| goin' green
Posted: 7/6/2008 1:00:55 PM | with all the talk these days of 'goin green' what do you do to do it?
besides the obvious ones.. what have you done with your family to
'go green'
products? activities? household tricks?
* we buy as much as possible in bulk ( avoiding all the freakin packaging!)
*put a margarine container in the toilet tank, to not waste as much water when it empties and refills
*unplugging all none needed appliances that still use electricity even when turned off.
*keep the blinds/curtains closed as much as possible during the day to keep the heat out and the house cool ( and no that does'nt mean I use more electricity for lighting either.. lol)
*I purchased a cloth.. that does all my windows without a cleaner but with just water, and a wipe... and NO STREAKS... ( yes I was skeptical at first as well but wow does it work!)
*home cookin... instead of eating out and definately much more bbq'ing then using the stove.
These may seem like 'little things' but sometimes a little goes a long way. Every 'little' bit counts. | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/6/2008 1:45:08 PM | I telecommute to my job - no driving!
My car is a 2009 Corolla - lots of km per litre - much more efficient than my pickup (replaced by the Corolla)
Compact fluorescents in sockets that stay on like the outside light
Compost all vegetable matter in my own composter
Recycle all cardboard, plastic and glass
Don't take a bag at the grocery store for produce like apples and bananas
Heat only the areas that I use in my townhouse - electric baseboard heaters mean I can set each thermostat individually.
Replaced all windows and doors. | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/6/2008 10:58:23 PM | I must admit..I'm not very green..but i do some things...
*I grow veggies in my backyard, I compost and use it for topsoil.
*Use rainwater for watering plants.....(its better and it saves water!)
*I clean using natural products using essential oils and juices that disinfect.
*I bring my own reusable bags when grocery shopping.
*I take public transit, walk, bike as much as possible.
*I try to use organic lotions, bath products and body products.
*I make my own teas and juices.
*Use lights only when needed... try to rely on natural lighting in my home. | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/7/2008 5:35:56 PM | I am tired of the idea of being green, it's stupid and it makes no sense.
I'm not going to inconvenience myself for a baseless movement that we are having. The planet is under no threat, it's been drilled by the media and journalists who are running out of stories to write in the paper. I simply refuse to buy into the environmentalist hype. Not until I see real progress by the governing bodies, and a real lack of alternatives.
I don't even recycle things out of my apartment, I throw everything into the trash.
Edit: OK, I bike. But the ONLY reason I do this is because it's good exercise and the weather's good. Otherwise, out comes the car. | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/9/2008 8:36:35 PM | For a very long time I really paid no attention to GOING GREEN..then I guess I realized how irresponsible I was being ,..so I made simple changes
- I changed all the bulbs in my house to energy efficient bulbs.
-Cocked all my windows and baseboards to cut down on heat loss.
-during winter months I keep the thermostat low and wear a sweater.
-during summer I use less energy by not turning the central air on.
- I turn off lights that I don't need/ appliances.
_ I built a huge garbage box and blue box all my plastic, paper,glass .
-I use biodegradable garbage bags for any waste.
-I purchased a compost and use it to dispose of yard waste and table scraps.
- I use the earth friendly grocery bags.
-I walk wherever possible.
_I collect rain water
-I grow all my own veggies.
-I flush less,..ya know the saying..if its yellow let it mellow.
-I cut back my water consumption by filling only a half tub of water to bath,My showers are timed to half time..I pour a cup of water to brush my teeth( not always as I tend to forget this one)
-and I cut back on amount of water I use doing dishes...
_ I even got my tenant involved and its actually a lot of fun each week to see how much we can cut back on garbage going into a landfill.
I'm doing my part, however small but atleast i'm trying to better the world we live in..
and the best part is my hydro/ gas bill has seen a cut now after several months of 50% compared to last year this time! | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/10/2008 9:24:14 AM | I reuse paper at our office.....ie: we had a phone number change, and rather than throw out all the old letterhead, I reuse it for printing stuff for internal files.
Have reusable bags for groceries
Rarely throw out anything, I try and pass it on to second hand stores
Flourescent light bulbs
Buy a lot less packaged products
Don't take bags for single items (ie: from liquor store for a bottle of let's say Khalua!)
Reuse as much as possible (little pudding cups can be used for paint for kids....that type of stuff)
I honestly find it fun, and challenging to try and come up with different ways to conserve. And have some great new ideas from this thread...way to go! | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/10/2008 10:18:31 AM | I didn't think of it as goin'green ahead of time--but today I have some faded but good clothes that I dyed instead of tossing them out. Funny, I figured I wouldn't lose anything if it didn't work but it did. Maybe it is a 60's tie dye thing!
I have a wood stove--so I have a bin I call 'burnables' and I fill it with paper for starting the wood stove.
I save food containers from the store and use them for giving away food. They can be used after holiday time when you have leftovers or when someone is ill and there is no worry about getting it back.
I 'pre-cycle' meaning before I buy something I decide how I will use it up. Paper cartons can be burned as opposed to glass that needs to be returned. Saves gas and also helps start a warming fire.
I plan my 'route' when driving and try to take the car out when I need to. I think ahead, do I need to drive to town today or am I just bored. I often ask a neighbor if they need anything I can pick up or do they want to go with me--and they return the favor.
I still have a long way to go with this and enjoy hearing what others do. | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/12/2008 3:43:02 AM | "I am tired of the idea of being green, it's stupid and it makes no sense."
"I'm not going to inconvenience myself for a baseless movement that we are having. The planet is under no threat,.."
I would challenge you, sir, to do your own research if you do not believe what is currently being reported. Like any statistic, numbers can be skewed, opinion polls can be biased, and so on. So discover the facts for yourself.
I, on the other hand, believe what I have witnessed during my 40 years inhabiting the planet.
Mr. golden sun isn't as friendly as he used to be. You used to be able to play outside for a few hours easily without concern. Today, one can become burned after as little as a half hour. Will you tell me the ozone layer hasnt been affected?
Smog days: Becoming more common-place here, a fact of life in other cities. Why do they even exist? Possibly because the amount of pollution excreted by a city exceeds the ability of it's greenspace to remove pollution from the air.
Landfills; Here in Ottawa, our sites are filling up faster than projected, despite municipal efforts at diversion.(i.e. recycling programs) Small wonder, we wouldn't want to "inconvenience" anyone by asking them to reduce their own personal carbon footprint, would we?
Increased oceanic temperatures, more frequent tornadoes, longer dry seasons, droughts, shrinking polar ice caps, all these have come to pass during my short time in existance.
One of the biggest challenges facing athletes travelling to Bejing for the olympics isn't obtaining visas, it's the very air they will be breathing, does it not strike you as fundamentally wrong when AIR is declared unfit?? 
". I simply refuse to buy into the environmentalist hype. Not until I see real progress by the governing bodies, and a real lack of alternatives. "
What real lack of alternatives are you waiting for? The day when the garbage trucks stop coming because the landfil is full?
Isn't it time you stopped being part of the problem, and become part of the solution?
Rick | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/12/2008 5:32:26 AM | We all know what the problem is Rick, its the solution that we need to focus on!
I agree with lack of alternatives or lack of interest in alternatives by goverment but
how can you expect anything different when you have the oil companies running the USA & Canada. Investing in technology for alternatives is by being done successfully in other countries like Brazil, Germany etc | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/15/2008 10:08:35 AM | Rick,
As a building science graduate I studied this subject extensively on the building front and I can tell you right now sustainability is an abstract idea that is loved by journalists. There is absolutely NO desire to embrace it by developers and builders, and the city likes to throw the term around to make it sound like they're doing something productive with taxpayer money.
If I have to rezone my house to commercial building in order to put one solar panel on the roof, well then this sounds a bit counter-productive doesn't it! Plain and simple, the city doesn't care about sustainability. There are no laws or incentives in place to encourage people do do so.
The city is at fault here. If the city REALLY cared about the environment, it would make it difficult to issue permits, and require at least a LEED certification for each high rise tower built.
Now, as far as the rest of what you're saying goes, you're just talking about the doomsday that Gore did in his little motion picture. I obviously believe you when it comes to the developing world, like China, India, etc. that they are in a deep hole because of their population density and their introduction to the car. But the world is full of countries at different stages of battling the problem. Germany is leading country with the most wind power generators in the world.
I hope you can see what I mean here. In Germany there is a lack of alternatives, and there are incentives for people do live sustainably. So they do. The leaders of the nation can shape our future, and it's up to them. Not to the people individually. | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/15/2008 10:21:31 AM | I am so very glad we each have our own opinions on how to live our lives, and that we don't need to bend, to what everyone else seems to think is right or wrong in this world.
I'm glad I do what I do, and everyone else can just keep on doin what they're doin
:-) | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/16/2008 4:51:26 AM | I know I recently switched all my lightbulbs to the new compact florescent. I was surprised to see about $10 savings per month. I think the key thing was to get rid of all my halogen lamps.
I've also put a lot of appliances, etc on timers. For example, I have a display case that shows off my geodes collection. I've got the timer set up so the display case is dark during sleeping hours.
I've also been trying to cut back on bags by buying the new reusable ones but it never ceases to amaze me how many times I forget to bring them and/or how I seem never to have enough. | |
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| goin' green
Posted: 7/16/2008 5:39:50 AM | Some interesting information about aver temps and ozone
If anyone has looked at the history of the earth`s temperatures
you `ll notice the average temperature varies widely
I believe the average temperature right now on earth is 12 degrees c
and the average temperature of when the dinosaurs
were on earth was 21 degrees c
so regardless of what man does we are on an uptrend
in aver temperatures .
What really should concern us is the ozone
thats what filters out the sun`s harmful ultraviolet rays
and ground level ozone which is created by uv rays and pollution
This type of ozone is very harmful to humans | |
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