Top 10 Green

Valentine's Day Gifts

Be thoughtful this Valentine's Day and buy an environment-friendly gift for your beloved. This subtle and caring gift may earn you more admiration from your loved one than any showy or fancy purchase.

A Recycled Card or an E-CardChoose a creative card that is made from recycled paper or non-tree materials. The back of the card will mention if it is made in an environment-friendly way, or if the proceeds will go to a voluntary organization. Alternatively, you can send an e-Card or even make a hand-made card from waste materials at home.

Organic Fresh Flowers from a Local Farm

When you buy locally grown flowers, you will be helping your community. Take a look at the local farmer's market in your area. The effort is worth the occasion, and it will make your gift more special.

Natural Essential Oils instead of a Perfume

Instead of going for an expensive and quite obvious gift of a perfume, think differently this Valentine's. Check out some unique essential oils that spread natural fragrance. These oils are distilled from seeds, plants, flowers, shrubs, bushes and roots.

Organic Coffee, Chocolates or Wines

Organic products are better for health and help to sustain the environment as well. Such products help to promote the farmer communities. Try to buy them from fair trade stores that ensure that the growers and workers have received fair wages for making the product.

Donate to a Voluntary Organization

You can make a donation to a voluntary organization that promotes sustainable development. This donation can go on behalf of the person to whom you wish to give a Valentine's Day gift.

Eco-friendly Jewelry

If you are planning gift a piece of jewelry, consider purchasing it from a jeweler that is certified that the material used is eco-friendly and it has been produced in a socially responsible manner. You may even consider non-metal jewelry such as a wooden pendant to make an eco-friendly statement.

Romantic Dinner at a "Green" Restaurant

Look for a local restaurant that specializes in organic food or exclusively locally grown food. This helps to eliminate food miles and promotes community development along with saving the environment.

Holiday at a Natural Retreat

If you are planning to take your beloved for a holiday on this Valentine's, consider visiting a natural retreat such as a wildlife reserve or park. When you patronize such places, it helps to fund their efforts to protect and promote the environment.

Organic Clothing

Clothing made out of sustainable fabrics can make a great fashion statement. Synthetic textiles use toxic chemicals and pollute the ecosystem. So go for anything made in organic silk, organic cotton or organic chiffon fabrics. You may try to buy them from fair trade outlets that pay fair wages to the workers.

Solar Powered GadgetsIf you plan to gift a digital device, a phone or a watch, or other such products, look for the ones that are powered by solar cells. An eco-friendly gadget is a great way to show that you care for the earth.

Green gifts can your Valentine's Day different, special and memorable. So go ahead and make the best earth-friendly choice of a gift.

(Source: http://www.justmeans.com/Top-10-Green-Valentine-s-Day-Gifts/44205.html)

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Going Green - The Top 10 Simple Ways You Can Go Green at Home and at Work

Interested in going green? We want to make it easy for you and your family to embrace a sustainable lifestyle. We encourage you to make the commitment, as it will have a huge impact on our planet for many years to come.

Below are the top 10 ways to going green in your home or business. When you go green, you don't have to turn your life upside down. Green living is all about taking small steps to simplify your life and keep the planet healthy.

Take the extra step today. Your grandkids will thank you!

1. Print on both sides of recycled paper.

• American businesses trash over 21 million tons of paper each year. Not every home or business has a printer with duplex capability; however we suggest switching if you are big on printing. Recycle the paper you don't need and remember to shred anything that contains sensitive information. Going green means less paper, less mess, and more money in your pocket.

2. Buy non-toxic, concentrated, green cleaning products.

• This is a great way to save money and reduce the negative impact on the environment.

Using concentrated, eco-friendly products is an absolute must. Most cleaning products, including some so-called green products, are made up of mostly water! Using eco-friendly, concentrated cleaners reduces the amount of discarded packaging and keeps abrasive chemicals out of the environment and your home

3.  Go paperless and pay bills online.

• Most banks offer online bill pay services that enable you to electronically view statements as well as receive and pay bills online. All this can be done without ever having to use envelopes or postage. Check with your bank for online services, save yourself money, and spare a landfill. You'll also appreciate no longer being tempted to use the "convenience" checks that are sent with each paper statement. Going green does have its perks!

4. Recycle.

• You'd be amazed at the things we trash into a landfill. Most recyclables are identified by the recycle triangle. Look for the recycle triangle at the bottom of plastic bottles including prescriptions, hair care, face wash, salad dressing, vitamins, and the like. Always recycle cereal boxes, newspapers, cans, glass, magazines, and paper towel rolls. Items like glass can take millions of years to decompose in a landfill. There's no better way to going green than recycling!

5. Go bag less or use eco-friendly bags .

• Buying gum? Skip the bag. The U.S. alone uses 84 billion plastic bags a year. Fourteen plastic bags have enough petroleum in them to drive a car one mile. For big grocery shopping trips bring a laundry basket. If you don't want to mess with the basket, consider a reusable bag. Keep the reusable bag(s) in your trunk or by the door as a reminder.

6. Use less paper towels and napkins.

• In public restrooms, some people use four and five towels to dry their hands, then more to open the door! Consider using, at most, two or three towels and retain those same towels to open the door. Also, reduce the number of napkins you snag when you are eating out. Do you really need 15 napkins to get you through the meal? The average American uses approximately 2,200 napkins a year or roughly 6 per day. Yikes!

Reduce waste, live smart, go green!

7. Omit coffee stirrers and bring your own cup.

• Love coffee? Think about how many disposable cups and stirrers you throw away each week, multiply that over a year, and then picture this dumped in a landfill over a lifetime. Consider skipping the stirrer. Try putting your sugar and cream in first, then pour in the coffee and everything should mix just fine. If you are insistent in having a stirrer, use a reusable spoon or an uncooked spaghetti noodle. If you make a coffee purchase, bring your own cup. Most coffee shops will be happy to fill your own cup and may even offer you a discount! Going green saves you money once again!

Keep the earth as green as possible while keeping more 'green' in your pocket!

8. Launder with cold or warm water.

• Switching from hot water to warm or cold water may reduce your normal laundry energy usage by half! Using cold water is actually just as effective for laundering as warm water. This will save money on energy costs as well as spare excessive fading of the fabric, prolonging the life of your clothes. Launder only when you have a full load.

9. Adjust the thermostat and turn off your computer.

• Adjusting your thermostat by one degree higher in the summer and one degree lower in the winter may save you lots of money on your monthly energy bill. Switch your computer off at night instead of putting it on sleep mode. This could save you 40 watt-hours per day and $14 per year. It may not seem like a lot, but over a lifetime, you are making a difference.

10. BYOW (Bring Your Own Water).

• Bottled water fan? Almost 90% of water bottles are not recycled. If you bring bottled water to work, consider a reusable container filled with filtered water from home. Even better, bring your own filter pitcher. Not only will you do your part to help the environment, but you will save the money you were spending on a weekly bottled water supply. It is also important to note the Environmental Protection Agency has stricter quality mandates regarding tap water than the Food and Drug Administration does on bottled water. Ditch the disposable and drink to your health!

(Source :http://www.greenhomegreenbusiness.com/going-green.html)

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Recycling Facts and the Benefits of Recycling

Everyone today has heard of how important it is to recycle and most cities offer a recycling program, but what exactly is recycling and how beneficial is it really to us and the environment?

What are the recycling facts and benefits?

Recycling is the process of turning one products useful parts into a new product; this is done to conserve on the consumption of resources, energy and space used in landfills.

By recycling1 plastic bottle not only saves anywhere from 100 to 1000 years in the landfill but also saves the environment from the emissions in producing new bottles as well as the oil used to produce that bottle.

For every1 ton of plastic that is recycled we save the equivalent of 2 people's energy use for 1 year, the amount of water used by 1 person in 2 month's time and almost 2000 pounds of oil.

Today the most common products in cities recycling programs are paper products, cardboard, plastic, glass and aluminum。

Approximately 60% of our rubbish thrown away today could be recycled.
A survey was done and 9 out of 10 people surveyed said they would recycle more if it was easier.
Odd as it seems there are many people who do not realize that plastic bottles our water comes in is made out of oil. 
This is the same oil that is used to make gasoline. It's the same oil that is in such high demand and is not an unlimited resource.

Taking Just A Moment
Taking just a moment to put your newspaper, soda can and glass spaghetti jar in the recycling bin will save everyone years in environmental harm from production of new materials, over crowded landfills and the depletion of our natural resources.

4000 Years
When we do not recycle at least our glass or aluminum we cost the earth in power usage, water and oil usage and landfill usage; glass takes up to 4000 years to decompose in a landfill yet can be recycled indefinitely.

Earn Money
Recycling can be done at home as well as in conjunction with city programs. Many scrap yards pay for scrap metal including the soda cans and soup cans we use every day.

Be Creative
Many useful items can be made from our everyday trash; the cardboard tubes left over from paper towel and toilet paper can make useful storage containers for our extra extension cords and prevents a tangled mess in the Christmas lights.
If your going to throw these out don't just throw it in the rubbish bin, put it the recycling bin.
Baby jars can become snow globes the kids can make and give as gifts, old Christmas cards can become new hand made cards and a glass or plastic bottle along with some clear oil and food coloring and a few other common household items can become a groovy lava lamp!
The possibilities are endless and instructions can be found in books and on the internet

Start Today
Recycling is a very environmentally green activity; however, there are ways that you can make it greener as well as building a strong beginning if you do not currently recycle.
Many people beginning a recycling program look around and wonder what they can put in the recycling bin; there is so much information available on this site, so don't panic.
By reusing your recycled storage containers you save on the environmental impact as well. Paper and plastic bags are good for recycling storage; however, a plastic reusable bin is even better.

Spread The Word
Share what you know. If you notice abundant trash in your neighborhood start spreading the word and your experience with recycling and if there isn't already one in place strive to get a city recycling pick up program started.
The fact is many of our resources as well as our Earth is not renewable and we have to start taking control of our selves beginning with the world we live in. 

(Source: http://www.environment-green.com/)

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Green Housing

Green housing is a term used for eco-friendly living. Whether building a new home with all Green Technology or making improvements on an existing home to make it more eco-friendly the green housing industry is growing.

Green housing is a step to help reduce the impact of humans on the environment and helps to promote better health and economic prosperity through energy efficiency and the use of sustainable resources.

Through making homes more efficient, using sustainable resources, and replacing appliances with energy efficient models we can lessen our impact on the environment and save our financial resources as well.

When choosing to build a new home the size and shape can greatly influence the eco-friendliness of the home.Choosing an excessively large home reduces the efficiency and increases the impact on the environment, a greener choice for the size of your home would be to figure about 500 sq ft per occupant.

This provides a comfortable living condition with less raw material and energy consuming space.  The shape of the home can increase the efficiency as well; today more dome shaped homes are being built. 

A dome shaped home can save an average of 30 percent more surface space as a box home of thesame size giving less area for heat and cooling to escape.
A dome shaped home allows for more natural light andair circulation and thus can decrease the usage requirements of energy in the home.

A dome shaped home also is more aerodynamic and cold air will blow around the home instead of penetrating the walls.

An existing home can be re-modeled into a eco friendly house thus utilizing the materials that are already in the home reducing waste that would find itself in the landfills and dumps.
Some of the biggest impacts on making your home more eco-friendly are to make your home more efficient.

This can be done by insulating it, using energy efficient windows and doors and replacing the appliances with energy efficient ones.

Insulating your home can save your energy use by up to 50 percent and tax credits are available for many people who insulate their homes.

When choosing an insulation look for natural material insulations such as recycled denim and cotton insulations.

Replacing the windows and doors in your home can increase the efficiency and energy conservation as well as making you eligible for tax credits. 

Energy efficient appliances are available that use less water and energy as well as costing less peruse. There are many ways to improve the eco-friendliness of your existing home even if you are cannot remodel or do extensive changes like appliances and windows.

Eco Friendly Houses

Replacing your regular light bulbs with CFL bulbs can save up to 75 percent more energy usage and save money in energy costs as well.

Adjust your heating and cooling by just 3 degrees; turning the heat down and the cooling up, can save over 1000 pounds of CO2 emissions each year.

Wash clothes in cold water instead of hot, line dry clothes when you can and if using the dishwasher always ensure a full load and allow it to air dry instead of heat drying. 

If you do not have a low flow toilet you can convert your existing toilets by placing water filled bottles in the tank; this displaces the tank water and saves with each flush.

When it is time to paint, look for paints that do not use VOC (volatile organic compounds) which is bad for the environment and health.

Green housing and Earth friendly living is the responsibility of everyone; however, there are varying degrees that people can achieve.

If each person lives as environmentally responsible as they are able the impact of the efforts globally will be seen.

One family may be able to build an entirely green home whereas most families are able to just improved the eco-friendliness of their existing home; whatever your level, it is only effective if you do it.

(source : http://www.environment-green.com/Green_Housing.htm)

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Industrial Energy Efficiency

The industrial sector is vital to the U.S. economy, but at the same time consumes the most energy in the country to manufacture products we use every day. Among the most energy-intensive industries are aluminum, chemicals, forest product, glass, metal casting, mining, petroleum refining, and steel.

The energy supply chain begins with electricity, steam, natural gas, coal, and other fuels supplied to a manufacturing plant from off-site power plants, gas companies, and fuel distributors. Energy then flows to either a central energy generation utility system or is distributed immediately for direct use. Energy is then processed using a variety of highly energy-intensive systems, including steam, process heating, and motor-driven equipment such as compressed air, pumps, and fans.

Throughout the manufacturing process, energy is lost due to equipment inefficiency and mechanical and thermal limitations. Optimizing the efficiency of these systems can result in significant energy and cost savings and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Understanding how energy is used and wasted—or energy use and loss footprints—can help plants pinpoint areas of energy intensity and ways to improve efficiency.

Crosscutting technologies such as combustion, distributed energy, fuel and feedstock flexibility, and nanomanufacturing are common to many industrial processes across multiple industries. Because of the widespread application of these crosscutting systems, even small improvements in efficiency can yield large energy savings and reduce industry's carbon footprint.

Opportunities also exist for companies to save energy and money in data centers, which consume large amounts of energy to run and maintain computer systems, servers, and associated high-performance components.

(Source : http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/industry/)

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Will Biofuels Save the Planet

Biofuels are a recent development, which has seen significant attention recently due to humanity's ever-dwindling supply of natural resources or more specifically our over-dependence on fossil fuels.

This has stemmed a great deal of scientific research into the issue of alternative energy and bio fuels have been seen as a potentially environmentally and affordable way for us to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.

Biofuels is really an umbrella term and it can mean almost anything, from hydroelectric power, which is generated from waves to wind, solar and other forms of generating energy. However, for the most part the term biofuels is used to refer to that of alternative substitutes for petrol, diesel or aircraft fuel.

Up until recently, car manufacturers were highly reluctant to invest significantly in bio fuels research for mainstream vehicles. This was because biofuels are to some extent an unproven technology – we know it works; just there is little research on the overall benefits of biofuels not only to consumers, but also to the planet.

This has meant that until further research has been completed, many industries are reluctant to join in to develop biofuels into a sustainable and realistic form of energy.

Many people argue that the reason car manufacturers have started to adopt biofuels as a technology is mainly because of pressure from the world governments due to the environmental impact that fossil fuels are having on the planet.

Speaking from an environmental perspective, the rate of consumption for fossil fuels has risen exponentially in the past twenty years and as a result, we are now faced with the reality that fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel will run out within the next hundred years.

Bio fuels are a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Many varieties exist and they vary significantly. Some examples are that of biodiesel, which entails growing crops that contain high amounts of natural oil then through a process of hydrogenation or refining a more compatible bio diesel, substitute is created. This creates a biodiesel, which can be mixed with mineral diesel then used in any diesel-powered automobile.

There is a similar process that takes place creating bio-petrol by fermenting crops such as sugar cane. This creates a natural ethanol, which can also be mixed with petrol to create a sort of hybrid biofuel that can be used in any petrol powered vehicle.

However, problems exist due to the properties of ethanol as it is more corrosive than petrol and as a result, it cannot be used in many aircraft or boats.

These are examples of first generation biofuels and due to their nature they may or may not be long-term economically or environmentally viable. Arguments exist that both support the continued use of biofuels and prove they are not the miracle fuel we are waiting for.

The truth is that bio fuels technology is still young. In the next twenty years, we look set to see biofuel research expand exponentially as we get close to the day when fossil fuels are exhausted.

Until that time comes, we will always have a reliance on fossil fuels and we can only hope that biofuels as analternative is a reality within the next twenty years.

(source : http://www.biofuels.co.uk/)

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Love the Environment, Save our Earth

There are many ways that you can help the environment in your daily life.

Its never too late to start changing things for the better. The earth is constantly trying to heal itself from the damage we inflict upon it. The reason this healing process isn't working anymore is because we consume natural resources and pollute the environment faster than the earth can recover from it. When we reduce our consumption and the amount of pollutants we create, the earth will be able to regenerate more easily. Working towards sustainable lifestyles will create a better, healthier environment for everyone, now and in the future - and that the hope lay with each one of us.

Here are few tips you can do to save the environment:-

1. Turn off unneeded lights even when leaving a room for a short time.

2. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.

3. Turn off lights, computers and other appliances when not in use.

4. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.

5. Minimize pesticide use and create a wildlife habitat in your yard.

6. Copy and print on both sides of paper.

7. Reuse items like envelopes, folders and paper clips.

8. Walk or ride your bike instead of driving, whenever possible.

9. Join a carpool or vanpool to get to school.

10. Shop with a canvas bag instead of using paper and plastic bags.

Environmentally friendly actions don't have to be large to have an impact. Consistently reducing the amount of energy, water, and paper our businesses use can make a huge difference, both to the environment and to our pocketbooks. How much paper would you save over the course of a year, for instance, if you always ran doublesided copies? A small easy way to go green - but a big result!

(source:http://www.the-green-campaign.com/)

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