| | | Living Green

From WikiVerde

Living Green Subtopics

• Life: A green Life
• Organic food and Nutrition
• Garden
• Health: Natural remedies and prevention
• Home tips

Definition of Living Green

Living Green is not just an idea but a complete lifestyle attitude concept. It includes living in a healthier fashion to improve the environment and consequently your personal lifestyle. For starters, living green begins at the individual level. There is no point in waiting around for national and international authorities to do it – individuals have to begin the process. Green living means healthy environmental living and it encompasses areas of water saving, energy and fuel saving including recycling to make the planet earth a greener, cleaner place to live.

Green living has to start from the grass roots level with awareness about its meaning, benefits and ways to achieve it. It’s important to remember that we make up the government and other authorities, and thus, the solution has to start from us. We are all part of the environment and what we do to the environment, we do to ourselves.

It is not feasible to come up with gigantic plans of cleaning up the environment one fine day. One has to be realistic and understand that an individual can only set small targets and work towards their attainment. If all the people on the planet start with small efforts to make the earth a greener and less polluted place, the culmination of these efforts will have a visible positive long-term effect on the environment.

Essential Tips to Living Green

Water

• Fix leaky faucets, toilets and water pipes. Don’t neglect a small drip as this can add and accumulate into a lot of water overtime.

• Install water saving faucets and pipes in your home and workplace.

• Do not waste water by washing your car too often. Restrict car washing to the weekends and use minimal water.

Energy

• Install a programmable thermostat.

• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

• Insulate your home against heat loss with periodic insulation checks.

• Use weather stripping and caulking to insulate your home.

• During the winter months, replace air filters once a month. This conserves energy as dust-filled heaters tend to use up more energy.

• Insulate your electric hot water heater and pipes. Do not insulate gas heaters, including gas heater pipes at a distance of less than six inches away from the flue.

• Avoid car usage as much as possible – cycle, walk, use public transport, car pool.

Toxic Chemicals

• Use non-toxic cleaning products in your home as much as possible.

• Use naturally-made furniture with natural fiber, wood, metal and glass. This actually goes a long way in reducing toxic gas emissions of carbon dioxide. The wood obtained does not have to be processed, saving industries fuel and energy. This is good for the environment.

• Avoid the use of polyvinyl chloride which is commonly known as PVC or vinyl in your home. PVC products, such as shower curtains, flooring materials and even toys, can pollute the environment and your home.

• Avoid the use of aerosols.

• Use castor or mineral oils for lubricating switches and hinges. Avoid the use of lubricants containing solvents.

• Always go for water-based latex paints instead of solvent-based paints when decorating your home. Never use lead-based paints.

• Service your furnace, fireplace and gas heater regularly to prevent deadly fumes

• Install a carbon monoxide detector.

Waste

• Do not throw out toxic household wastes like paint, paint thinner and car fluids in the garbage or down the drain. Try to adopt a system of recycling by consulting with community or local authorities.

• Avoid using plastic bags for any purpose such as carrying books, materials, paper, files and groceries. Take cloth bags for carrying materials. Plastic bags emit harmful gases which are harmful to the environment and to your health.

• Compost your food waste and use nutrient rich soil for gardening.

• Avoid excess packaging – this will eventually save paper, plastic, ribbon and go a long way in saving trees.

• Always use reusable mugs, lunch containers, batteries, pens, razors.

• Replace paper products with reusable, recycled, non-chlorine bleached paper products.

• When using paper, try using all of it and wear it down. Do not throw it out with only small portion being used.

Computer Recycling

This is the digital age, everyone has a computer, internet, or a mobile phone. Many of which use batteries that once spent are thrown in the garbage where they emit deadly gases. Computers, cell phones, remote controls and other devices containing circuitry are often tossed into landfills. Monitors and video displays contain chemicals that can seep into the groundwater contaminating everything that grows from the soil. This could be our entire eco-system which includes human beings, animals, plants and trees.

The solution lies in computer or digital appliance recycling. Donate old computers, monitors, televisions to schools, old-age homes, churches and even to cyber cafes. Another method of recycling could be to repair your household items instead of buying new. Once one understands the harm and danger of throwing away digital stuff, one can avoid it. Thus, awareness is the first step to living greenly. It is critical that each individual starts taking responsibility towards the environment. It's time we preserved and protected our natural resources.