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Archive for the ‘Go Green !’ Category

Americans typically cannot do without toilet papers. Of course for a soft feeling, they invest in soft toilet papers. They ought to realize what went into making these papers.

Toilet papers are made of wood fibers and its softness is directly proportional to greater use of fibers. Thus, in order to create a substantial amount of soft toilet papers, you need to fell down a large number of trees. That can never be good for environment.

You should encourage use of toilet papers made out of newspapers or other such materials. Agreeably, these won’t be as soft but surely greener. Since you can obviously not recycle toilet papers, making a mess of them will only hurt the environment. According to latest researches, contamination due to soft toilet papers is as harmful for global warming as caused by gas emission through cars. You can use toilet papers supplied by 365 or Seventh Generation instead.

Although you can use mechanical methods to preserve your garden, you may lose the very idea your garden stands for: Being green. Organic pest control is thus way better for keeping your garden green. You may repel bugs, small animals, cankers and other plant problems through organic substances.

Garlic is perhaps the best controller with its acidic taste and pungent smell. It drives away insects and bugs. You can also use beneficial insects that eat molds and save plants from fungal infection. Milk is another effective fungicide.

Tomato will keep certain insects away. Onion will repel the bugs present on your plants. Neem is a brilliant repellant and also induces freshness.

Boric Acid is perhaps the most versatile organic pest controller taking care of termites, fleas and cockroaches. You should however use these pest controllers wisely. For instance, boric acid should not be used on dried plants.

Green your garden with them.

You would only benefit from greening your office. Here are ten ways to make the office look and breathe green:

1. Synchronize your office travel. If you can manage a carpool with other colleagues, nothing beats it.
2. Avoid use of bottled water.

3. Avoid use of plastic utensils. Try ceramics instead.
4. Ventilate your office well. Reduce application of air conditioners.
5. Use wooden furniture. Fiberglass furniture is not a green idea. Also use fluorescent lights in office for energy conservation.
6. Avoid large use of printers.
7. Use biodegradable stationery; especially paper and cartridges.
8. Make a habit of consuming whole grains in office. Do not grill or barbeque in office kitchen.
9. Use recycled computers and other gadgets. They work efficiently all the same.
10. Close the entire system when you close the office.

These steps will help you harbor a green and fresh office; good for hygiene and pockets.

Zero waste office is a euphoric state that will take some time to be realized. However, you can work your way towards emitting negligible green gas emissions.

If you are an IT firm or whatever, do work largely in soft copy. Reduce use of paper. Printers are considered widely against the spirit of greening. So print only when urgent.

Have wooden furniture and don’t stuff your office with useless electronics. Keep these gadgets in fine condition. A sick HVAC system will only be hazard to green office.

Encourage use of pencils for indoor office work. Ventilate your office well and keep your office spacious. Use biodegradable stationery. These small things go long in reducing office waste.

Installing solar panels for power creation is another wise step. Use ENERGY STAR illumination throughout your office. Don’t use plastic cups and other eating utensils. Invest in earthen ware. Keep updated on exceptional natural items usable in office.

Energy efficiency is a quick route to saving some money. You can check its practical meaning by taking certain steps in various facets of life.

You may reduce your monthly electrical bills by just using fluorescent and ENERGY STAR illuminations. Washing machines should be boycotted in cold times or used seldom.

You may alternatively walk to office or use your vehicle. This will be an asset for environment as well as less gas expense. You may also reduce your cholesterol intake. Most cholesterol carriers are somewhat expensive. Going green with vegetables helps your wallet too.

Water conservation is another facet that saves money in the long run. Insulate pipes to avoid leaks and circulate them wisely. Do not waste water indiscreetly.

Create and package your own fertilizer. This will hone your gardening skills. Use gadgets made of recycled materials. They come cheaper and are highly ecological. Live in fresh and quality air.

IT companies are flushed with computers; major generators of e-waste. You will thus find it hard to green IT. However, with the assemblage of Green Grid by eminent software companies like AMD, INTEL and DELL, you have the option to store massive data along with energy conservation.

You need to take a holistic approach towards green IT. Firstly, use green computers or computers made of recycled materials. There will be lesser toxins in them. Dispose your computers when they are out of place and efficiency. Invest in ergonomic and green furniture.

Use solar panels for energy and power in small details. This will save you some energy. Apply other energy efficient parameters like switching off mechanisms when not in function, having a garden outside and placing a few plants in-house.

Just make sure that algorithmic efficiency of your system is not harmed. Since lots of people work in IT firms, being energy efficient becomes rather imperative.

Like mobiles, computers too contain lots of toxins like lead, mercury and bromine. Thus, it is always apt to recycle your computer. You can erasers to ensure that your hard drives gets completely blank and its contents cannot be used by others.

Earth 999 and My green Electronics are great avenues that help you recycle your computers. They provide you the list of recycled material acquirers and refurbishers. You can also check online sites for better work. These companies also provide you the names of websites.

You can also hand the computer over to local AT&T stores. If not the whole computer, you can donate your rechargeable batteries to specific agencies. If you are diligent, you will get email specials from respective agencies that appreciate your concern.

It is also advised to get your new sets from companies that offer green computers, i.e. computers created out of recycled materials and help ecology.

Mobile phones have caught up so much with general lives that a single family has about 3 to 4 mobiles. When they get old and non-functional, people still preserve them as relics. These contain arsenic, lead, mercury and bromides among other toxins. Their continued presence in your house not only pollutes the environment but adds to the e-waste. This is the main reason why should recycle your mobile phone.

In the first place, get mobiles created out of recyclable material. You may serve your ecological pattern in this way. The other reason why mobiles need to be recycled is that its integrated machine will be used to create another mobile, thereby reducing usage of more toxins.

There are a number of mobile recycling agencies that provide you drop boxes and certification when you hand over your mobile for circulation. You will also get in the Govt. good books for doing that.

Green building certification is a system that regulates the building industry to prove that the project has been carried out under environmental friendly conditions and has met the set green standards. There are four levels of accreditation that are carried out to give the project a public face that is different from similar building projects. It can be rated gold, silver or platinum. Green building certification is done mainly for commercial establishments.

The basic guidelines of identifying a top green building certification are to have met the following credits in the finished building. These include: The site’s sustainability, which means that the site must be easy to maintain without any health hazard. The building must also be in a water sufficient place. The energy resources used in the building should be non-carbonic. The materials used to construct the building should be tenable both for the surrounding environments and the indoors.

Lawns mean much to the landscape around the home. In this respect they do not have to be sprayed with synthetic chemicals like fungicides which have environmental effects on the air and the soil. But with organic lawn care means it is easy to eradicate parasites from the elegant grass yard using green means.

Going green with organic lawn care means the use of designated composite made up of bacterial and fungal components that is mixed with water to compose a thick substance that is sprayed on the whole compound. The theory of the composite derives from the fact that pests have the power to destroy themselves hence their incorporation into this organic lawn care. Unlike standard chemicals, the substance has no side effects on the environment or on the health of the people using the lawn. Furthermore there are additional benefits on the lawn in form of decomposed matter from the composite.