- In the shower, instead of increasing the hot or cold water flow to adjust the water temperature, try decreasing the flow to achieve a comfortable water temperature.
- Avoid unnecessary flushing. Dispose of tissues, insects, and other similar waste in the trash rather than the toilet.
- Beat the question of "plastic or paper" and take your own bag. If you must take a bag, re-use the plastic bags as trash can liners. Paper bags are just the right size for storing your newspaper for recycling.
- A glass bottle can be recycled time and time again into another glass bottle or product, without any loss of quality. Glass is 100% recyclable.
- Recycled aluminum saves 95% energy vs. virgin aluminum
- Recycling of one glass container saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 4 hours ... and don't forget to change that light bulb to a CFL!
- Recycled paper saves 60% energy vs. virgin paper
- Turn off the car. Idling gets 0 miles per gallon and generates air pollution that turns into smog in summer months. Cars with larger engines usually waste more gas idling than do cars with smaller engines; drivers of idling SUVs may as well just throw money out the window. If you find yourself waiting in long lines, turn off the car until you can move along.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Everyday Good Ideas
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Energy Efficient Laptop Displays
Perusing the Green Living Ideas website I stumbled on this fascinating article about Green Laptops.
Before reading this article I had never heard of OLED (organic light emitting diodes). These things are so cool. Here's an excerpt from the article on Green Living Ideas:
Sony is already testing this is television applications. According to Wikipedia Sony showcased a new 11-inch television at the CES 2007 demonstrating the practical application of the OLEDs.
I imagine we're not far off from seeing OLEDs more widely used in Laptops and other applications. They just seem to practical not to go after the technology.
Before reading this article I had never heard of OLED (organic light emitting diodes). These things are so cool. Here's an excerpt from the article on Green Living Ideas:
Screening Your Display Choices: LCD or OLED? Given the long-time, stalwart display technology on laptops, it is beginning to look as though LCDs will soon be relegated to a dusty shelf in history’s tech-efficiency museum, once OLED (organic light emitting diode) technology begins to pickup steam with consumers and manufacturers. OLEDs have the following advantages over legacy LCD technology:
* They draw less power because they don’t lean on a fluorescent backlighting crutch to function, like today’s LCDs.
* They have a huge potential to affect aesthetics because they don't require conventional framing around the screen itself.
* Like many other LED technologies, OLEDs are currently limited in application because organic material doesn’t last as long as the toxin-emitting options on today’s market. But keep a techie eye on the horizon—researchers are working on improved sealants to protect and preserve the organic materials, in addition to slight variations of OLED-tech that will have wider applications.
Sony is already testing this is television applications. According to Wikipedia Sony showcased a new 11-inch television at the CES 2007 demonstrating the practical application of the OLEDs.
I imagine we're not far off from seeing OLEDs more widely used in Laptops and other applications. They just seem to practical not to go after the technology.
Save Money While You Do Your Spring Cleaning
Now is the time we start to tackle those household projects that we kept putting off during the winter. Its Spring Cleaning time! While you're dusting, repainting and sprucing up the house, why not follow these easy tips at the same time. You'll incrementally help the environment while making your home more livable.
-- Dust your electronics (TV, CD/DVD player, computer) then unplug them when not in use. Your electronics still pull electricity even when turned off.
-- Wash and Dry full loads of clothes with cold water.
-- After you clean the tub and shower curtain/door, install flow restriction shower heads and faucets.
-- Flush out water heater sediment and set the water heater thermostat to 120 degrees. Better yet, replace your tank water heater with a tankless water heater.
-- Vacuum the refrigerator's coils
-- Trim the shrubs around the air conditioner unit, then call a certified technician to give your HVAC a tune up.
-- Clean or replace the HVAC filter. Set the thermostat to 75 degrees when you're home and 85 when no one is home.
-- Dust the curtains and blinds, then during the hot summer days, close south facing blinds and curtains.
-- Dust light bulbs and shades and more light will come through. Think about replacing incandescent bulbs with compact florescent lamps or start looking into LEDs.
-- Dust your electronics (TV, CD/DVD player, computer) then unplug them when not in use. Your electronics still pull electricity even when turned off.
-- Wash and Dry full loads of clothes with cold water.
-- After you clean the tub and shower curtain/door, install flow restriction shower heads and faucets.
-- Flush out water heater sediment and set the water heater thermostat to 120 degrees. Better yet, replace your tank water heater with a tankless water heater.
-- Vacuum the refrigerator's coils
-- Trim the shrubs around the air conditioner unit, then call a certified technician to give your HVAC a tune up.
-- Clean or replace the HVAC filter. Set the thermostat to 75 degrees when you're home and 85 when no one is home.
-- Dust the curtains and blinds, then during the hot summer days, close south facing blinds and curtains.
-- Dust light bulbs and shades and more light will come through. Think about replacing incandescent bulbs with compact florescent lamps or start looking into LEDs.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Easing Into the Green Living Lifestyle
Easing Into the Green Living Lifestyle
Author: IC
As global warming continues to be a major concern for the future of our planet, people are starting to turn to green living practices to help save it for future generations. Green living involves every aspect of our daily lives - from driving to work to mowing our lawns.
Making the switch to green living all at once might scare most people away from implementing those earth-friendly changes. There are many ways to ease into this practice and still help save the earth’s environment.
Air pollution is a major problem for some cities. A lot of it comes from the factories, but that’s not the only avenue contributing to global warming. Automobiles give off a fair amount of pollutants into the air.
When you have a lot of cars driving around on the city streets, you’re multiplying the amounts of pollutants being emitted by each car that’s destroying our ozone. If you want to save the environment, you can start by either car pooling, walking more instead of driving or even purchasing hybrid models that don’t do as much damage.
This small change can bring much relief for the environment for future generations. There are many ways to adapt green living into your life by taking a look at your home. What kind of bulbs are you using?
The standard bulbs we use only contribute to higher electricity bills and more carbon dioxide. If you switch at least some of your standard bulbs with the compact fluorescent bulbs, you can save the environment while saving on your electric bill.
Make sure to seal any gaps around windows and doors to keep any cold drafts from blowing into the house, which can cost you more money. Make sure the house is well insulated to help cut down on those costs in the wintertime. The less the furnace or heater has to run, the better off everyone will be.
Take a look at your appliances. Are they devouring too much energy? If they’re older models, the answer is probably yes. While some of the changes are in the appliances that you use, other ways to go green involve your own habits and actions.
Do you open the oven door several times to check and see if something is done? The harder an appliance has to work, the harder it is on the environment. If you keep opening the oven door, the temperature will drop almost 25 degrees. It will then have to work harder to get back to the original temperature.
Recycling is an excellent way to save our environment. Try to buy as many products as you can that can be recycled. Avoid the non-recyclable items such as Styrofoam cups. The less trash that has to be burned - or buried into our soil - the better off our planet will be.
These small changes may seem like they couldn’t help much for the environment, but they can help tremendously. Every little bit we do is a much-needed step toward reserving natural resources for our future generations. Get involved with the environment and start to make a difference in the practice of green living for our earth.!
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/easing-into-the-green-living-lifestyle-369548.html
About the Author:
For more information about Green Living please visit Modern Eco Homes dot com, which sells a wide range of eco friendly furniture and solar powered products .
Author: IC
As global warming continues to be a major concern for the future of our planet, people are starting to turn to green living practices to help save it for future generations. Green living involves every aspect of our daily lives - from driving to work to mowing our lawns.
Making the switch to green living all at once might scare most people away from implementing those earth-friendly changes. There are many ways to ease into this practice and still help save the earth’s environment.
Air pollution is a major problem for some cities. A lot of it comes from the factories, but that’s not the only avenue contributing to global warming. Automobiles give off a fair amount of pollutants into the air.
When you have a lot of cars driving around on the city streets, you’re multiplying the amounts of pollutants being emitted by each car that’s destroying our ozone. If you want to save the environment, you can start by either car pooling, walking more instead of driving or even purchasing hybrid models that don’t do as much damage.
This small change can bring much relief for the environment for future generations. There are many ways to adapt green living into your life by taking a look at your home. What kind of bulbs are you using?
The standard bulbs we use only contribute to higher electricity bills and more carbon dioxide. If you switch at least some of your standard bulbs with the compact fluorescent bulbs, you can save the environment while saving on your electric bill.
Make sure to seal any gaps around windows and doors to keep any cold drafts from blowing into the house, which can cost you more money. Make sure the house is well insulated to help cut down on those costs in the wintertime. The less the furnace or heater has to run, the better off everyone will be.
Take a look at your appliances. Are they devouring too much energy? If they’re older models, the answer is probably yes. While some of the changes are in the appliances that you use, other ways to go green involve your own habits and actions.
Do you open the oven door several times to check and see if something is done? The harder an appliance has to work, the harder it is on the environment. If you keep opening the oven door, the temperature will drop almost 25 degrees. It will then have to work harder to get back to the original temperature.
Recycling is an excellent way to save our environment. Try to buy as many products as you can that can be recycled. Avoid the non-recyclable items such as Styrofoam cups. The less trash that has to be burned - or buried into our soil - the better off our planet will be.
These small changes may seem like they couldn’t help much for the environment, but they can help tremendously. Every little bit we do is a much-needed step toward reserving natural resources for our future generations. Get involved with the environment and start to make a difference in the practice of green living for our earth.!
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/easing-into-the-green-living-lifestyle-369548.html
About the Author:
For more information about Green Living please visit Modern Eco Homes dot com, which sells a wide range of eco friendly furniture and solar powered products .
Welcome to e-Green Tips
Thank you for stopping by e-Green Tips. Here I'll share articles, tips and tricks about learning to live a "greener" life. I'll discuss ways to leave a lighter footprint on our planet earth without interrupting your live too much.
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