How do I make my lifestyle and home more ‘green’ without it costing the Earth?

Question

How do I make my lifestyle and home more ‘green’ without it costing the Earth?

Answer 1

I didn't read the other answers because I'm too lazy, but just some simple things like switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, and buying biodegradable soaps and detergents (the ones that biodegrade in 28 days) same price anyway just make sure it says "in 28 days" on the label because "Biodegradable" could be in 100 years! Watch out for that.

You can also eliminate certain abrasives for cleaning pots and pans by replacing them with baking soda which works even better and is environmental friendly.

Just making small adjustments in what you buy won't cost you that much extra. And NOT wasting energy and consumer products helps too.

Plus.. if possible.. take a bus instead of your car.

I could go on.

Answer 2

You could try the solar route, Canada just introduced a grid reversal type of thing this past year. People with solar cells can actually sell back their excessive power to the grid and make a profit in Canada now. Ironically not ever getting a power bill, instead getting a monthly cheque.

Huge project I know, there's a tonne of smaller things you can do as well. Resealing your windows and doors with a kit from a home shop is a great step as well. Buying what you need, recycling, reusing, all of that.

Answer 3

Hi

Well firstly just go around the house when you are about to go to bed and turn off all unessarce lights and turn off all unsed applinaces. If you have enough money you could get a Solar Heating it is really worth your buck, it payes for it self down the track. Also try walking and riding to places and not taking the car, if you were to go to the cornor store to get some bread and milk or whatever, walk or ride and take your dogs for a walk aswell, it is doing your part to help save the planet and it keeps your pet healthy. When you have a shower and you are waiting to get the nice and warm water, put a bucket under the shower head, and you can water the plants, or use it for the washing machiene or use it for drinking water. Try to not have a long shower, and try to have less water in the bath tub, it will save water, we don't have alot. You could also try to do activities that do not or use a ltttle of electricity like going to the beach, going to a friends house, walking ridding rollerblading the list is endless

WE ALL NEED TO DO OUT PART TO SAVE THE PLANET.

Answer 4

Switch to green power and don't wast power.

Answer 5

1. Eat healthy food, preference organic food.

2. Excise, walking for 1 hour is good enough.

3. Less rubbish.

4. A passionate relationship with your family.

Answer 6

yay! the greeness is spreading! try using solar panels-they use energy from the sun instead of electrcity, and if theres a blackout, you can gloat because youll still have light! make sure you dont have a leaky faucet- they can waste tons of water. also, seperate you recyclables between paper, plastic, and cardboard, and make sure there is no food left over on the recyclables or they will no longer be recyclable. use compact flourescent lightbulbs-they are more energy efficient. make sure your house is well insulated, to save the need for a lot of air conditioning or heating. finally, make the next car you buy a hybrid! :)

Answer 7

start dating some girls

Answer 8

Recycle

Answer 9

Yes, we have all heard the woes of Al Gore and other global warming agencies. Honestly, I believe them, I sympathize but I can never seem to do anything about it since I find it necessary to do what I need to do with energy. I'm sure that others feel the same reluctance as me. I asked around my school and most of them agreed.

Some few usually easy tips:

Easy, when you are not using the lights, turn them off.

Carpool maybe or get a hybrid if you are thinking a new car

When you have a leak at home, please fix it. Because I recently got my water bill and the one month where I had a leak, my water bill for the month quadrupled.

Rechargable batteries, easy, cheap and you wont have to take the trash out so often. (If you have a Wii, take out the batteries after use from the controller, I found out that even if you are not using it its stille eating your battery life

If you think you should become all out 'green' you can buy a water heater converter. Basically in my house, I have a refrigerator which gives me hot water since the refrigerator itself gives off heat. But what makes my refrigerator even better is that it runs on solar cells so when the sun is up, I dont need electricity to make my refrigerator work. Kind of an oxymoron, sun gives solar energy and heat to cool my food.

Remember research shows that the carrying capacity of the earth (how much people the earth can sustain without hurt itself) is said to be 2 billion if we keep this unhealthy lifestyle up. However, other scientists said that the earth's carrying capacity is 40 billion if we have a greener lifestyle.

Answer 10

Reduce the energy you use (use energy efficient light bulbs, turn off lights not needed, turn down the thermostat, etc) - reuse items when possible - recycle as much as possible (including compost if you have a garden) - and you help save the Earth!

Answer 11

melaeuca is the way to go it's the only opportunity i know that relies on real consumers telling other consumers about real products and then rewards  them by sharing the profits.

Answer 12

All of the things that we use are taken from planet earth and transferred into useful goods. There is no alternative, we can't live on nothing, even the air gets used by us and without more green things to restore the oxygen that we breath, this air will eventually cease to support life. So it does cost the earth simply to live, even when we try not to used up too much of our environment, some of which is not replaceable.

Occasionally in sci-fi stories one reads about how future humans have to manage on an earth that is depleated of nearly all of its minerals, plants and animals. This is where we are heading and it may be possible to delay this from occurring but it seems to me that it is inevitable and that Man is a doomed life-form. If you believe that it is very important to delay the end of our species, then consume less of our vital materials, but in general Man's selfish nature is the opposite.

When you go to the fridge for a fruit or fresh vegetable, do you take the best looking one or the worst (possibly slightly over-ripe) one? The fact is that either the worst ones gets wasted or somebody else less-selfishly takes and eats the poorer looking produce. Its the same with our earthly resources, if you are like most people, you will take the best for yourself and this kind of greed will simply hasten the duration of Man's life on earth, but this duration is limited anyway.

Can you imagine a world where only a few people remain with very modest demands and consumptions, so that the system of people and plants/animals/minerals etc. is in equilibrium? I can't!

Answer 13

Easy things that we can do around the home are: to switch to energy saving light bulbs, turn off all appliances at the wall if they're not being used, turn off lights when there not being used, run air conditioning at 24 degrees at a low power setting, buy window tint and roof insulating as well to remove the need for excessive heating and cooling. Install solar panels on your roof for heating hot water, use rainwater tanks for drinking water, reduce water consumption over all by switching to a low flow shower nozzle and having short showers, things like turning the tap off while brushing your teeth helps, Use modern appliances that are more power and water efficient etc.

But since this has turned into a "does climate change exist" blog let me set some facts straight-

1) The atmosphere has experienced a great influx of green house gasses in recent decades (namly CO2) which can directly be compared to a rise in global mean temperature. This has been proven by just about every notworthy scientist in existance.

2) While the Earth experiences cycles of Ice ages and thaws, global warming occurs naturally to some point, but we have polluted the atmosphere so greatly since the industrial revolution that this process has sped up at a incomprehensable rate. i.e. in the last 350,000 years Earth has experienced 6 ice ages, that is the cycle restarts naturally every 58,333 years, approximatly. The last ice age was only 18,000 years ago- we have tripled the rate of the  natural process.

3) And whats more the ppm of amount of green house gasses has NEVER exceded 300ppm in the last

350 000 years, at the moment if we have a hope of reducing the chance of a temperature rise to a 2degree rise, we have to reduce our current atmospheric green house gasses to 350 ppm. Scientists believe 400ppm! is a more obtainable goal although, by 2050.  

4) The floating ice melting, causing the ocean to rise has never been an issue amongst scientists -only in the media! However if the land ice melts like in greenland and mainland antartica expect the ocean to rise 6m- stopping the gulf stream flow and BOOM another ice age is born.

5) Technologicaly we have had the means to battle climate change for a long time, but due to politics, everything seems to get decided a h**l of a lot slower- Sort of like an Ent Moot in lord of the rings.

Answer 14

Here is a list of things that you could consider doing/adopting to make your lifestyle more "green" without costing too much to the Earth.

1. Reduce, Reuse Recycle (Ever notice reduce comes first?)

2. If you own a vehicle own a higher efficient one like a hybrid.

3. Live downtown and rarely drive

4. Give to various environmental charities (Union of concerned Scientists, Nature Conservancy, and the Sierra Club, etc).

5. Go Vegan. Probably one of the greatest positive impacts an individual can have on the environment as meat production in more energy intensive, and creates massive amounts of methane (20x's more powerful than CO2), as well as takes us to 16 pounds of grain to make one pound of beef).

6. Buy local goods. Being a locovore is key to helping the environment when our food is shipped an average of 1600 miles.

7. Gardening: Plant as many bushes and trees as you can. Also, see if you can have a food garden that brings local and sustainability to a whole new level.

8. Compost: Saves loads on trash and I need not by fertilizers which are often petroleum based.

9. Travel Less: Especially flights which literally release tones of CO2 per passenger per trip.

10. Promote Awareness: We can't do this alone.

11. Write elected officials to create green laws.

12. Put CFL's or LED's throughout your whole house.

13. Use solar and crank flashlights: They save money and the environment in energy as well as the embodied energy of batteries.

14. Use tote bags : America alone uses over 380 billion bags a year that will not decompose in the landfills.

15. Drink filtered not bottled water which takes petroleum for each bottle you drink and through away.

16. Throw away a little as possible.

17. Buy hemp clothing: It grows more prolifically than cotton, is stronger fabric making it last longer, and requires no pesticides.

18. Buy recycled goods such as toilet paper, reclaimed materials for shoes, used clothing and construction materials, etc.

19. Add extra insulation to you house.

20. Walk or bike where possible; Or if you must take public transportation.

Answer 15

recycle, reuse.      

green= better for earth..

Answer 16

When considering how to make your lifestyle more green, it is important to review the reasons for this change in behavior and decide whether perhaps the data upon which your decision is based is truly verified and whether the evidence is scientifically compelling enough to make drastic alterations to your lifestyle.

I endorse the 1500 year cycle, which is a proven climate theory, after tracking thermal fluctuations over history, that documents that natural variations in temperature occur approximately every 1500 years.

When mean temperature increase is caused by these fluctuations there is a release of CO2 from the oceans, which hold an estimated 95% of the sum CO2 on the planet.

There is then a consequent increase in atmospheric CO2 levels, but CO2 increases do not seem to directly impact on temperature. In fact, to find the valid conclusion you must inverse this theory, i.e. temperature increases have a direct impact upon atmospheric CO2 levels.

As for sea level rise due to icecap/berg melting, this theory can be disproved by an extremely simple scientific experiment. You simply place ice cubes in a glass, measure the water level, allow the ice cubes to melt, and stumble upon the following conclusion: the water level remains the same. The effect of thermosteric heating upon the oceans would have effect, if the temperature were currently rising.

The warmest decade on record over the past century was the 1930's, which also held 4 of the top 10 warmest years on record for the past century. Obviously, due to smaller population sizes and decreased technological innovation anthropogenic CO2 release was minimal in comparison to todays levels, from which it could be concluded that there is in fact no correlation between CO2 increases and temperature increases.

A final point, CO2 layering in the atmosphere is similar to the layering of black paint against a window, it has a diminishing effect. The first layer of paint will block sunlight to a total of 85%. The next layer might make the sum blockage 95%, the next 97% and so on. The effect is dramatically diminishing, and so will have less and less effect as time passes.

But this fact is rendered irrelevant when you realize that CO2 increase has no effect upon mean temperature. One of my major concerns about this issue is its transformation from a scientific and an objective issue to a political and subjective, sentimental issue.

When reviewing data scientifically it is essential to remain objective and stick to the facts. The inability of the general populace to differentiate fact from propaganda is a major concern for me. It is these reasons, amongst others that make me a skeptic of global warming.

Answer 17

Basically...use less. Open blinds, curtains, windows, etc. instead  of turning on the a/c or lights. Never let unnecessary water run. Remember...always recycle.

Answer 18

plant more fruit trees---just a small and simple task---trees good for environment and you have the added bonus of the fruit which is also good as it saves you time and petrol and money. If you do not have much room even a grape vine would be great !

Answer 19

stop using polythene   ;   use cloth bags instead

dont use fully automatic washing machines they waste a lot of water

dont use ro water purification system ; it wastes 60% of the water

use car pool or walk or cycle

Answer 20

We all have a responsibility to move to more sustainable practices.  

Sustainable practices can and should be cost effective.  In the home, we can go solar, install water tanks, reduce, reuse and generally optimise our expenditure.

A number of businesses are applying these practices, however businesses have more power to make these changes.  They can influence their suppliers to adopt and enhance sustainable practices.  

I run a company that provides eProcurement software that allows each supplier to be ranked by the users on service,  ranked as a company on sustainability, with individual products rated on sustainability.

Answer 21

Switch ur light bulbs, don't waste water, and recycle

3 simple and easy things

Answer 22

almost everything you buy recycle, get a smaller car that doesn't guzzle gas, protest for more windmills, and if you see any space in your yard, grow a tree or plant.

Answer 23

buy thing that are recycle like paper or lightbulb

Answer 24

color it :)

Answer 25

"Without it costing the Earth"?  If you mean NO Cost, there are only 2 things you can do:

1. Live like a cave man before discovering fire.

- - You wouldn't want to release that terrible toxin CO2!

2. Commit Suicide.  Everything you own is necessarily made with energy.

The environmentalists have brought you:

Higher Gas Prices

Won't allow drilling for oil offshore

Wont allow drilling for oil on land

Won't allow new Refineries

Fight against Nuclear Power.

Fight against Wind Farms - It'll kill the birds

Fight against Solar Farms - It'll disturb the deserts

Want to Rip out Hydroelectric Dams - Fish are more important than humans = this will also eliminate Farming!

Friends of the Earth are the ENEMIES of Humanity - Just look at how they are brainwashing people with the Overpopulation Agenda.

Maybe they should be the first to sacrifice themselves if they truly believe their own lies?

Answer 26

Turn off Powerpoints when not in use

Recycle

Use less water, etc..

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