Sustainable Environments
photo credit: greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Sustainable_Living_Magazine
Continuing this mini blog series about everyday actions regular people can take to help create sustainable environments, here are five more tips!
1. Are you still using that old leaf blower? Raking is much better for the planet, not to mention your health! The same is true for a push mower instead of a gas-powered or electric mowers (electricity comes mostly from coal-powered plants, and there is no such thing as ‘clean coal’). The greenest approach is to divest yourself of all mechanical lawn tools, consulting with a local recycling authority to ensure that all the parts go to good use.
2. If you bought a Halloween pumpkin that you didn’t carve, bake pumpkin pie, bread, or cookies. Save the seeds from the pumpkin to roast - they’re a great source of minerals, including magnesium, iron, and zinc, and high in protein (go easy on the salt). After you use everything you can, compost the leftovers instead of sending them to the landfill in the trash (organic materials don’t break down in a landfill if they’re in a plastic bag).
3. For necessities, luxuries, and gifts, why buy what you can make? Go homemade! You control the ingredients and the means of production, and get the satisfaction of doing something yourself. Plus, homemade gifts always seem a little more special. Check out these links:
4. As cold weather approaches, remember that there’s no benefit - to your vehicle OR to the environment - to letting your car ‘warm up’ before you drive it. Just hop in and go! One exception: climates where the temperature regularly dips below zero degrees Fahrenheit. In this case, you may want to invest in a block heater, an inexpensive device that warms a vehicle’s engine block, allowing an easier start and improving the vehicle’s fuel efficiency by up to ten percent. Check out an article on block heaters.
5. Use solar energy! You don’t have to install solar panels on your house. Just remember to open your blinds and curtains on sunny days (west- and south-facing windows are best) to let in natural light that can warm your home. If you have houseplants, they’ll love it too!
There you go…five more simple, everyday things you can do to green your lifestyle and help reduce your ecological footprint. Spread the green word!
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This was a well thought documentation; you have covered a lot of points here.