How can my family be more eco-friendly?

Question

I have read lots of the going green questions asked and learned alot. I also watched the Green Oprah show.

My area will not recycle any types of plastics. Really the only thing they will take is glass and some types of paper.

We grow alot of our veggies in the summer and I drive a very small Ford Aspire.

I need it to be cheap and relativly easy.

We had Honeywell CFL lightbulbs, but one up and caught fire so we did away with them.

Answer 1

We can do a lot about not damaging the Environment more,and be more frugal or economic with our Natural resources ,since we get an additional 70 million people every year with an accumulative factor included ,

And we can do a lot about contaminations,especially of the soil,Air and water.

water conservation

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

pollution

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

ECO FRIENDLY BEHAVIOR

The best we can do as individuals is be more responsible ,in our own neck of the woods

Organize well publicized clean up parties ,talk on the radio

Have citizen meetings

Get the schools involved to plant trees and listen to environmental awareness talks,

If you do any cleaning up leave signs behind saying who cleaned,why and ask people not to start dumping rubbish again ,leave a hole or bins ,in case people come with trash ,

POSITIVE ACTIONS)

Classify trash take out all the organic waste and make compost with it ,the worst you can do is throw it with the trash

70% of contamination is due to organic waste that is mixed in with the garbage .

And it is just as bad in the sewer where it helps to breed rats and in the landfill it poisons the ground

And it is the easiest to take care of

o first of all we have to classify trash at least keep the organic to one side ,like in a plastic bin with a lid

If you got a few meters of ground ,you only need 1 or 2 square meters in a shallow hole ,in the shade ,that you can wet now and again ,where you dump everything that is organic ,from toilet paper,bones vegetable cuttings ,eggshells,,,excrement ,and cover regularly with leaves to keep humid and to hide any smell

the worms will come and decompose the wastes turning it into beautiful black soil for the garden of flower pots .

If you are in a apartment ,if you have a balcony get a big plastic bin drill some holes in the side and lid ,

Add a few buckets of sand now and again to put over the trash ,you should really stir or move the stuff at times to aerate it and ensure that the decomposition is overall ,keep moist

This rubbish does not get big very fast and the thing works for a long time with out getting full

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these are Al gores sites

http://events.stepitup2007.org/............

http://www.stepitup2007.org/

http://events.stepitup2007.org/............

If you want to help the planet ,plant a tree every week ,if everyone on the planet did we we would be able to slowdown the destructive processes

Reduce carbon emissions,and they are already working on that by alternative forms of energy and regulations on carbon producing materials,aerosol cans,burning rubbish,industrial chimneys,power plants etc.

Water harvesting projects ,such as millions of small dams.to redirect over ground water flows from the rains into the ground to supply subterranean water supplies.

The protection of existing forests.

Stop building more highways,urban planning to include vegetation stop building cities encourage people to return to the land to conduct their business from there which now has become possible thanks to the internet.

Education to motivate people to auto sufficiency by building more home food gardens.

Education on environmental awareness

education on family planning to curb over´population

Agricultural education and improvements to follow the principals or sustainability and soil management.

More environmental or land ,design to prevent bush fires,such as--fire breaks

More dams.regulations and control for public behavior

Alternative efficient public transport to discourage the use of the internal combustion engine

101 Ways To Live More Ecologically,may be you find something that applies to you

1. Avoid disposable in favor of reusable

items.

2. Avoid drying rags in a clothes dryer.

3. Avoid power appliances when hand power works.

4. Avoid highly processed foods.

5. Avoid using styro foam—it can't be recycled.

6. Avoid watering driveways and sidewalks.

7. Be responsible and creative with leftover foods.

8. Buy in bulk goods to reduce wasted packaging.

9. Buy energy efficient electric appliances.

10. Buy foods without additives.

11. Buy foods without preservatives.

12. Buy food and goods from sources you trust

13. Buy large quantities to reduce shopping trips.

14. Buy living Christmas trees.

15. Buy locally grown food and produce.

16. Buy organic, pesticide-free foods.

17. Compost your food scraps.

18. Discover and protect watersheds in your area,

19. Don't burn trash or other smoky materials.

20. Drain cooking grease onto paper bags, not paper towels.

21. Drive a fuel-efficient car.

22. Drive less: walk, bicycle, carpooland use public transportation.

23. Eat foods low on the food chain; avoid meat.

24. Eat more natural, nutritious foods.

25. Educate elected representatives on ecology.

26. Exercise regularly.

27. Explore and learn about your bio region.

28. Grow your own food, even a small amount.

29. Hang dry some or all of your clothes.

30. Heat your home less and wear warmer clothes.

31. Heat your home more with renewable energies.

32. Hold a potluck dinner to discuss local ecology.

33. If you use a dishwasher, turn off the drying cycle.

34. Install a water-conserving device in your toilets.

35. Install a water-conserving shower head.

36. Insulate your home to maximum efficiency.

37. Invest for social responsibility as well as profit.

38. Invest in solar power, where practical.

39. Invest in well-made, long-lived clothing.

40. Keep hazardous chemicals in safe containers.

41. Keep appliance motors well adjusted for efficiency.

42. Mend and repair rather than discard and replace.

43. Oppose meddling in ecological balance.

44. Oppose private development of special areas.

45. Oppose roadside use of defoliants.

46. Organize or join a neighborhood toy exchange.

47. Pick up litter along streets and highways.

48. Plant native trees and shrubs around your home.

49. Plant trees throughout your community.

50. Plant your living Christmas tree.

51. Practice preventive health care.

52. Practice responsible family planning.

53. Prepare only as much food as will be eaten.

54. Protect your favorite distinctive natural areas.

55. Purchase goods in reusable/recyclable containers.

56. Put a catalytic converter on your wood stove.

57. Put toxic substances out of reach of children.

58. Recycle aluminum.

59. Recycle glass.

60. Recycle newspaper.

61. Recycle old clothes.

62. Recycle plastic.

63. Recycle used motor oil.

64. Recycle your unneeded items.

65. Re-use paper bags.

66. Re-use plastic bags for storage and waste.

67. Save up for full loads in clothes washers.

68. Save up for full loads in dishwasher.

69. Shop by phone, then go pick up your purchases.

70. Speak out about your values in community groups.

71. Support efficient energy sources in your bioregion.

72. Support elected representatives on ecological issues.

73. Support energy conservation in your bioregion.

74. Support global ecological improvement efforts.

75. Support local credit unions.

76. Support local merchants before large chains.

77. Support neighborhood food cooperatives.

78. Support proper waste water and sewage treatment.

79. Support the cultural diversity in your bio region.

80. Support the plants and animals in your community.

81. Take shorter showers.

82. Teach your children ecological wisdom.

83. Turn down the thermostat on your water heater.

84. Turn off the lights when not needed.

85. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth.

86. Use biodegradable soaps and detergents.

87. Use cloth diapers.

88. Use cloth table napkins.

89. Use less tap water whenever possible.

90. Use non-toxic pest control.

91. Use only medications you trust/understand.

92. Use rags or towels instead of paper.

93. Use rechargeable batteries.

94. Use the second side of paper for scratch paper.

95. Use water from cooking vegetables to make soup.

96. Volunteer for work in a community garden.

97. Volunteer to maintain local parks and wilderness.

98. Wash clothes in cold water.

99. Wash dishes in still, not running water.

100. Weather-seal your home.

101. Work to unlearn poor ecological habits

Answer 2

There are many ways to be more eco-friendly. They are listed here http://www.seql.org/100ways.cfm

Some good ones I've been learning about are:

1. Use as little lighting as possible. If everyone is in one room of the house, turn off all the other lights in the house.

2. Use baking soda to clean things. Baking soda and some good scrubbing will clean just about anything

3. Turn off unused electronics, even those in "stand by" or "sleep" mode. Anything in "stand by" or "sleep" does use little electricity, but that little bit over a long time adds up quickly.

4. This one might sound gross, but it works. Flush the toilet really only when needed. One flush can take care of a lot of body waste at once, and it can handle any amount of urine. So instead of one flush per visit, maybe one flush per 3 visits.

Anyway, that's all I have for those. Check out the website and good luck on your eco-friendly quest!!

Answer 3

You're not going to believe me when I say this is cheap or easy, but once you get started the money savings will be mind blowing, and it will become second nature and very easy.  So what is it?

Food storage & cooking from scratch.  I'm talking about a years worth of food storage.

Nice loaves of bread at the grocery store cost $3.50-$5 a loaf.  I make WONDERFUL bread for about $.10 (ten cents) a loaf.  We eat two loaves a week usually.  That is a cost of $10.40 cents a YEAR for out homemade bread....which is actually good for you, and tastes heavenly.

Or I could spend $364 a year on bread that has perservatives, few vitamins, and then have all of those plastic bread wrappers to toss out.

By storing a years worth of food, I never (and I do mean never) buy food unless it's on sale.  Tuna is always $.25-.$33 cents a can.  Canned soups are always $.33 -$.50 cents a can.

Canned chilli is never more than $.59 cents a can.

And yes I'm talking about name brand canned foods....not weird off brands that taste like canned dog food.

I also have a years food for our dogs and cats.  That means when all the dog food brands seemed to be tainted with garbage from China I wasn't stressing....my critters were safe.

The more you cook from scratch for yourself/family the fewer plastics you will produce to toss away.  

I realize of course a lot of plastics come from the dairy section, and unless you are willing/able to milk a goat or cow, you cannot eliminate them entirely (I raise goats).

A years worth of food really does not take up as much space as you might think.  

One other thing if you do food storage.  Part of food storage is having a well stocked freezer (full sized), so you ALWAYS buy your meat on sale (.$59 cents for good chicken, not Tyson c**p, $2.50 for good steak, $.99 cent for good hamburger, ect).  This means you are eating meats that have been in your freezer (always, always rotate the foods!).  So you are eating hamburger that is a few weeks, to a few months old from your freezer.  What this means is your family is SAFE from food contamination.  

Meat recalled for Ecoli?  Possibly it's in your freezer, but your family is NOT eating it.  Instead they are eating the stuff you purchased a few months ago.  

Peanut butter recalled for contamination?  No problem...your family is eating the stuff you purchased a year ago...just return the recalled stuff to your store, and live happily and safely off your food storage, and only restock after the recall is done with.

Food storage keeps your family safe, it saves you oddles of money, and it helps trmendously in the event of a family crisis.

A family crisis can be horrible, like a death, or "simple" like the loss of a job.  Imagine not stressing at all if the prime bread winner of your family looses their job about buying groceries?!  A family just down the road from me had a crisis this summer.  They have 7 children, plus the parents.  Out of pocket and completely unexpectedly they had to put in a $10K drain field/septic tank after their septic system failed.  

If they had food storage they might be able to pay their phone bill, and have had a modest Christmas for their children.  Instead their utilities are being shut off right and left, zero Christmas for the children, and are having a great deal of trouble buying groceries as well as gas for their one and only running vehicle.  (The local community/church is helping them out as much as possible)

If you are interested in this, email me, and I'll give you the title of a very helpful book, as well as yahoo groups you can join for really great tips.

Most people poo-poo the idea of food storage (and cooking from scratch) as being environmentaly friendly but it sure is!  The amount of garbage your household generates goes down like you wouldn't believe.  Also imagine how great it is for the environment and your pocketbook if you only go to the grocery store every three-six months?  How much would you save in fuel costs?!  

Hubby and I only shop once or twice a year!  Huge savings!

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 4

cheap and easy - have 0-1 kids... biggest contributor to the planet is the number of people.. if everyone simply had fewer kids we could bring our population growth under control a bit more.. currently over 6.5 BILLION we are the biggest threat to ourselves if we continue to allow the human race to grow at the rate it is now..

the problem is that we are living longer (fewer babies dying.. fewer women dying in child birth ) so our kids no longer replace us.. or our parents like in the olden days when population was more steady.. we are now exploding so having 0-1 kid is the best... ( I personally had my tubes tied after 1 kid)

- eat less meat.. have some meatless meals (eg. meatless spagetti.. it doesnt have to be with tofu) or at least have smaller portions of meat when you have it.. most people eat more meat than they should for health reasons anyhow - the portion size should be the size of a deck of cards... this will save you money and you will be healthier (less hormones from the meat) and is better for the environment too!

- dont buy stuff you dont need.. does anyone really need knick knacks??

- shop at second hand stores and donate unwanted things to them

Answer 5

You want cheap and easy?!?!?

Ha.

I guess thats common for most people who get their knowledge from Oprah.

Answer 6

just use less in general. buy less products that are packaged with plastic. consider recycling in other ways, like thrift stores and garage sales, and reusing your own stuff around the house. turn off the water and lights/other electronics when youre not using them.

drive less and BIKE, walk, or take public transit more. if you have an errand to do close by to your home, why not bike? when you do your errands in the car plan accordingly which place you will go first, second, and so on, so you drive the least.

use cloth instead of paper napkins. this will save you money too. when you run your washer or dish washer be sure to wash a full load. and if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down!

also if you can buy produce or other products that are locally grown, the closer the better. it takes a lot of fuel to ship fruit over from south america!

going vegetarian is "difficult" for many but a great way to be eco friendly. simply cutting down on the beef and pork would help immensly, as they use up huge amounts of land and put alot of methane gas into the air, contributing to global warming.

Answer 7

The best way would be to lower the heat transfer coefficient for you house (ie make you home more energy efficient)

The easiest way for you to identify areas for improvement is to request an energy audit from your local utility provider.  The energy audit will most likely be free, and it will determine the areas of your house that are ripe for improvment.  Futhermore they will probably have rebates and grants to improve insulation of the attic or the installation of more energy efficient windows.  These are tested, proven, calculated ways to lower your energy consumption.  These improvments have the benefits of lowering your bills, while being cost effective since your initial cost is reduced from grants from the utilities/government.

Here are a couple of links to help you out;

http://www.dsireusa.org/

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/financ...

http://www.ashrae.org/

Good luck, email me if you have any questions

Answer 8

A thousand little things that are in most cases painless enough when you get used to them. It is more a common sense outlook of "Waste not -Want not" or as my grandfather used to say, "use it up-wear it out-make it do -or do without". I think it's the "do without" part that most folks stumble on.

Consumerism driven right wingers define success at some level as the ability to waste. Ultra-Greenies rant & rave about wastefulness, but I find that on a per capita basis, they use more energy than I do. the just seem to demand that some one else invent things that allow them to continue to lead an easy life but not pollute.

I have personally found that home energy and vehicles are two of the largest places to find savings, such as your Aspire. The third largest group at least in my research is in a person's refuse stream. I believe that I do better in my choice of pruchases in the first place than in my recycling in terms of lowering my non-renewable energy use. I don't buy things I don't need, and watch the type and style of the packaging of what I do buy. Remember the production of all types of packaging takes energy, and so does recycling it. Maybe I have too much time on my hands but I track this stuff in my own life, and have some personal statistics to back it up in fact. But because I don't run around in tie dye & Birkenstocks protesting, no one takes my "greenness" seriously. Meanwhile, I am saving a bundle on energy costs, and contributing less than average to our pollution & environmental dilema. It just don't count because I'm not doing it in a highly visible"PC" fashion.

Good luck

Answer 9

You can start to help the environment with this:

https://www.ezinfocenter.com/7893080/Dep...

You can recycle ANYTHING that is legal for all ages and still usable to someone else too.

Just go here to find out more info. and for a nearby location to your home: http://FreeCycle.org

Then once you go to that website - click on your area and your state - then your county - then your city. It is a world-wide organization too by the way.

Everything and ANYTHING on that site is recycleable and FREE to do so!!! You don't even need to haul it away - they will come and pick it up from you for FREE!

I use that site all the time to recycle things - DAILY!

Hope this helps ;-)

Michael

Harvard, IL USA

My World-wide "FREE" Classified Ad Site:

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Je...

Answer 10

This summer I am changing our backyard to have less grass to save on water and am going with plants that are part of this environment. Try and recycle all the plastic bags from stores that are in your town. I recycle mine in Fred Meyer.

Answer 11

Share your house with more people.

Organize a car pool... 4 passengers in a corrolla going to a common destination takes less energy than even public transportation running with half loads.

Move much closer to where you work.

Do not use air conditioning with temperature below  32C, and run the air conditioner only to bring the temp down to 32C.

Drop your interior temperature during heating season to reduce heating usage. ( careful to insulate so that pipes do not freeze).

Discontinue use of fertilizer on your lawn and stop watering it.

Use a dehydration toilet instead of a flush toilet.