly. As more of these materials become available to the market, prices are going down and the more of these products are being used.


http://www.going-green-ideas.com/


Did you know that household appliances make up almost half of the average electric bill? Green household appliances work more efficiently with less energy so in the long run they are better for the environment and save you money as well.


We need to work together to make the world better for our children and stop filling the landfills with things that could’ve been recycled. Not only does recycling reduce waste and save power it also provides jobs, reduces the release of harmful gasses, conserve natural resources and keeps our planet healthy.


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Oue best wishes in any efforts no
matter how small that each member
of our human race can contribute
by action or words to help the
"Going Green"
journey we must all embark
upon for our future generations...


Kind Regards

Vehicle Gas Saving Options

Our Transportation Options to Conserve Energy:


The connection between cars and hyper consumption
When we think about cars and the environment, the issue of fossil fuels and emissions usually spring to mind first. But our cars are also costing us and the environment a massive amount through other forms of hyper consumption.

Here's an example. After dinner the other night, we all felt like ice cream; so someone jumped in the car, scooted off to the store and grabbed some.

Had we been living out in the boonies, this would have never happened; we would have made do with what we had in the house, or gone without. I think that may have been the case even living in the city if we didn't have a car.

It's not as though eating ice-cream at that point was critical to our survival, even if it seemed so at the time. I'm ashamed to say we also had ice-cream in the house, just not a particular type we had a hankering for.

The effects of our decision:

- More gas consumed
- More emissions generated
- More resources that went into making the ice-cream were
used
- More wear and tear on the vehicle - short trips are a killer
for engines
- We spent money we otherwise wouldn't have
- It didn't help our waistlines any

That ice-cream tasted darned good and I didn't exactly sit there with tears of guilt streaming down my face, wailing and rending my garments as I bit into the choc-tipped cone; but looking at those points and what they entail, it really wasn't worth it and thankfully it's not a regular occurrence.

This incident mightn't seem like much, but remember that millions of people make these sorts of very un-green decisions each day - using their vehicles to go out and buy something on the spur of the moment they don't really need; leaving themselves and the planet poorer for the impulse.

You often hear the argument that without these impulse buying situations, all sorts of industries would suffer. After all, people need to spend money to keep other people in jobs.

We don't have to agree with that entirely.

If we weren't wasting our money on these transient luxuries, we would have more money to buy better quality, more environmentally friendly products. We would buy things that have a bit more life than the fleeting pleasure of oh so smooth and creamy ice cream covered in a rich dark chocolate coating and a center of gooey thick, sweet caramel...oh, getting off track a bit I guess :).

What I'm trying to say is the money would be spent, just differently. It could still support the same number of people. Commerce wouldn't topple over.

Make a list.

I like lists, lists are good. It's not because I'm obsessive sort of person these days, more due to the fact as I get a little older, my memory isn't quite what it once was. Lists also act as an affirmation, making a goal or strategy just a little more real.

Make yourself a list of what and when you can and can't use your car for dedicated trips. Put it on the back of the door or near where you keep your keys. If you have a family, a list posted up somewhere conspicuous may be the only way to keep track of the various scenarios and forewarn other family members of what you will and won't do with your vehicle. .

The car-use police

It's entirely up to you how strict your list is, there are no car use police - don't be too over the top as it needs to be workable within your lifestyle otherwise it will fail and some progress is better than none.

For example, if you're in the habit of nipping down to the store to pick up milk almost on a daily basis, make a commitment to only do it 2 or 3 days a week, keep some stocks of UHT milk as emergency backup, or commit to getting the milk on the way back from doing something else you do on a daily basis.

Drive to the store to get the paper on a daily basis? Perhaps have it home delivered instead - with any luck you'll be helping a young 'un keep a job. Better still, read your newspaper online.

Ask before you scoot

Before you head out the door to drive your 2 ton vehicle 2 miles to pick up a quart of milk, ask others in the household "Is there anything else we need? This is the only store run we're doing today." Heck, if you're on friendly terms with your neighbors, ask them too - in fact you could do this in your neighborhood on a rotating basis if you're all like-minded; perhaps even a car pool for the purpose.

Cold turkey - or no turkey at all

Sometimes the best lesson is going without something. By not giving into the perceived "need", you're toughening yourself against future impulses and conditioning yourself to plan better - for example, ensuring you have X, Y and Z when you do your regular shopping. Buying in bulk can save you cash as well.

Rewards

Think of how many unnecessary trips you make each year for non-critical items - how many miles and dollars could you save? Each mile you don't travel is around .59 pounds greenhouse gas emissions per passenger, per mile for a small car avoided; 1.1 pounds for a medium car and 1.57 pounds per mile for an SUV, plus other car exhaust chemicals.

Make a game of this perhaps - each time you resist the urge to jump in your car, record how many miles, how much money and the level of emissions you saved. When you reach a certain milestone, reward yourself with something nice - and green of course!

Remember, the best gas saving tip is not using your vehicle at all and if you really, really need that ice-cream, bike or walk to the store - it will also help burn off the calories :). Try to plan so you can have days where you can complete several errands all in one trip as well as
using like an Internet Map service or a GPS so as to come up with the shortest routes to save both fuel and time…

Thanks for taking the time to become better informed on ways to help save our environment and to become less dependent on the oil industry.


Compliments of:

http://www.going-green-ideas.com/

Creative Ideas of Green Strategy

Miscellaneous Ideas for Living Green:


*Make better use of your local library. They have more than books these days. You can borrow music, magazines and movies too, and most libraries have Internet connections available should you need one.

*Do you pick up a cup of coffee on your way to work? One that comes in a little plastic or paper container? And do you dump the container in a trash can when you've finished drinking it? Most people do, but you don't have to.
Consider taking a reusable mug with you and asking the person serving you coffee to fill it up. They will most likely agree, and you can feel good about saving the environment a little.
OK, you won't save much money on this one, but you will feel really good and totally superior to everyone else who chucks their used coffee container in the trash! Honest.


*Register with the Direct Marketing Association's mail preference service and opt out of receiving junk mail. They will then add you to the Do Not Mail database, and you should receive no more junk mail.

Most people don't know they can do this, but if you are fed up with receiving several trees of paper each week, begging you to buy something or other that you don't need, register now!


*Don't throw away old clothes. There are many charity and thrift shops that will gladly take them from you. This is simply a way of recycling your cast-off clothes, and if they are not badly worn, someone else will value them.


*Natural, or green burials are becoming popular. While a death in the family is never an easy time, it can also be a very expensive time, costing around $6,500 on average.

You can reduce that cost and help the environment a lot too by having a green burial. It will cost around $1,500 and the savings are made by not using expensive chemicals that embalm and interfere with the natural decaying process, and are therefore quite unnecessary.

Over 800,000 gallons of formaldehyde is used in funerals every year in the US. It's not really needed. Another 90,000 tons of steel is also used in caskets, again unnecessary.

Then there's the special wood that looks great on the funeral day, but immediately gets dumped in a hole in the ground! Green funerals make a lot of sense from every angle.

Learn More about Living Green @

www.going-green-ideas.com

Saving Energy Every Day

How to Save Energy in Our Daily Life:

We all learned about the renewable and non-renewable sources of energy in school. However, we never paid much attention to the rapid consumption of the non-renewable sources of energy until recently. The world is faced with severe energy crisis now and none of us remain unaffected anymore. Should we leave everything to the governments, or can we do something to save power?

The answer is simple: we can.

Tips on how you can Save Energy in Your Homes.

Computer: More often than not, we do not switch off our monitors even after we have shut down our computers. Keep the monitor and the computer switched off when you are not using them. You can also set your "energy saving" settings for the computer and the monitor. Start practicing this even when at work. You will help save some more precious energy for the whole world.

Light bulbs: You must have seen compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs being advertised all the time. You must have even used them at times. As a power-saving measure, start using the CFL light bulbs as much as you can. If you are thinking they are more expensive than the regular bulbs, the benefits of the CFL bulbs will prove much more cost-effective in the long turn by the amount of power they will save.

Air Conditioner: Set the temperature at the minimum or maximum best you are comfortable with, depending on the season. Try not to set it at too high or too low temperatures. Setting the air conditioner at reasonable temperatures helps save a lot of energy.

Washing Machines: Do you use your washing machine as often as you want? Do you use your washing machine even when there are not enough clothes to wash? Minimize the number of washes by washing full load of clothes every time.

Television: Unplug the power plug of your television set when not using it. This may not sound a big deal but this tiny step will help save power.>OR< Turn off the Power Button so the red light goes out – “Standby” mode can use a lot of energy on many models.

Hot Water Heater: Keep the Hot Water thermostat at the minimum heat. You do not need to heat the water at a very high temperature or for too long.

Refrigerator: Bring hot food to room temperatures before putting it into the refrigerator. You can also save power by taking cold or frozen food out of the refrigerator much before the mealtime, thereby saving power in heating it.

Car: For an air-conditioner equipped car, put up the windows of your car before switching on the air-conditioner. Drive in the proper gears and @ the proper speeds to help conserve fuel.


Compliments of:

www.going-green-ideas.com

Check out this new Website for many helpful "Living Green" resources!

Going Green Ideas

Ideas For Learning How to be Living Green:

Just a few Quick Tips to get our Blog Started to doing our part in Going-Green!

Climate change is a threat that can only be combated if everyone takes action. Although government policies and regulations as well as big business will make the most significant changes, as individuals, families and communities we can all play our part and make a difference.

The following eco-friendly tips will help you in three ways. You will learn how to help stop climate change and help the environment, save yourself time and energy, and save cash!

1. Use your microwave rather than your oven or hob.

Microwaves often use under 50% of the energy needed by conventional ovens. If you use air conditioning in the summer using an oven will heat your kitchen and therefore cause your air conditioning to work harder and use even more energy. Use your microwave to help the environment and save on electricity costs.

2. Use Low Energy Light Bulbs

Low energy, eco-friendly light bulbs usually use around 20% of the energy needed by a conventional light bulb and last 10-15 times longer. Fitting and using low energy light bulbs is quick and simple, and is an easy way to help the environment and reduces your electricity costs.

3. Have a shower not a bath.

Showers use a lot less water and electricity/gas than having a bath. Choosing to have a shower, rather than a bath, is both eco-friendly and a great way to save money easily.

4. Choose Eco-friendly in everyday life.

You may be surprised to discover that there are many eco-friendly, environmentally sustainable products and services available. From solar powered web-hosting to electric transport (such as bicycles, scooters and cars). By making the choice to go green and buy eco-friendly products and services we can all do our bit to help the environment and stop climate change on our planet.

As consumers and citizens, climate change and damage to our planet affects us all. There are many more simple, eco-friendly ways we can all do our part to save our planet.

Thanks for your time and we will be adding a lot of Information and Resources to help us all do our part in Saving Our Beautiful Planet & Precious WildLife so please do share this Blog and our website with others and keep coming back when you have the time. Remember, the childen can start at an early age to create very surprising benefits with creative ideas of their own to help us in "Going-Green".

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Be Grateful to Mother Nature!