1. Recycle aluminum cans, glass, and plastic. Your municipality should have a recycling program. If they do not, look to local non-profits. Chances are there is one that recycles.
2. Check the energy efficiency of your appliances. If your refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and freezer are more than 15 years old, consider upgrading. Appliances today are more energy efficient than they have ever been. Check with your local officials, some municipalities offer rebates or incentives for purchasing energy efficient appliances.
3. Turn off the WATER! If you are not directly using it, turn it off. It will save water and cut down on your water/sewage bill.
4. Compost kitchen scraps. Vegetable/fruits peels, discards, egg yolks, coffee grounds and filters can all be composted right out of your back door.
5. Grow your own herbs. If you have a window sill in your kitchen, you can grow your own herbs. Most store bought herbs travel thousands of miles before they end up in your store. Fresh parsley, cilantro, oregano, and basil are the perfect starter garden. While cooking, just snip what’s needed and go! Fresh herbs taste better and their nutritional/herbal properties are higher than dried herbs and what’s more greener than growing your own herbs to make a green kitchen.
6. Buy Local. Place a 100 mile restriction on the food you buy. Buying this way not only boosts the local economy, your food is fresher, the nutritional content is higher and it tastes better.
7. Open your windows. Natural light is the best way to light a room. You’ll use less electricity.
8. Keep your dishwasher clean. Just like a car runs better after a tune up, so does your dishwasher. Clean out the food trap in the bottom of the appliance, run and empty load with white vinegar. Also, run the dishwasher ONLY when it is FULL. Running a half full load wastes electricity and water.
9. Use natural cleaners/cleansers to clean counters, appliances, cabinets and floors. Vinegar and baking soda (used alone and combined) can be used to clean your entire kitchen and does  a good job as well. By not polluting the environment with harsh chemicals is the best way to have a green kitchen.
10. Use manual tools whenever possible. A hand turned can opener uses no electricity.
11. Unplug small appliances when not in use. The toaster/toaster oven, coffeemaker and microwave all use electricity, even when they aren’t in use.
12. Stop using paper or Styrofoam plates, cups and utensils. It is less of an earthly impact to wash dishes than to serve a dinner on paper or Styrofoam products.
13. When you shop, use cloth grocery bags.
14. Limit your purchase of items with excessive packaging. This just limits what you bring into your home and helps contribute to a green kitchen.
15. And finally, lower your waste. Crush boxes, cans and the like to use less garbage bags. Less trash = less waste in our landfills.

As we move forward into a world where “going green” is becoming a major movement, we need to be aware of our options for “greening” our own lives. Providing enough power for ourselves in order to be able to go about our daily lives is essential if we wish to preserve the environment and maintain our current comfort levels. There are many reasons why solar power is one of the most cost effective and efficient methods for doing this.Solar power can save us money in the long run and has major advantages over some of it’s rivals.

Here are the 5 biggest disadvantages of wind power.

1. The first disadvantage of wind power is simple. The wind doesn’t blow all the time. It can vary from storm force winds to weeks without anything more than a breeze.

2. Wind turbines are very noisy. They produce the same amount of noise pollution as a vehicle traveling at 70 mph.

3. Even though they save significantly on air pollution, with the exception of building them, very large areas of land and natural resources are destroyed in order to place the turbines where they can capture the most wind.

4. Huge wind farms are needed to produce enough electricity to keep up with demand. At the present time, the largest turbine available is only able to provide enough power for about 450 homes. Large cities would need hundreds of acres of these farms to sustain their current power levels.

5. There are many moving parts, and the more moving parts a piece of equipment has, the more likely it is to break down. This means costly repairs as well as regular maintenance costs are necessary to keep your house powered.

The disadvantages of wind power far out weigh the benefits, especially when looking at the other option that are available for powering your home and saving on your power bill or completely eliminating it all together. Solar power is the most cost effective methods for powering your home and ending your monthly power bill.

For very little money, usually less than $200, you can build and install your own solar power system in your home. The benefits significantly out weight the disadvantages of wind power.

So what do you add to your compost bin?  Well, it comes down to 2 colors (green and brown) and 2 places (your kitchen and your yard).

Kitchen and yard Greens include-houseplant cuttings, fruit & veggie scraps (chop small to induce quicker breakdown in the bin), coffee grounds (these are in abundance if you work in an office), tea bags, egg shells, rice & pasta (no sauce or butter), grass clippings (no weeds), garden waste (veggies and flowers)-no diseased plants.

Kitchen and yard Browns include- coffee filters, stale breads, paper products, straw, dried leaves, small twigs

DO NOT COMPOST- meat, dairy, fats, oils, pet waste or weeds.

Composting begins in the kitchen.  Find a bucket or jug with a wide lid for kitchen scraps.  We use a recycled 5 gallon ice cream bucket with a lid.  Leave your kitchen bucket in a convenient place, so you will remember to use it.  Add your house/kitchen wastes until the bucket is full.  Empty your bucket into the compost bin, adding some soil, shredded newspapers or dried leaves to the top (this prevents fruit flies and gnats).

You can expect to harvest your Black Gold in as little as 8 weeks, if you properly “cook” your compost, or as long as 6 months.  If you find that your bin isn’t breaking down fast enough, there are a few things you can do to kick start your compost.  My favorite remedy is to buy a dozen night crawlers from our local bait shop, and dump the worms AND their dirt into the bin.  Another quick remedy is to turn your bin contents completely.

To make composting as convenient as possible, keep your bin as close to your kitchen as possible.  This is especially important if you have harsh winters like we do.  Your compost will decompose slower in the winter months, but don’t stop.  Spring will come and kick start your winter efforts.

Quick facts about composting

• Composting, combined with recycling eliminates up to 65% of your household waste
• Healthy compost will make your garden bloom better, grow faster, and even taste better.
• composting eliminates your need for chemical fertilizers, thus making your yard, garden, and water table less toxic.
• IT’S FREE!!!!
• Composting is the simplest cradle to cradle activity a family can do to help our environment.

else will make the effort for them, we leave the responsibility to others when in reality we all share a stake in this problem.  So now instead of one person not taking action, you have many people not taking action and for that, our environment and our health suffers as a result.
Please know that cell phones are hazardous items and leach toxins into our earth and water table when improperly disposed of.  So what can you do to help fight this?  In a word, “recycle”.  There are several nonprofit organizations now out there that take old cell phones and put them to good use.
What do these companies do with your old cell phones?  Depending on the company, some either refurbish and resell them, or sell them to manufacturers as parts to create new consumable products.  Others donate them to organizations that are trying to help third world countries to provide low cost communication options to those not as fortunate as ourselves. 
Staples now has a recycling program that offers incentives for you to donate your old cell phones, pda’s, pagers and such.  Typically you go on to receive coupons that you can redeem on new products in store.
There are other companies such as Pace Butler www.pacebutler.com who have been in business since 1987 that will actually pay up to $50 (depending upon the model and condition) for your old cell phone but what a great way to reduce the amount of garbage that ends up in the landfills, with the added bonus of giving your old cell phone a second chance at life.
If you want to simply donate your cell phone through Pace Butler, the proceeds are then distributed to one of the five worthy charities of your choice.
Another great idea for old cell phones is to transform it into a toy for your tot.  Kids love to be like mommy and daddy, so instead of chucking yours in the nearest trash can, why not give it to your little one to play make believe with? 
It’s a great way to make your urge to upgrade to the newest model of cell phone less hazardous for the world.  Remember, we only have one planet and by virtue of living on it we are all responsible for its preservation, every one of us.  That means educating ourselves on the best ways to achieve this. 
Even through small actions can big changes occur and what better way to start than with recycling your old cell phone.

As part of our “throwaway” society coupled with our voracious appetite for cell phone consumption and usage means that landfills are becoming clogged at an alarming rate with not only computers and other electronic components, but cell phones as not many people are aware of proper disposal procedures for them. 

Sadly, it is estimated that over 125 million cell phones are tossed every year, creating over 65,000 tons of garbage.  Knowing that the landfill doesn’t have to be the end point of your cell phone’s life can greatly reduce the amount of unnecessary wastage produced each year.

The reason why cell phone recycling is important is because they contain some pretty toxic stuff embedded inside their circuitry and displays, toxins such as Arsenic, Lead, and Copper, in addition to Cadmium, Mercury and Beryllium (a carcinogen which has been linked to cancer), hazardous chemicals you wouldn’t want leaching into the environment.   If disposed of correctly they contain non toxic materials that can be recycled and used again, yet instead we pollute the earth even more by trying to produce these components over again from scratch when in reality we already have the base materials we need without having to strip anymore from our limited natural resources. 

Unfortunately, no landfill is 100% safe and it is the toxins that leach from these materials into the ground which pollutes our water table and our drinkable water supply.  Currently less than 1% of the entire earth’s water is drinkable so we must take steps to protect it.

Studies from the University of Northwest Indiana http://www.iun.edu/~environw/landfills.html have revealed that a whopping 82% of landfills in Northwest Indiana alone experienced leaks, a frightening statistic when you consider how much harm it poses to the surrounding environment and that the effects such as migration of methane gas and leaching contaminants cannot be isolated. 

So toxic are the emissions from landfills that living within a close proximity of one can affect health such as low birth weight in newborns, shorter height than the general population and heart defects and liver abnormalities to name a few.  If these are just some of the side effects from landfills, imagine what we are throwing into them.  These figures may be for Northwest Indiana but apply on a grand scale because not all landfills are safe.

Our landfills are becoming so overrun with discarded electronics in our technology hungry society that unless we do something, we will run out of land to accommodate it all and the resources with which to make them.

Needs Before Wants

Before you decide to throw out your old cell phone in exchange for a new one, think for a moment if you absolutely need it or is because you want the coolest new style?  If your older model is still working fine, do you really need to buy a new one?  What else could that money be spent on? 

Think about where that cell phone will end up.  Just because it disappears from plain sight as it heads for the landfill doesn’t mean its impact stops there.  The effects of your old cell phone will continue to be felt long after your memory of it has faded.

What Can I Do?
 
Dispose wisely.  Each state and country has different requirements.  With a little research, you can find out your local policies as well as where you can go for donating or recycling. 

Currently there are no federal mandates on the issue of recycling cell phones, but many states are implementing measures of their own.

Several states are passing legislation requiring business owners to have a recycling system established in order to do business.  They will not be able to legally sell their products if they do not have this system in place.

Disposal doesn’t have to be the end of the road.  Why not give your old cell phone another lease on life and adopt it out to a good home?

You can donate them to a worthy cause, for example www.wadt.org is a nonprofit organization that accepts cell phone donations for victims of domestic violence. 

How about reselling it on eBay or Craigslist? 

Here’s another fantastic one, there are actual businesses that will pay you up to $50 for your old cell phone, they make it extremely easy to arrange and will even pay for postage and handling.

Now there is no excuse not to recycle or re-use your old cell phone and feel good in the knowledge that you helped keep our earth a little cleaner because ultimately these little things make a big difference.

A few of the new green energy careers that are currently available today are:

• Wind Technician I, II, or III – This position is performing preventative maintenance and repair on the big windmills you see on windfarms. A good job for someone who likes working outdoors and has a mechanical background.
• Renewable Energy Analyst – Basically, analyzing and procuring renewable energy systems for large companies and ensuring they are profitable and feasible to work.
• Director of Engineering, Solar Division – This job entails working with companies to develop solar power technology and make it more efficient fro public use.
• Clean Air/Clean Energy Specialist – Working with individual local communities/governments to reduce air pollution and promote clean energy solutions in the local area.
• PV Systems Designer – This job is responsible for the the design, and making of photovoltaic cells that are used in solar panels.
• Renewable Energy Consultant – A consultant who advises other companies on how to best use alternative energy sources to their best advantage.

There are many other types of careers that are being created by these new technologies and they are growing every day. The best way to get a green energy job is to have at least a 4 year college degree concentrating in some type of engineering that can be applied to green energy fields

Who hasn’t heard of solar panels? As a current hot topic, I think we all have, right? We’ve all seen them on people’s houses or even environmentally conscious businesses here and there. They are the basic building block of harnessing the suns energy to provide electricity for your home. But how much do solar panels cost?

The honest answer is: it depends on what you are looking to use solar power for and how much you’re willing to invest in a solar panel system. You can spend thousands of dollars having solar panels professionally installed on your home and hardwired into your current power supply if you have the spare money. Or, if your handy with a few tools and can follow simple directions you can build your own.

If you’re serious about converting your home to solar power and don’t want to have do anything but enjoy the efforts of generating your electricity I’d suggest you use a professional. It can cost up to $20,000 depending on what area of the country you live in but a professional will recommend what types of panels to use, how many you need, where to put them on your property, and will install them for you. If your average electric bill is $200 a month and the system reduces your bill to $50 a month, it would take an average of 10 – 15 years to recoup the costs of your system.

If you’re just dabbling with the idea of setting up a few panels around the house to see how they work you might want to just buy a solar panel kit from eBay (or any other internet site that sells solar panels) that has all the parts and you just plug it in for a few hundred dollars. This would give you a good idea of what to expect from a solar panel in your area.

On the other hand, if you’re the handyman type you can find easy to follow do it yourself guides that will teach you to make your own solar panels for less than $200 per panel. All you’ll need to know is how to use a few simple hand tools, so don’t let the idea scare you. If you go this route, just be sure to find a guide that has simple directions and is easy to follow. I bought a few guides and the one I actually used had videos for each step of the building process so I actually saw what I should do for each and every step.

Regular Care And Maintenance Of Your Car

It’s important that you regularly measure your tire pressure. This has a two-fold benefit:

1. When the tire pressure is at the optimum level you actually use 15% less gas.

2. You increase the life of your tires by 15%.

Change your oil every 3,000 to 4,500 miles if you make short runs under 6 miles at a time, if you frequent city traffic with many stops and starts, if your car tows a trailer or heavy load regularly, or if you drive in salty, sandy or dusty conditions.

If your oil isn’t changed often enough this can result in advanced engine wear and tear with the loss of fuel economy and overall performance which means accelerated oil consumption and with it, increased carbon emissions. Doing this on a regular basis will not only extend the life of your engine but keep your car in optimum working condition while helping it burn less fuel.

Check and replace windscreen wipers when the rubber in them has worn out, if you don’t, not only will they be ineffective, but they may also scratch the windscreen causing you to replace them earlier and pay more money in the long term.

Water Conservation

Most people aren’t aware that how they clean their car can be almost as important to the environment as how you maintain it. It only takes 1 quart of oil in our waterways to contaminate 1 million quarts of water so it pays to know what we’re putting into our storm water drains.

Before you wash your car, especially as it gets toward those summer months, are there any water restrictions currently in place? Car washing is likely to be out if your area is experiencing drought conditions and will likely to be the first activity to be restricted.

Hosing your car while on your driveway should be avoided because not only does it waste water but it introduces dirt, grease, detergents, oil and gas residue into storm water drains eventually ending up in our river systems which gradually make their way into our oceans, the very oceans that we depend upon for our survival.

Instead, place your car on a grassy area to minimize the amount of water run-off.

Using biodegradable vegetable oil based soaps to wash your car are a good option as they readily breakdown if any runoff escapes down storm water drains. If you opt to use car shampoos always wash your car on your lawn as these types of shampoos usually contain phosphates similar to those found in fertilizers. The reason why this is a disadvantage is because it artificially introduces nutrients to photosynthetic algae where there otherwise would not have been, enabling them to overgrow clogging natural waterways and killing marine life by overwhelming entire ecosystems. You can opt to use phosphate free alternatives in place of the regular kind.

It’s ironic that manufacturers include this component to their cleaning products knowing that it will eventually end up in our waterways, tighter regulation needs to be put in place while a ban on phosphates in all cleaning products become a reality. The positive outlook is that at the state level change is gradually taking place. Through greater awareness policy-makers are working to ban the use of phosphates in cleaning products with the state of Virginia joining the cause to phase out the use of phosphate based cleaning products by 2010.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031002744.html

Using a sponge and bucket or a watering can takes a little more time than using a hose but can save a lot more water, in fact using a hose to wash your car uses four to five times more water than a humble bucket and sponge alone. This is because when using a hose you’re unaware of the volume of water you use, however a set amount of water as you would when using a bucket not only saves on your water bill but you save our greatest precious resource in the process.

Don’t let water go to waste. Using “grey” water to wash your car can get maximum usage out of the same water. Grey water is typically water that has been recycled from the other processes such as water from your laundry for example. Collect the water in a bucket as it drains off during a rinse cycle to wash your car with. This ensures you get double the use from the same batch of water.

Washing your car in the shade ensures slower evaporation, helping conserve water and avoids telltale streaks on the paint finish.

Eliminate the use of expensive chemical finishing treatments. Armed with a simple chamois with some good old vigorous polishing is the best way to achieve a streak free finish.

Getting the most out of your car through eco conscious methods will not only ensure you save money but will extend the life of your car too.

Finding alternate sources of energy in today’s society is becoming more important than ever before. The big players in alternate energy are wind and solar energy. Of the two, wind energy is perhaps the least well understood. If you’ve ever wondered what it is, then this article will help you understand the basics of how it works and how it can be used.

The first thing you are probably wondering is, “What is wind energy”? The answer to this question seems obvious enough. When wind blows, that is energy from the wind. To understand it at a deeper level, you must understand where it comes from and its nature so that you can appreciate the benefits (and challenges) of using it. It is a form of kinetic energy, or energy in motion, and is created by the sun’s impact on the Earth’s atmosphere. As the sun warms the Earth’s surface, heated air over the land (which is formed by the sun’s rays) begins to rise. As this air begins to rise, colder air from lower lying regions fills the vacuum left by the escaping warm air. When this colder air rushes in, we feel this as wind.

After gaining a better understanding of what wind energy is, the next thing you’ll want to consider is how it can be used. Unlike stored energy, such as coal, which must be pulverized and combusted to extract the energy from within it, it is kinetic and therefore readily available. Another example of kinetic energy would be a rushing river. In the same way that water flows and is used to power hydroelectric dams, energy from the wind blows and is used to power wind mills and large wind turbines. The problem with wind is that unlike a river, which is constantly moving, it is intermittent.

Now that you understand what wind power is and how it can be used you are probably wondering what the pros and cons are of using it as a power source.

Put simply, the pros are:

• Free and abundant.
• Inexpensive in kilowatt-per-hour terms.
• Clean in its natural state.

Likewise, the cons are:

• Intermittent. It isn’t available all the time.
• Has higher transfer costs.
• Has high start up costs.

As you can see, wind energy holds great promise for powering our future. It’s virtually limitless supply combined with its cleanliness is only hampered by still burdensome operational costs. However, if these can be overcome through technology, it will become a viable power source for many more people.