Any Greenies Here?????

Question

Hey,

Ok I love the environment and my family and I doing my best to keep it clean but we're sort of running out of ideas. Here's what my family and I are doing at the moment.

1. Growing our own vegetables and fruits.

2. Washing our clothes at a colder temperature.

3. Recycling

4. Walking to school

5. Bungg more organic food

6. Buying Energy Saving Light bulbes

7. Turning off lights when not in use

9. Car pooling

10. Puting out bird feeders and food for other wildlife

11. Not leaving things on standby

12. Not leaving things plugged in

13. Buyng local produce

14. Not going on more than 2 or 3 commercial flights a year

15. Buying organic cotton clothing

I've tried other things like foraging (wild food) as I live next to a lot of fields and across the road from some woods. I also found a couple books that telll you what you can and can't eat. But my parents weren't too sure about that in case any of us made a mistake.

IF ANY ONE HAS ANY MORE IDEAS OR USEFUL LINKS OR WEBSITES PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION.

THANJKYOU!!!!! :-)

Answer 1

Composting will reduce at least one third of your trash. I am not using any fertilizers and water has been reduced to less than 5 times a year, because compost helps the soil in retaining water. I also LOVE not having to buy those back breaking top soil bags anymore.

Avoding all disposable serviceware: bags, cups, forks, plates: same as my coworkers, I carry a reusable cup around. I am trying to carry my own silverware and dish as well, but until I get there, I only buy finger food that requires no styrene forks or plastic or even the biodegradable plates which are still trouble in the amount of trash being generated.

Answer 2

I think it's great what you are doing! You can change the world, if you encourage this!

Answer 3

I think that you are doing so great already!  That is so good that your family is helping the environment!  Here are some other ideas I had that you and your family could also try:

~Buy things like clothes, paper, ect that are made from recycled materials

~Use reusable batteries or recycle dead batteries properly

~Use reusable shopping bags

~If you have plastic shopping bags, use them instead of just tossing them. They can be used to pick up dog poo, line small trash cans, ect.

~Try not to use paper napkins or paper towel as much as possible. Instead use cloth napkins that can be washed.

~Try to use fewer paper plates and more washable ones.

~Take shorter showers

~Use regular silverware, not plastic

~Use eco friendly products in replace of regular dish washing liquids, house cleaners, ect. (Greenworks)

~On a nice day, turn off the air/heat and open some windows. You save of the cost, get a nice fresh breeze, and help the environment.

~Plant trees around your house to shade and save on using more air conditioning

~Buy one stainless steel, reusable, water bottle instead of using regular plastic ones and then getting rid of them. This one you can clean and use over and over again!

~Change the setting on your sprinklers to use less water

~Buy eco friendly fertilizers (I think they have them at Home Depot)

~If painting, they have eco friendly paint at Home Depot

That is all I can think of, but you can also get some tips at www.gogreen.com Good luck :)

Answer 4

Well i AM a definite environmentalist! I would say you should prolly plant a couple of trees. And good for you for doing all of this!!! But anyways, i also like to buy shirts that are made out of recycled materials!!! There is a fund called the World Wildlife Fund(WWF) that have a shirt line that are made out of 50% organic cotton and 50% recycled polyester!!! in fact, im wearing 1 of their shirts right now!!!! but theyre cute and stylish and totally comfortable and show your opinion about helping our world!!!! and best part! everytime u buy one, they use $1 of your purchase to go towards helping our world!!! you can buy these shirts at Wal-Mart, JC Penneys and other places!!! so yeah!!! check it out!!!!!

Answer 5

Hey there - You are doing a lot! Wow! Here are some other things I do:

1. Use canvas bags or reuse old grocery bags at all stores - if I forget them in the trunk I just have the bagger put the items in the cart without bags. When I get to my car I bag everything with my bags.

2. I refuse bags when I'm just buying a couple of small items from the drug store, etc.

3. I keep a dishpan in my kitchen sink and whenever I'm rinsing veggies or just washing my hands or running the water to get it cold, I turn the faucet over the dishpan. It's amazing how quickly it fills up. I use the water to water outside plants or my veggie garden.

4. I keep a pitcher in my bathroom and in the morning when I'm washing my face and am running the water to warm it up, I put the pitcher under it. I use that water to water indoor plants or I just toss the water out my bathroom window, which overlooks some bushes.

5. My entire yard is native plants - my site is www.pleasantprairienaturenews.20m.com. The only mowing I do is around the edges to keep the plants from falling onto the driveway/sidewalk and I mow some paths around the yard. I never have to water my yard. I only water my veggie garden and any newly planted plants. And if you love wildlife, the best food is native plants - you'll attract much more wildlife. You can learn more at the Wild Ones Web site: www.for-wild.org.

6. I give my magazines to neighbors to read (or you can leave them at your doc's office or hair salon - just remove your address). Recycling is good, but even that takes energy. Reusing is better. Once every three months, I put all my mags in my neighbor's mailbox (I'm friendly with them) and they appreciate it.

7. I have a dehumidifier running in my basement in the summer and I use the water to water outside plants.

8. I have ceiling fans in every room so I can use those instead of AC.

9. I try to do errands on days when I work and have to drive by grocery stores or banks on my way home - instead of taking an extra trip out.

10. I have some of my investment in my retirement account in green businesses - energies, etc.

11. I do online banking - no mailing of bill payments and using envelopes

12. I went to www.cataloguechoice.org and removed the names of any catalogues I recieve that I don't want to get. I can always visit the company's Web site.

13. I belong to freecycle.org groups in my area - I get items from freecycle and give away stuff so it doesn't end up in the garbage.

14. Most recently I found a place where I can get rid of stained or ripped clothes, linens, etc. that can't go to a resale shop: http://www.usagain2.com/default.asp.

15. No pesticides ever.

16 Green cleaning products - as many homemade with natural ingredients as possible.

17. When I print out something at work and it doesn't print out right, I put the paper in a folder and bring it home to use in my printer - I print on the unprinted on side. I rarely have to buy printer paper.

18. I re-label file folders and use them again. There are now labels that are easily removable so you can stick them on and when you want to rename the folder, just remove the old label and put on a new one.

19. I have plants around my office cube - this helps purify the air around me.

20. I try to use water-based stains when I can and low VOC paint.

21. To keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I have deciduous native trees and shrubs on the south and west sides of my house - blocks the sun in the summer and then they lose their leaves in fall and let in the warm sunlight in fall and winter.

Answer 6

Hands down, the best thing you can do is go vegetarian. According to a United Nations report titled "Livestock's Long Shadow," the meat industry is responsible for more greenhouse gases than all the world's vehicles (cars, trucks, SUVs) combined. And it's so simple to cut meat out of your diet. You can find some good recipes and tips at VegCooking.com.

Answer 7

By "Recycling" do you also mean diverting organic and garden waste for  composting or doing it at home?

Some other suggestions:

You can also "freecycle" useable items locally, offer them to others in the community rather than throw them away.

Have you got the maximum level of home insulation and are you using an efficient domestic heating system?  How about some solar panels or a heat exchanger or wind turbine?  How about a renewable fuel boiler (i.e. wood)?

Have you stopped using plastic bags for shopping?

Leave packaging at the shops where you bought it.

Do not use pesticides in the garden.

Get an electric car or at least a more fuel-efficient one.

You can fit an sensor that tells you how much electricity each item in your home uses.  You then might be able to get a more efficient fridge or other appliance.  Make sure fridges and freezers are placed in cool ventilated areas so they do not have to work too hard.

Monitor your water consumption and check for leaks.  Water costs a lot of energy to pump around as well as all the extraction and treatment costs.  Use low-flush toilets etc.

Make sure your dirty water and rain water pipes are not cross-connected.  This is a very common problem in the UK.

Harvest rainwater and re-use grey water where possible.

Plant trees and shrubs to soak up CO2 and cool the area where you live and to encourage wildlife.  Dig a pond to protect amphibians and other animals.

Simply try to buy fewer "things" that you do not really need.  All products, even recycled ones have an environmental cost.  -This is one sure way not to make any mistake!

The best overall option might be to try to quantify your annual carbon cost and then find the best and cheapest ways to cut it back.  

I have also been thinking of painting my roof white to reflect the heat.

Answer 8

you can bring reusable bags to the grocery store and shopping, use cloth napkins, and try hanging clothes dry instead of using the dryer. Also try buying more organic products like toothpaste, shampoo, and lotion and stuff. Also, for many more ideas, go to:

Www.mad4theplanet.com

Answer 9

Sounds like your doing fine. Keep up the good work, you can check out this website.

Answer 10

Sounds like you may be close enough to find another goody. Go to the stands of cattails and wear your boots. Grab the stalks very near the bottom and pull. When the stem comes off, peel off the main leaves

until you get down to the white part. Then slide your thumb down until it breaks off. the part that came off is better than asparagus! you can cook it the same way, or if you like it a little chewy, eat it raw. You can also dig up the root-stock, which will have a large nodule on it. These are an eexcellent substitute for potatoes. Also, if you can, only flush if someone has gone before you. Of course that means liquid only. Never use any of the so-called "sanitizers" that are flooding the market. They prey on the fear that they spread, do little to iincreaseyour safety, and also weaken the bodies own immune system, as it's like a muscle. IF YOU DON'T USE IT, IT ATROPHIES, and doesn't work as well. Nothing says that you can't wear many pieces of clothing a second or even third day. Will really cut down on the laundry

that you do. 1/2d

Answer 11

(If you wear make-up) try finding enviorment friendly make-up.  

Answer 12

plant a tree. trees clean the air.

and use spell check.

Answer 13

It sounds like you are living a great healthy lifestyle. The other areas I would consider looking at in your life are your cleaning and Beauty products. Both of these are not well regulated and many contain chemicals that are considered harmful. There are several books on the subject, Green up your Clean up, Easy Green Living and Gorgeously Green.

For Beauty supplies you can use the link to see if your beauty supplies are considered safe and what is in them.  It is really hard to find products that are considered 100% natural and organic, so I won't buy anything that is rated 5 or above.

For Cleaning supplies, I've found Method and Seventh Generation are doing there best to balance natural ingredients with a stable shelf life. I also use a natural soap, baking soda and vinegar for the majority of my cleaning they work well on most surfaces.