Concerned about using garden pots made from non-renewable resources, but want the convenience of a biodegradable peat-pot? How about this for an alternative: a pot you can make yourself from recycled newspaper!

by Michael Geoffrey

Taking care of the Earth and reducing both global warming and climate change is everyone’s responsibility. While doing things like recycling is good, there are additional ways in which you can help. By conserving water when gardening, you can both help protect the environment and save yourself some money. You may be surprised to know that conserving water in your garden may actually help you plants to grow healthier.

Conserving Water: How to Do It

The plans you choose to grow in your garden will greatly affect how you conserve water. You will want to choose plants that can handle limited amounts of water. By selecting the right plants, you will be able to greatly reduce the amount of water that you will need to use in your garden. It will also mean less work for you in maintaining your garden. Read the rest of this entry »

by Amelia Yap

Your New Years resolutions should include at least one green features for the coming year. 2009 is the year to go green — It’s never been easier. With more and more people improving their habits, it’s become more appealing than ever to implement an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Green solutions don’t have to mean expensive alternatives. With the popularity of going green on the rise, it’s become cheaper and easier to improve your living habits. For instance, you should try and unplug all the electronics when they aren’t in use. Similarly, try turning off lights you are not using. Try reducing your heater use, and wear extra layers of clothes to keep warm. You should also try and switch from toxic and chemical cleaners to the eco-friendly and home made alternatives to improve the quality of your indoor air. Read the rest of this entry »

by Carm Paynter

“Food Miles”, the distance our food travels between the farm that produced it and our table. Preliminary estimates in some areas suggest that less than 8.5% of our diet is produced on local farms. While fifteen years ago it was almost double. The environmental pressure that our food transportation produces is enormous. Food that has been locally produced and traveled less “food miles” not only is better for the environment but often tastes better too, Food has to be harvested in a much less mature state so it can “ripen” in transit while locally grown food can “ripen” on the plant. Fortunately people are becoming more aware of the source of their food.

The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, Ames Iowa reported in July 2003, that the weighted average source distance (WASD) for locally locally grown produce to reach institutional markets was 56 miles, while the conventional WASD for the produce to reach those same institutional points of sale was 1,494 miles, nearly 27 times further.
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Many kids today are surprisingly eco-conscious. If yours is one of them– or you know one that is– you might want to have a look at some of the eco ‘toys’ available on the market today. These are often fully functional kits which kids can put together to learn how green energy production works. Consider, for instance, these three wind generator kits, ranging in price from $10.75 all the way up to $46.99:

For solar energy, as well, there are kits which kids can put together and experiment with– some for as low as $7.99. Here are a few examples:

And finally, a ‘toy’ that will appeal to many of us no-longer-kids as well: a solar powered car!

Or for a gift that blows away all the nintendo nonsense, there’s this Thames and Kosmos Fuel Cell Car and Experiment Kit:

Whether you buy a kit or simply fashion a few home grown experiments from instructions readily available for free on the web (such as building this simple solar still, or building your own solar panel), trying out a few green energy solutions with your– or someone else’s– kids is a great way make your holidays, and holiday gift giving greener.

by Lill Hawkins

Are you overwhelmed by the thought of all the changes you’d have to make to your life to be as green-as-you-wannabe? Join the club and stop beating yourself up. Sure your neighbor, friend, sister in law, favorite Hollywood star is so green they’re growing algae in their pool to make biodiesel. Yes, I know that even Republicans are talking about maybe doing something – somewhere in the future – about climate change and the price of gas. And I’m also painfully aware of how you can be ostracized if you haven’t gone vegan, adopted a square mile of rainforest and saved a whale before breakfast.

But don’t get your 100% organic, no-sweat shop, fair trade knickers in a twist. Relax. You can do this. After all, remember how hard it was to remember zip codes when they first came out? You don’t? Hmm, well, I do. I’m that old. If I, at my advanced age, can change my lifestyle to protect the planet, improve my health and do the right thing, so can you.
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By Megan Holley

These days when you walk down the aisles of your local grocery store, there are hundreds of chemicals and synthetic materials available for a variety of uses. Most of us use these chemicals and synthetics everyday without giving a second thought about their effect on our health or the environment. Believe it or not, many of these compounds can be very harmful and take generations to dissolve in landfills.

There are many green alternatives to the harsh chemicals used every day in businesses and private residences. Best of all, these natural cleaners can be cheaper and smell a lot nicer than chemicals!
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by C. Greene

The problem with many ‘money-saving’ environmental tips is that they save money only in the long run: you often have to spend quite a bit of money up front before you begin to earn it back in savings. But one of the best things you can do for the planet is also one of the easiest on your wallet: stop buying bottled water! The cost of energy, use of oil and the pollution from the production of plastic bottles and the addition of so much plastic to landfills is a huge, unnecessary drain on our natural resources. What’s more there is evidence that plastic bottles can release residues which have unknown health consequences. To top it all off, many water companies simply bottle tap water–so you are often paying money for resources you have literally ‘on tap’ at home.

Now that you’ve stopped adding so many plastic bottles to your trash, what about plastic bags? Using reusable cloth bags instead of paper or plastic will make a big difference. But what if you can’t remember or don’t want to go that far? Well, you could simply recycle your plastic bags when you’re done. Or, stop buying plastic trash bags! Use your grocery bags as garbage liners. That way you save money and reuse your grocery bags at the same time.

Another simple, money-saving tip: use less paper. Instead of buying paper books, buy e-books. If you hate to read on the computer, consider investing in a kindle from amazon or another e-book reader. The newer ones are well designed to have the look and feel of a real book and to be easy on the eyes. Sign up for paper-less billing and keep your records permanently on discs or hard drives. Use single-ply, unbleached toilet paper and cloth rather than paper towels.

Weather-stripping your doors and windows is another way to save energy – and money. Weather-stripping is inexpensive and easy to install. You can find it any home-improvement store. Such stores may also offer instruction if you’re not handy and are uncertain how to work with the materials they sell.

Finally, save water by putting aerators on all your faucets. These are easy to attach and mix air with water. It saves water, but doesn’t change the water pressure. Just this one small change can save you up to 280 gallons of water per month.

To read more green living tips, visit http://www.greenenergyhowto.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=C._Greene

by Jenny Antelli

Global climate change has become a matter of increased significance among many companies. As a result, products and activities have started to turn “green.” The world of cleaning products is no exception to this trend. “Green cleaning” is a term used to describe the use of cleaning materials that contain environmentally friendly ingredients and chemicals for industrial, manufacturing, and household cleaning. The reason that many people are “going green” is to deal with the human illnesses and environmental damage that result from exposure to and disposal of certain products. Toxic chemicals that can cause personal and environmental damage are eliminated with green cleaning techniques, protecting both the environment and the health of individuals. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits the amount of human exposure and the release of toxic chemicals into the environment, but still allows some of these chemicals to be used. Green cleaning aims to eliminate use of these toxic chemicals entirely. Advancements in chemical technology have made it possible to create equally effective cleaning products without these harsh chemicals.
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