What can i do to become more green? summer gets in the 100's here?
Answer:
have your window open at night. or if its too hot, have the fan on. not the a/c though. u should keep pushing your parents about the florescent lights! i did! once they see their bill go down. they will invest a lot in those bulbs. what i did. is i timed how much each bulb was on per day. and what kind of bulb it took. example. brothers room. light is on 8 hours a day. he has 2 light bulbs at 75 watts each. so thats 1200 watts or (1.2 kilowatts) a day times that by 30 days. thats 36,000 watts. or 36 kilowatts. same thing. average electricity price is 10 cents per kilowatt. so 10 cents times 36 kilowatts is $3.60 a month just to power my brothers room. and i told them if we just switched that one room to florescents that use 14 watts each. thats 2 bulbs 28 watts. times 8 hours thats 224 watts times 30 days. thats 6000 watts or 6 kilowatts. times 10 cents which equals 60 cents a month to power the room. thast a $3 saving every month. and since the bulbs cost bout $4 a piece, they will pay for themselves in 2 1/2 months. after i told them that (PARENTS ARE ALWAYS ABOUT SAVING MONEY) they bought 12 of them. and now we have 74 floresecnt bulbs in our house. and now our energy bill is $100 less every month now b/c of that. dont tell your parents about how it will help the earth. tell them how much money they will save.
after that topic..lol, u can buy food localy, dont buy a suv! buy something nice like a toyota prius or if u dont want a hybrid get a car with good mpg. take a bike to school or work. turn off the lights when not in use. turn off computers when u are done. if u are down to the last thing on the list on how to save evergy, u cna unplug things. a tv set for example. through out the tv's life, 25% of the energy use will be to power it and to watch tv. 75% of the energy is wasted by letting it sit there in standby mode.
when u go to a store, bring your own bags, so when they are putting your food in bags, make sure they put them in your bags. dont use plastic bags! and dont use paper bags. use reuseable cups. if u go to school and u pack your lunch. dont use a plastic bag for your food. use tupper ware. u can reuse the tupper ware. again it will save u money in the long run.
washing clothes, only do it with a full load. if its hot outside, leave your clothes outside to dry.
bathroom- if u have a big toliet. put a 1/2 gallon jug in it so it uses 1/2 gallon less water every time u use it.
Set your AC at 78 and run ceiling fans.
Plant trees to shade the east and west sides of your house.
Plant something to shade your outside AC unit.
Close drapes on east and west facing windows to avoid direct sunlight.
Install solar screens on east and west windows.
Install a clothesline to dry your clothes on nice days.
Make sure you have good attic ventilation.
do what the tree huggers do. Turn off your AC and sweat. I'm sure Gore and company dose. AKA hollywood and the mansions
For a summer I lived without air conditioning, and it was in the 100s a lot. I would go watch matinees at the movie theater because they were cheap and I had a chance to sit in the AC! Go to the public library if they have AC because it's free to go there. You can use the computers or read a book, which is nice. Open your windows at night, but shut them in the morning to keep the cool air in.
Hang your clothes out to dry outside instead of running the dryer. This will also save you money. I live in an apartment, but I hung up a clothes line from my upstairs neighbor's patio, and it works great.
Try and walk or ride your bike when you can, but make sure it's not during the noon hour and you wear sun block. Wearing long sleeved cotton shirts is also helpful when outside; that is what I wore when I was in the Egyptian desert!
irregate to stop the world from drying out .
but in a responsible manner ,such as night ,and if posible with drip irrigation.
And plant something worth irrigating ,such as food and fruit trees
The best we can do as individuals is be more responsible ,in our own neck of the woods
Organise well publicized clean up parties ,talk on the radio
Have citizan meetings
Get the shools involved to plant trees and listen to environmental awareness talks,
If you do any cleaning up leave signs behind saying who cleaned,why and ask people not to start dumping rubbish again ,leave a hole or bins ,in case people come with trash ,
We have done a lot of comunity cleaning and if you dont leave alternatives or try to work on peoples guilt feelings (some people actually have those ,but not many)
than your efforts are a waste of time.
That is what we do in Mexico
POSITIVE ACTIONS
Print Tshirts with slogans ,hang posters all over the place (with recycled paper if possible)
Classify trash take out all the organic waste and make compost with it ,the worst you can do is throw it with the trash
70% of contamination is due to organic waste that is mixed in with the garbage .
And it is just as bad in the sewer where it helps to breed rats and in the landfill it poisons the ground
And it is the easiest to take care of
o first of all we have to clasify trash at least keep the organic to one side ,like in a plasic bin with a lid
If you got a few meters of ground ,you only need 1 or 2 square meters in a shallow hole ,in the shade ,that you can wet now and again ,where you dump everything that is organic ,from toilet paper,bones vegetable cuttings ,eggshells,,dead bodies ,excrement ,and cover regularly with leaves to keep humid and to hide any smell
the worms will come and decompose the wastes truning it into beautifull blck soil for the garden of flower pots .
If you are in a apartment ,if you have a balcony get a big plastic bin drill some holes in the side and lid ,
Add a few buckets of sand now and again to put over the trash ,you should realt stir or move the stuff at times to airate it and ensure that the decomposition is overall ,keep moist
This rubbish does not get big very fast and the thing works for a long time with out getting full
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these are Al gores sites
http://events.stepitup2007.org/...
http://www.stepitup2007.org/
http://events.stepitup2007.org/...
If you want to help the planet ,plant a tree every week ,if everyone on the planet did we we would be able to slowdown the destructive processes
Reduce carbon emisions,and they are already working on that by alternative forms of energy and regulations on carbon producing materials,aerosol cans,burning rubbish,industrial chimneys,powerplants etc.
The capture of carbon and the production of water and assist the aquiferous manta.
The world bank pays large subsidies for reforrestation to capture carbon and the best tree for this is the Pawlonia
Waterharvesting projects ,such as millions of small dams.to redirect over ground waterflows from the rains into the ground to supply subteranian water supplies.
The protection of existing forrests.
Stop building more highways,urban planning to include vegetation stop building cities encourage people to return to the land to conduct their business from there which now has become possible thanks to the internet.
Education to motivate people to auto sufficiency by building more home food gardens.
Education on environmental awareness
education on family planning to curb over´population
Agricultural education and improvements to follow the principals or sustainability and soil management.
More environmental or land ,design to prevent bush fires,such as--fire breaks
More dams.regulations and control for public behaviour
Alternative effeciant public transport to discourage the use of the internal conbustion engine
Recicling wastes,limit water use
Here are a 100 more ways
http://www.eco-gaia.net/forum-pt/index.p...
Turn off the AC and TV when you're at home. Go sit under a tree in the shade and bring a spray bottle of water with you to cool off while reading a book. Hang wet laundry inside to dry- it'll cool off the house a little. Live in the basement where its much cooler.
go outside of your backyard and sit under a tree with a pray bottle and a fan. or u can go even further by going to a lake and go for a swim and if u go to a beach it should cool u off since its so windy there.
You didn't state if you were living in a house or an apartment.
If a home owner - plant shade trees. (Evergreen Oaks grow fast.)
Insulate your home and seal everything with caulk. (so much energy is lost and a tube of caulking is cheap.)
Solar screens - people can't seen in well but you can see out just fine.
Insulate the water heater.
Hang dry your clothes and place in the dryer right before they are dry to make them soft.
Change light bulbs to LEDs where possible - no heat and saves $.
Ceiling fans in every room. Personal fans for direct cooling. (Keep a wet wash rag handy.)
Wear lite weight and light colored clothing.
Cook with Crock Pot and Toaster Oven. (Cook outside and several meals at a time.)
I am sure there are many more things you can do but would need to know your lifestyle.
There are millions of ways to be more green. Here are some to help you keep cool:
1) Switch your standard incandescent bulbs to Compact Flourescent bulbs (CFL's). It's a fact that 95% of the energy consumed by a standard bulb is used to create heat, only 5% actually produces light! By switching to CFL's, not only will you save money on your electric bill, but your home will be noticably cooler at night. Additionally, your air conditioner will not have to work as hard to combat the heat produced by the lights, saving you energy there as well.
2) Turn on the fan. Using a fan alone can cool a room as much as six degrees. If you're home alone, just use a fan in the room that you're in, as opposed to cranking the AC.
3) Hold off on heat-producing actvities until the cooler evening and night hours. Wait until night-time to do things like running the washing machine, clothes dryer, or dishwasher. Doing so will save you money and energy for two reasons. First, you are not compounding the daytime heat produced by the sun, which would cause your air conditioner to have to work harder. Second, and more importantly, if you set these appliances to run in the evening when you are busy with other activities or at night before you go to bed, you will likely not be hanging out in the rooms that they are in and will not have to cool these room with AC at all!
As far as cooking is concerned, try to use the microwave (produces way less heat and uses far less energy due to the reduced cooking time) or cook outside in the cool evening air on a grill. Keep pots and pans covered when cooking on the stove. This reduces the amount of heat that escapes and the amount of humidity in the room (a humid room will feel much hotter at the same temperature). If you have to use the oven, bake things the night before, so you only have to reheat them when it's time to serve. This will reduce the cook time, and thus the amount of heat pumping into your home during the day. Or, even better, use a toaster oven instead.
4) Seal gaps around windows and doors, and buy low-E coatings for your windows. Obviously insulating your home is a wise investment, but it's a big and expensive job. For a quick shortcut, make sure that any gaps around your windows and doors are well sealed to prevent leaks of warm air coming in, or cool air escaping out. One small investment I recommend is to buy low-E coating for your windows (low-E stands for low emissivity). This film, available at your local hardware store, acts like a mirror for temperature control. It reflects the heat from the sun back outside, and reflects the cool AC air back inside. While it won't affect your view, it will reflect the heat effects from the sun, keeping hot air out, and cold air in.
5) The simplest and cheapest task on this list: Air Conditioner Maintenance. Make sure your AC is running effectively and efficiently by keeping it well maintained. Clean or replace the filter. Clean the fan blades. If you have a whole-house unit, give it a tune-up. A great tip is to keep it in the shade. An air conditioner running in the shade consumes as much as ten percent less electricity than it would consume in the sun. So, if you can, move it to a shadier spot or build some sort of cover or umbrella for it (just be sure it is still well ventilated).
These ideas are things you can do quickly and without much expense that will give you immediate results.
There's obviously a lot more you can do, especially if you are willing to spend a few bucks. Planting trees to shade the south and west sides of your home is a good idea so long as you use native plants that can withstand the heat and dryness without a lot of water. Paint your house, or especially your roof, a lighter color. Or, invest in a new Energy-Star certified Air Conditioner to cut back on energy consumption while cooling your home.
I work for an energy assistance non-profit and here's the tips we give our clients for the summer. These are small but practical tips and that don't drastically effect your lifestyle but help save you money, use less energy and in turn help the environment :)
Hand wash dishes over using the dishwasher, and if you are going to use it only do full loads.
Wash only full loads of clothes and use cold water ( you don't need special soap and it cleans just the same). Hang dry clothes or air fluff where able.
Keep the AC at 78 and turn up 6-8 degrees when out of the house. Use fans over AC when not terribly hot.
Use you microwave or grill to cook instead of your stove
Unplug anything that you don't use every day, they still use power even when they are off.
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