Act Green Blog

Archive for the ‘Green Homes’ Category

With the cry to protect the environment hitting the headline on a regular basis, it is important that you too play a part in saving the environment from degrading.

There are numerous ways in which you can play a key role to save our environment. Here are 5 such ways you can play a part in saving the planet from global warming.

1. If you still have a single pane glass window then it is time to change. There are modern energy efficient windows that can help you in saving the energy of your house up-to 50%. Use multiple paned windows and always look to install it correctly.
2. Installing an efficient heating system is also crucial in the bid to save the environment.
3. Go for an efficient air conditioner. Use the ones which consume less energy and in the process pinches less hard on your wallet.
4. Kitchen appliances are the key. They often use a lot of energy. It is necessary to make them energy efficient.
5. Insulating is important. Energy efficient window pane, heating system, air conditioner or kitchen appliances are important agents of power/energy consumption. So right and efficient kind should be chosen to make the world a safe and beautiful place, moreover to it can help you relieve your budget by a long way.

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 may save money and still save lots of energy if you install solar panels. These include solar cells; 36 or 108 in number (according to your need) and generate .5 volts each. Thus you get good enough power through solar energy.

If you want to DIY your solar panel for a green home, you need to first get quality solar cells. These are best acquired through eBay auctions. Then create a wooden container for holding solar cells. Use pegboards for attachments and silicone material for caulking and wiring.

For wiring attachments, you will need some glue and appropriate knowledge. Set these cells in right manner so that they connect with each other to produce volts. You should use plex glass for covering the completed panel. You may test in direct view of the sun and check whether the panel is producing desired results. Solar panels will not bear you down with costs.

Your baby of course cannot fend for its own cleaning. This requires continuous lookout for its efficient hygiene. People take the easy route of letting them wear diapers for the whole day. Greater use of such plastics is harm to your ecology. Try to lessen its use by reducing their time spent in diapers.

Now containers of baby compost are also available in degradable materials. This is completely natural and you can throw the elimination in your nearby garden.

Also make them learn the art of sitting in their toy commodes so that they pick up the practice early in life. This can be inculcated in them as early as 1 year. Also, try and touch them only with sterilized hands as they pick up infections quite rapidly owing to low immunity.

Have their cribs made of wood or other recycled materials. Ensure that they remain much in natural and green environment.

Environmental pollution does not only occur in the wake of factory operations or the smoke from the engine of a locomotive. Homes too are environmental hazards that need to be upgraded in order to maintain a healthy atmosphere in the interior and the surrounding. Green housing is needed for several reasons. One is that homes around the globe account for one quarter of the energy resources that are consumed and that lead to the production of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases.

Cooking, heating, laundry and air conditioning purposes at home account for some of the biggest emissions that are apparent every day in a typical home. One of the starting points with a green home is replacing electricity with solar panels that only rely on the sun energy that is not converted to carbon dioxide. Green housing can also mean living on recycled materials like certified wooden houses, and discounting the use of paper bags at home.

Mulch is prerequisite to any garden for among other things it assists in moisture retention, curbs the top soil from being eroded, and can act as a weed killer. However not all mulch is good for the garden, including cypress, since it does not promote the growth of the plant it serves. Furthermore, commercial exploitation by mulch companies kills off a whole population of the tree that produced the mulch.

Environmentally friendly mulch includes eucalyptus and Melaleuca. Eucalyptus proves to be eco-friendly in the sense that it does not discolor for long and its mulch has pesticide effect on fleas. It is also easy to preserve the population of the tree because the species has the capability to undergo renewal of growth after the tree has been cut down. Melaleuca easily spreads into fields of other native plants which make it a great proponent for varietal mulch that can be used to re-grow fields of obsolete trees like cypress.

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.

Organic strawberries are really easy to grow. They just require to be allocated a small or large space with abundant fertile soil under sufficient sunny conditions. The fruit does very well with at least six hours of sun daily.

The first thing is to choose an ideal site that has organic soil rich in minerals and minimally acidic. Weeds and other foreign matter are removed before applying small amounts of compost that is dug only a few inches into the soil surface. The site should be raised a little to allow drainage.

The planting involves the digging of small holes in which the larger part of the plant is under the soil. The site around the plant can then be strewn with compost, straw and other organic materials. The place should be watered regularly and fertilized one time in a month using blood and bone meal before they are ready to yield fruit in a few months.

A major aspect of organic gardening is coming up with alternative ways of dealing with insect menace, without necessarily going for chemical products. These alternative ways are friendly to the environment, and should be encouraged.

Using chemicals to keep away pests is not advisable, for it has severe consequences on the soil, as well as the plants one is trying to prevent. The first organic insect control idea is for one to prepare the soil well, and considering whether it is right for the particular plant. Secondly, ensure that any compost matter or manure to be used is well rotted before planting. Crop rotation is also a known organic way of keeping away pests from gardens.

Mineral oil, and liquid soap plus petroleum jelly is a sure way of trapping insects and pests. Garlic tea spray can also be used to treat most plants diseases, and this is made by mixing garlic tea, with water.

Most people tend to imagine that only human beings can contribute to a greener world, but fail to understand that pets too, can be involved. In other words, one can learn some things that will help them have their pets live green, and make the world a natural and unpolluted place.

Some of the most common pets in homes are cats and dogs, and one should begin by coming up with green ways of disposing their waste. These wastes can be disposed of by treating it, or by isolating it. Isolating it means that the waste can be flushed, or trashed. As for cats, there are waste litter baskets that can collect their waste, and have it disposed safely.

Another thing one can do to have their pets go green is by opting for pet products that are Eco friendly. This mostly includes pesticides, which are commonly used to kill pests on the animals’ bodies. By using Eco friendly pesticides one ensures that no pollution or contamination is taking place.