Simple Improvements for a Greener Home…

Want to make your home greener without having to spend too much time and energy on it? There are a few simple things you can do that’ll make your home more green literally overnight with very little effort.

Here are a few simple improvements you can make for a greener home.

==> Invest in Auto-Off Lights

Getting a light switch system that automatically turns off is a great way to save energy and help the environment.

This is an especially good idea if you have a hard time remembering to turn off the light or have children who aren’t in the habit of turning the lights off.

==> Purchase Energy Saving Light Bulbs

Energy saving light bulbs use much less energy than the typical light bulb. They generate less heat and produce just as much light as your typical light bulb.

Yes, they are slightly more expensive than a run-of-the-mill light bulb. However, if you care about going green, this is a really simple way to do so.

==> Water Conserving Shower Heads

Water conserving shower heads are very affordable, easy to install and can help you save a lot of money on your water bills.

Essentially what they do is inject air inside the streams of water. It still feels like you’re getting a full blast of water on your body when you shower, but you’re actually using a lot less water.

==> Improve Your House’s Insulation

Improving your home’s insulation can save you a lot of energy in the long run. It might take a bit of upfront investment, but it’ll easily pay for itself.

Insulation will help you keep the heat in during winter and the heat out in summer. It’ll help you reduce both your air conditioning and heating bills.

Different kinds of homes and different climates work best with different kinds of insulation. Talk to a local expert to figure out your exact cost to benefit ratio.

==> Use Green Products Wherever Possible

There are many places you can opt to go green in your house. You can buy green dishwashing soap instead of commercial detergents. You can buy organic soap in your local Whole Foods instead of mass produced soap.

You can buy biodegradable plastics instead of plastics that clog up landfills. You can buy products made from recyclable products or which are themselves recyclable instead of products that contribute to our unsustainable waste growth.

These are just some of the many ways you can go green. Just about every room in your house can benefit from going green. Often times going green means not only helping the environment, but also saving money. It takes a little bit of effort in the beginning to set up your home properly, but the rewards more than justify the effort.

Easy Steps to Going Green…

If you’d like to start going green, it helps to have some guidance as to where to begin. After all, people have various degrees of “green-ness” in their lives, and everyone has to begin somewhere. Here are some tips on getting started.

Recycle

This basic move is a good place to start. If you’re not currently recycling – perhaps it sounds too overwhelming – you can start by contacting your local waste management/garbage collection system. There may be a program in place already, and you only have to put your recycling in a special container at the curb. Alternatively, find out if there is a recycling center nearby where you can drop off your recycling.

Save Energy

Give your home an energy audit. Make sure your windows and doors are insulated – use weather stripping to seal up the space between the window or door and the wall. Check your attic and make sure it’s thoroughly insulated as well.

If you haven’t done it already, change your conventional bulbs to CFLs (compact fluorescent lights), and install inexpensive timers on your lamps.

Heating and Cooling

One of the biggest energy users in the home is the heating and cooling system. If you can, install a timer on your home’s thermostat. This simple step can really save on heating and cooling bills. Another way to help preserve energy use is to keep the filter on your system clean. Change it at least every 60 days.

In the summer, try not to flip the AC on when the first warm day comes along. Use fans in open windows to draw in cool, night-time air, and then take the fans out of the windows as the day heats up. Fans, even running continually, do not use as much electricity as central air conditioning.

In the winter, take some simple steps to boost your home’s warmth. Open curtains and blinds to let warm winter sunlight into the house. Turn the thermostat down at night, use safe space heaters around the house, and close the vents in unused rooms.

Water Use

Another simple step toward greening your life is to conserve water. Shorten your showers a little at a time, and if you pre-rinse your dishes before running the dishwasher, rinse the whole sink full of dishes, turn off the water, and then load the dishwasher. There are other simple water-saving tips you can implement as well, such as the installation of a rain barrel and only running the dishwasher and washing machine when they are full.

Natural Living – Healthier Planet, Healthier You…

Adopting a natural lifestyle is a win-win choice – both you and the planet benefit. Here is how, in part, this works.

What Is a Natural Lifestyle?

There is a certain amount of individualism with regard to what’s considered a natural lifestyle. Generally speaking, it refers to eating natural, whole foods, making eco-conscious choices, and seeking alternative medicine and health management wherever possible. Practitioners of natural lifestyles often have “green” motives and environmental concerns; others simply want to be healthier. The good news is, both goals can be accomplished in one natural lifestyle.

Eating Whole, Natural Foods

Whole, natural foods are those foods that are eaten in their natural state or as close to it as possible. Produce is the most obvious type of whole, natural food; beans, whole grains, and healthy meats and fish are also whole and natural. When you choose to consume whole foods, your health will likely benefit, because you won’t be consuming processed, chemical-laden food that’s often packed with empty calories. And the planet will benefit because you’re not supporting the use of excessive packaging and manufacturing, all of which uses natural resources and energy.

Also, when you eat whole, natural foods, you are not supporting the large fast-food chains whose often destructive environmental practices are well known. The negative effect that fast-food has on your health is also well documented. So giving it up in favor of natural foods is, once again, a benefit both to the planet and to your health.

Making Eco-Conscious Choices

As you implement a natural lifestyle, you will find yourself becoming more eco-conscious – that is, you will probably begin to consider how your daily choices affect (or might potentially affect) the health of the planet. Here’s the good news: eco-conscious decisions are probably healthier for your body, too.

When you decide, for example, to use natural flooring and furniture, your indoor air will likely be cleaner due to the lack of out-gassing from carpet glues, vinyl flooring, fabric dyes, and so forth. And the planet will be better off if you choose furniture and flooring made from eco-friendly materials such as sustainable wood and natural resin.

Natural Clothing

Part of a natural lifestyle often involves wearing clothing made from sustainable, natural materials such as organic cotton or linen. The planet benefits from this choice because it means one less person is buying chemically-treated, mass-produced clothing made from synthetic materials. You will benefit because wearing natural fibers is said to be much better for your health.

If Humans were Computers, we should expect that all Humans or, at least, the exact quantity of Humans for every Green Computer start to have a GREEN LIFE… Healthier at all levels.

Living Green Starts at Home…

You may have gotten the impression that living green involves some sort of enormous campaign that will take all of your time and send you all over the globe. While that may be a dream of some conservationists, you can live a green lifestyle in your own home. In fact, it begins here – those who find a niche in going green in their own lifestyles may branch out and become eco-consultants or other professionals in the field of environmental conservation.

Here are some tips for implementing a green lifestyle at home.

The Kitchen

This is where you cook, use appliances, and wash hands and dishes. The kitchen may be where you eat, too. So this is a good place to start with your green lifestyle.

* Save water in the kitchen by not pre-rinsing dishes and only running the dishwasher when it’s full. If you have to pre-rinse (some dishwashers just can’t handle non-rinsed dishes), then do so in a sink half-full of water. Scrub and rinse with the water off, and then load the dishwasher. You’ve only used half a sinkful of water to pre-rinse. You can also save water in the kitchen by washing produce in a pan of water.

* Appliance use is heavy in the kitchen, from the refrigerator to the stovetop. To save energy, you can combine the cooking of foods by baking more than one thing at the same time. On the stovetop, use residual heat where you can and place pots and pans on appropriately-sized stove eyes.

If possible, use energy-efficient appliances in the kitchen. And your parents were right – don’t hold the refrigerator door open!

The Bedroom

In your bedroom, you can go green in some different ways.

* Use natural bedding such as cotton sheets without a lot of heavy dyes and deep colors.

* Place air-cleaning potted plants around your bedroom to purify the air. In kids’ bedrooms, potted plants can also be implemented as long as they are out of reach of young children.

The Living Room

In your main living space, you can go green by using fans to cool the room in the summer and a space heater to boost the central heat in the winter. You can also:

* Set potted plants around for cleaner air.

* Cover windows with shades or curtains to keep out hot sunshine in the summer, and open them in the winter to help warm the room.

* Make use of natural light as much as possible. Position reading chairs and couches so that window light comes from behind, over the reader’s shoulder. Use small lamps with CFLs and timers.

Peripheral Rooms

In rooms that are not being used, close vents to keep down heating and cooling costs and energy use. Make sure sunshine is not heating these rooms in the summer, and apply the same principle in reverse in the winter.

Simple Improvements for a Greener Home…

Want to make your home greener without having to spend too much time and energy on it? There are a few simple things you can do that’ll make your home more green literally overnight with very little effort.

Here are a few simple improvements you can make for a greener home.

==> Invest in Auto-Off Lights

Getting a light switch system that automatically turns off is a great way to save energy and help the environment.

This is an especially good idea if you have a hard time remembering to turn off the light or have children who aren’t in the habit of turning the lights off.

==> Purchase Energy Saving Light Bulbs

Energy saving light bulbs use much less energy than the typical light bulb. They generate less heat and produce just as much light as your typical light bulb.

Yes, they are slightly more expensive than a run-of-the-mill light bulb. However, if you care about going green, this is a really simple way to do so.

==> Water Conserving Shower Heads

Water conserving shower heads are very affordable, easy to install and can help you save a lot of money on your water bills.

Essentially what they do is inject air inside the streams of water. It still feels like you’re getting a full blast of water on your body when you shower, but you’re actually using a lot less water.

==> Improve Your House’s Insulation

Improving your home’s insulation can save you a lot of energy in the long run. It might take a bit of upfront investment, but it’ll easily pay for itself.

Insulation will help you keep the heat in during winter and the heat out in summer. It’ll help you reduce both your air conditioning and heating bills.

Different kinds of homes and different climates work best with different kinds of insulation. Talk to a local expert to figure out your exact cost to benefit ratio.

==> Use Green Products Wherever Possible

There are many places you can opt to go green in your house. You can buy green dishwashing soap instead of commercial detergents. You can buy organic soap in your local Whole Foods instead of mass produced soap.

You can buy biodegradable plastics instead of plastics that clog up landfills. You can buy products made from recyclable products or which are themselves recyclable instead of products that contribute to our unsustainable waste growth.

These are just some of the many ways you can go green. Just about every room in your house can benefit from going green. Often times going green means not only helping the environment, but also saving money. It takes a little bit of effort in the beginning to set up your home properly, but the rewards more than justify the effort.

Making Green Energy Affordable: Steps towards the Future…

Making green energy affordable and scalable is going to be one of the most important topics of the next century. Fossil fuels will run out – it’s only a matter of time – and we need to be prepared for that eventuality when it happens.

How do we make green energy affordable? Let’s take a look at the primary challenges, possible solutions and what you personally can do to help.

==> The Primary Challenges

The primary challenge of green energy is its cost. At the moment, energy invested into green sources yields a return that’s anywhere between three to ten times more expensive than fossil fuels.

That’s why there’s so much more money to be made in fossil fuels than green energy. The return on capital is much higher.

The intermittent nature of green energy is also a big challenge. For example, wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine, making wind and solar power difficult to handle consistently.

In order for wind and solar power to be competitive, there needs to be significant breakthroughs in battery technology, both in price and in storage capabilities.

==> Working Towards a Solution

How does one overcome these challenges?

Green energy venture capitalist Vinod Khosla has looked at the issue as a matter of experimentation.

In order to make green energy scalable, a new technology that’s as profitable (or close to as profitable) as fossil fuels and coal needs to be discovered.

As long as green energy is only profitable when subsidized by governments, it won’t take off to the scale of fossil fuels. The reason fossil fuels is such a huge industry is because so much money can be poured into it profitably. In order for green energy to get the same amount of investment, it needs to offer the same level of profitability.

Khosla views getting green energy to that level as a matter of stepping up to the plate and doing as many ambitious experiments as possible.

The assumption is that nine out of ten experiments will fail and only one will succeed. But the one that succeeds can have a big impact on the planet.

==> What Can You Personally Do?

Chances are, you’re not a banker or scientist who’s actively working in the green energy industry. How can you personally help progress our future?

There are a couple things you can do.

The first is to get involved in local politics to get more green energy subsidies. Yes, it’s true that energy subsidies are not a scalable way to grow green energy.

However, the more money the green energy earns as a whole, the more money they’ll have to experiment with. Subsidies might not be scalable, but they’ll help companies get themselves to scalability.

Another thing you can do is to vote with your wallet. Buy energy-saving light bulbs, invest in home solar panels and buy a hybrid car rather than a gas guzzler.

Getting our planet to a green future doesn’t happen overnight. It’ll take major breakthroughs, but it’ll also take a collective effort on all of our parts.

Easy Steps to Going Green…

If you’d like to start going green, it helps to have some guidance as to where to begin. After all, people have various degrees of “green-ness” in their lives, and everyone has to begin somewhere. Here are some tips on getting started.

Recycle

This basic move is a good place to start. If you’re not currently recycling – perhaps it sounds too overwhelming – you can start by contacting your local waste management/garbage collection system. There may be a program in place already, and you only have to put your recycling in a special container at the curb. Alternatively, find out if there is a recycling center nearby where you can drop off your recycling.

Save Energy

Give your home an energy audit. Make sure your windows and doors are insulated – use weather stripping to seal up the space between the window or door and the wall. Check your attic and make sure it’s thoroughly insulated as well.

If you haven’t done it already, change your conventional bulbs to CFLs (compact fluorescent lights), and install inexpensive timers on your lamps.

Heating and Cooling

One of the biggest energy users in the home is the heating and cooling system. If you can, install a timer on your home’s thermostat. This simple step can really save on heating and cooling bills. Another way to help preserve energy use is to keep the filter on your system clean. Change it at least every 60 days.

In the summer, try not to flip the AC on when the first warm day comes along. Use fans in open windows to draw in cool, night-time air, and then take the fans out of the windows as the day heats up. Fans, even running continually, do not use as much electricity as central air conditioning.

In the winter, take some simple steps to boost your home’s warmth. Open curtains and blinds to let warm winter sunlight into the house. Turn the thermostat down at night, use safe space heaters around the house, and close the vents in unused rooms.

Water Use

Another simple step toward greening your life is to conserve water. Shorten your showers a little at a time, and if you pre-rinse your dishes before running the dishwasher, rinse the whole sink full of dishes, turn off the water, and then load the dishwasher. There are other simple water-saving tips you can implement as well, such as the installation of a rain barrel and only running the dishwasher and washing machine when they are full.