Eco-friendly tools and advice for environmentally responsible living

Due to increased attention to environmental issues, many of us have added "composting" as one of the New Year resolutions for 2009. But just like many New Year resolutions we make, will this one too be avoided and transferred to a new "would be nice to do" list when another year rolls around?

 There are two main reasons why resolutions fail and goals don't get accomplished:

1. The benefits of a goal seem too vague or too far in the future to be worth putting enough effort today
2. The goal is too difficult or perhaps too expensive to achieve

 To become achievable, a goal needs to project clear benefits and be broken into smaller "achievable" steps.

Let's address the first reason:

There are quite a few wonderful things that happen to the planet, your wallet, your garden and your life style when you compost. In this article let's discuss the first and foremost benefit of composting:

Biodegradable matter eventually undergoes either aerobic or anaerobic decomposition. Aerobic means "with air", anaerobic means "without air".

Aerobic composition produces compost (rich soil) and some carbon dioxide. Anaerobic decomposition produces methane gas and some carbon dioxide.

Methane gas produced in a controlled environment (i.e. biogas tank) is a powerful renewable energy source. Methane gas produced in a landfill is a powerful greenhouse gas. In fact, when it comes to impact on global warming, methane gas is 25-72 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, depending how you measure it, since methane gas has a larger effect over a brief period of time than C02.
 
By diverting compostable matter from landfills into your compost bin (heap or tumbler) you reduce methane gas emissions. If you think your impact is insignificant considering you are only one of the 7 billion people on this planet - just try putting your vegetable scraps, coffee grinds and yard trimmings in a plastic bin for a few weeks and you'd be surprised how much will accumulate! In addition, composting has been a part of life for thousands of years, and most countries (especially undeveloped countries) never stopped composting. Which means that most of the 7 billion people on this planet are composting!.