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| Name: lindalu | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 9:48 AM |
| Marija every one should hug a tree, if they did it would show they cared and maybe our planet would be in much better health. Thats the one thing we all have in common, our planet! If that gets sick we all suffer. ↑ |
| Name: lindalu | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 9:50 AM |
| I also use energy saving light bulbs as well. ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 9:59 AM |
| here are some thngs we are going to try to do along with what we alreday do: I would like to try to recycle we can walk more/ some things we like to do are in walking distance or biking I could compost but I'm a garden idiot as you may have noticed and I have no idea how or what to do w/ it and it would prob. be a stink pile, lol my kids bath at night so we can reuse jammies maybe for 2-3 days instead of new ones each night we have been here a year and haven't had the chance to seal up the house ya know like check for air drafts and things like that for when winters here the house will hold the heat and not have to use as much...should have done it last year but didn't get around to it, it will also help our bill tremendously 3 months in a row we paid aorund $450 give or take $20 during the coldest months I ws in tears with each bill......very worth doing this. I am also currently trying to find some kind of list on the internet that tells you which companies recycle and are earth friendly and I'd like to try to use just those companies and products if you all know of such a sight please let me know....it would be so much easier before I go to the store to know what im looking for because w/ the kids I dont have time to look at all the labels ya know I LOVED Marija's shower timer idea and I', so stealing it, thats a great idea... I'm also looking into the energy saving lightbulbs not sure which ones to buy I did see a tv advertisment for some but they were like $50 each I am sooo not paying that....... also I'd like to try to use the canvas shopping bags I do a lot of shopping at once when I do go so I may have to use some plastic as well but each bag saved counts right?????? Also last but not least my kids school has a theme each year and they use it all year this year it was sports I am requesting and will not accept no as an answer that next school year be go green!!!!!! ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 11:38 AM |
| oh yeah...we only have one car too... i was thinking of our diaper situation...but i don't think i will change that...lol.... ↑ |
| Name: Randi | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 11:59 AM |
| Try Gdiapers bmes. They are like a cloth diaper but with a biodegradeable liner. You can flush, compost or toss it. They take an average of 50 days to completely break down. They even have an earth day gdiaper on special if you order now : ) YAY ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:00 PM |
| where do you get them? ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:02 PM |
| OK I could google this but you guys all have better answers anyhow, lol What things do you compost, where do you put it, does it attract bugs, how long does it take, and when it's done what do i do w/ it? ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:08 PM |
| i think almost anything that's not synthetic..... my hubby's baba, has a little can under her sink and she puts egg shells, fruit and veggie peels....coffee grounds.... once it's broken down, it makes a really rich soil, and you can use it in your garden. ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:10 PM |
| sorry you mix it with soil or peat moss or whatever. ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:11 PM |
| What about left overs off kids plates? and you keep it in your house oh dear me.......it'll stink ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:11 PM |
| Hmmmm like 50/ 50? ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:13 PM |
| no the compost is outside....hubby's baba just has a little canister that she brings out to the compost at the end of the day. ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:14 PM |
| mmm i'm not too sure of the ratio...but i don't think it 50/50....maybe a little less compost.... ??? ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:15 PM |
| does it attract bugs and how long does it take and then what do i do w/ it? ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:25 PM |
| well i think there's a lid on it, so bees and stuff stay away, but i think worms and stuff that feed off of it to make it rich. you could even buy some worms to put in it....i'm not 100% on this...but that's the idea i got from talking with baba...lol...also it's hard to say how long it takes...i don't know....but i know some stuff breaks down faster than other products....and meat and stuff isn't a good thing to put in home composts, cause the tempurature usually won't be high enough to kill the pathogens and keep away pests and rodents ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:31 PM |
| thanks for all the info bmes one more question from the woman who doesn't shit about gardening, lol what is it in outside like a container or is there something built and how big is ideal for a small starting off one]? ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:32 PM |
| what do you do with it? use it in your garden!!! or i think even just scattering it on your grass will make your grass come in nicer (i saw that one on Daniel Cook!!!) lol...you know that kids show? hehe ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:34 PM |
| what the compost container you mean? i'm going to get one this weekend...it look almost just like a garbage can......you just find a spot in your yard somewhere. ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 12:41 PM |
| LOL Bmes I know I'm a garden-tard........my mom never gardened really and I have no idea what to do.... ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 1:09 PM |
| http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livesci ence/sc_livescience/storytext/10waysyouc animproveearthshealth/27188746/SIG=11c0l tqe1;_ylt=AgpUcl6SY8oIebRBCXTH4MueV8cX/* http://www.livescience.com/readerfavorit es ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 1:10 PM |
| oops that came out wrong dam lemme try it again ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 1:11 PM |
| The scientific and political arguments surrounding the health of our planet can make the whole topic seem beyond the grasp of the individual. How fast is the climate changing? Exactly what effect to humans have? And what will the government do about it? How we treat Earth also involves trillions of little decisions by billions of individuals. That in mind, on this Earth Day, LiveScience presents 10 ideas for saving energy and otherwise cutting down on your impact on the planet. The list was compiled by the Earth Day Network organization and republished here with permission. 1. Change light bulbs Highly efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) last for years, use a quarter of the energy of regular bulbs and actually produce more light. Look for the government's ENERGY STAR label, which means the bulb has been tested for quality and efficiency. While each ENERGY STAR qualified bulb will cost more initially-anywhere from $3 to $9 a piece-remember that there are two price tags: what you pay at the register and what you pay in energy costs to over the bulb's lifetime. So you may pay more up front, but you will actually save hundreds of dollars in your household budget over the long term because of their long life. While CFLs were harder to find a few years ago, they're now widely available and much more affordable. You'll find them at major home improvement and hardware stores-even grocery and some convenience stores. Here's the impact. If every household in the U.S. replaced a burned-out bulb with an energy-efficient, ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb, the cumulative effect is enormous. It would prevent more than 13 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere-which is like taking more than a million cars off the road for an entire year. There are other, simple things with household lighting you can do to conserve: turn off unneeded lights, dim lights when you can and bring natural sunlight into your home when it is feasible. But changing those old light bulbs and replacing them with ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescents that can last for a decade or more is by far the best thing you can do. 2. Drive differently, or drive a different vehicle The sad truth is that your car emits as much carbon dioxide as your entire house. That's the bad news. The good news is that anything you can do to improve the fuel efficiency of your car will have an enormous impact on climate change. In fact, experts say that paying attention to fuel efficiency in your car may be the single biggest thing you can do to prevent global warming Buying a fuel-efficient car (like a hybrid) is wonderful. In fact, replacing your gas-guzzling car with a fuel-efficient one is by far the best thing you can do, out of all your choices. But not all of us can do that-at least, not right now. Carmakers haven't sold enough hybrids in the U.S. yet to make them as affordable as they should be. That will change, but not for a few years. So, in the interim, there are things you can do with the car you drive now to conserve energy and be more fuel-efficient. Drive less. Every year, Americans as a whole drive more miles than they did the year before. Stop this trend, and we drive a stake in that trend. Telecommuting and public transportation are great options-once a week saves a ton of carbon dioxide a year-but even piling multiple errands into one trip helps. If you can walk instead of drive, even better. Get your car tuned up. Just a simple tune-up often improves fuel efficiency by half. If 100,000 of us went out and got a tune up, we save 124,000 tons of carbon dioxide. Slow down, don't race your car's engine, and watch your idling. All of these save on gas (saving you money) and have a big impact on burning gasoline. Horribly inefficient SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks now make up more than half of the cars on American roads. The real tragedy is that automakers could double the current average fuel efficiency of SUVs if they wanted to, which would save 70 tons of carbon dioxide per car. The technology exists. Unfortunately, consumer demand does not. 3. Control your temperature The bad news is that half of your household energy costs go towards just two things-heating and cooling. The good news is that means you have lots of room for improvement, and even small changes make dramatic improvements in household fuel efficiency. Older heating and cooling systems are a third less efficient than the new systems. So replacing the old with the new is a wonderful idea, but not very practical for most of us. Things you can do right now to make sure you're setting the right temperature in your house include: Tune up your heating system. This one thing every couple of years can reduce your heating costs by 10 percent a year. Clean vents, close unused vents, and change filters in the vents. Again, just these simple things will save you 10 percent. Buy a programmable thermostat, which can regulate different temperatures at different times of the day. And if you have one, use it! Right now, three-quarters of people who have programmable thermostats don't use them at all. Add two degrees to the AC thermostat in summer, and two degrees in winter. If everyone did this, the cumulative impact is significant. Make sure windows and doors are sealed. Again, this will dramatically improve your household fuel efficiency. Of course, if you can stand it, by far the best approach is to avoid air conditioners at all. Ceiling fans, instead of AC, can reduce your cooling costs by more than half. 4. Tame the refrigerator monster Did you know that your friendly refrigerator has a voracious energy appetite? It is, by far, the single biggest consumer of electricity in the average household, responsible for 10-15 percent of the electricity you use each month. Older refrigerators, as a rule, are far less efficient than the newest ones-as much as 50 percent more efficient in many cases. But buying a brand-new, energy-efficient refrigerator is almost certainly not in the cards for most of us. Fortunately, other things will help. Don't set the thermostat too high. Even 1 degree will make a big difference. If your refrigerator is near a heating vent, or always in the sun, then change the location, cover up the heat vent near it or drape the window. Turn on your "energy saver" switch near the thermostat. Clean the condenser coil. This one, very simple thing can improve the efficiency of your refrigerator by a third! Get rid of your second refrigerator. If you don't need it, don't waste the energy. Make sure the doors seal properly, and keep the cool in. 5. Twist some knobs The other big users of energy in your household are your hot water heater, your washer and dryer, and your dishwasher. Each, in its own way, can be inefficient. Here are some things to try: Either turn the hot water heater down a couple of degrees, or turn on the "energy conservation" setting. Buy insulation for your hot water heater at a local store and insulate the pipes as well. Install a timer on your water heater to turn off at night and just before you wake up in the morning. When possible, wash a few dishes by hand. Over time, that will save a few loads in the dishwasher, conserving energy. Don't pre-rinse dishes. Today's detergents are powerful enough to do the job. Wait until you have a full load to run the dishwasher. Wash clothes in warm water, not hot. The clothes will be just as clean, and you'll cut energy use by 50 percent. Don't over-dry your clothes. That will save 15 percent. 6. Plant smartly While it is true that planting more trees will help in the short term because they essentially soak up carbon, they also release carbon dioxide when they die. So it just postpones the problem. But there are other reasons to plant trees-as wind breaks to save energy, and as shade to lower cooling costs. And even the short-term help while we get our act together is a good thing. As for plants, do everything you can in your yard and garden to create ways in which plants use less water. Choose hardier plants, plant things in groups that need more water and put in mulch to help keep moisture in. When you mow your grass, make sure you do it smartly-with sharp blades, and only when the grass needs cutting. Finally, make sure you water your lawn sparingly. All of these will conserve energy. 7. Invest in green energy Imagine if we ran out of fossil fuels tomorrow, what would we do? Well, we'd get our electricity from renewable sources-solar panels, geothermal and wind power sources. Many utilities now give consumers the option to buy "green power." Ask for it! Learn the truth about nuclear power and natural gas as viable "green" options. They aren't. Radioactive waste will be a problem for tens of thousands of years into the future, and natural gas kicks out almost as much carbon dioxide as coal and oil. Natural gas can help us make a transition, but it isn't the solution. Finally, if you invest, invest in green stocks and renewable energy companies through socially responsible funds. They perform just as well (if not better) than all of the unfiltered funds. 8. Go organic Even with our vast reservoir of scientific knowledge about farming, most American farmers still spray a billion pounds of pesticides to protect crops each year. Now here's the kicker: when chemical pesticides are used to kill pests, they also kill off microorganisms that keep carbon contained in the soil. When the microorganisms are gone, the carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. And when those organisms are gone, the soil is no longer naturally fertile and chemical fertilizers become a necessity, not a luxury. But besides going organic-thereby saving the carbon release from soil-there are other simple things you can do with food that will also make a difference: Eat locally grown food. If the food doesn't have to travel far, there's less carbon dioxide from the trucks that ship it. Eat fruits and vegetables in season. Again, that saves the enormous transportation costs. Plant your own vegetable garden. It's not as hard as you might think. 9. Buy recycled This may sound simple, but it takes less energy to manufacture a recycled product than a brand new one. So if you and every other consumer buy recycled, you'll help create a market, and conserve energy along the way. Because many manufacturers don't go out of their way to tout their recycled products, you should know that aluminum and tin cans, glass containers, and pulp cardboard have a fair amount of recycled content. So buy away! Recycled is often considerably cheaper than non-recycled, so it's cost-effective as well as conservation-minded. For instance, recycled paper can be as much as a third cheaper than non-recycled paper. Finally, before you buy, check to see if the product or its packaging can be recycled. The recyclable logo (three arrows forming a triangle) is fairly common now. 10. Be a minimalist We know it's difficult, but in today's consumer economy, an easy way to conserve energy is to simply use-and buy-less. Every time you buy something, energy has gone into getting that product to you. So the less you buy, the more you save energy-wise. It's a simple equation. This last item on our Top Ten list may, in fact, be the single biggest way to make a dent in the global warming problem. Again, we know it sounds obvious, but buying less things-some of which you just don't need-changes the energy equation across the board, on every single consumer product. If everyone used less, the impact would be large indeed. So how about some specific things? Here are a few: Buy in bulk. In short, bulk items use less packaging, which translates into less energy. Buy one of something, not 21 of something. You don't need 21 pairs of shoes, if one pair works just as well. Go through your closet. Donate or recycle what you really don't need, then make a pledge not to replace everything you just got rid of. Buy quality products that will last longer. Over time, you'll obviously buy fewer products that way. Be creative in what you use for work, play and leisure. You don't always have to buy new products for activities. Re-use in creative ways. ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 2:19 PM |
| lmao m25...just watching oprah and she has someone on right now talking about how to compost!! ha ha ah ↑ |
| Name: mother2five | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 4:05 PM |
| lol.......nice! ↑ |
| Name: winnmom | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 5:07 PM |
| so being earth day...at the school the kids were to bring no garbage snacks...... so instead using the baggies, from now on i will be using the reusable containers.... I have seen the method products at safeway.....and yep about the same price as regular cleaners......buut do they get thibgs as clean??? ↑ |
| Name: winnmom | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 5:16 PM |
| I Love bleach........I am a bleach freak...lol ↑ |
| Name: homemommichele | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 6:42 PM |
| Effects of Bleach short and long term per studies from physicians at Oregon Health Sciences Center: Misscarriage, asthma, headaches, pulmonary edema, hardening of the arteries and many more. Aggravates heart and respiratory conditions per MSDS sheets, required for all products in businesses, but not in home. Bleach used in factories and hospitals the person is advised to wear gloves, eye protection and face masks!! But we use it like water in the home!! NOT good for YOU OR the environment. Kills germs AND everything else. Sorry, but bleach is NOT GREEN. ↑ |
| Name: winnmom | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 7:31 PM |
| oh I know it is not green.......sorry did not mean to mess up the topic....just stating that I love to use bleach.....know germs are killed. ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 7:39 PM |
| winn....plain vinegar will kill 99% of germs/bacteria. my mil hand washes most of her dishes and she uses ivory liquid soap with a bit of vinegar in it. she also uses vinegar when washing the floors. i used to use bleach...but have stopped now, cause it gives me a headache. ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 7:44 PM |
| i'm going to look into that method stuff though....does it smell good? lol....i use lysol 4in1 on my floors cause i like the smell of it....and yes i know...not good for the environment or ourselves.......which is why i'm looking into changing it....i just hope i find something that i like the smell...lol... ↑ |
| Name: homemommichele | Date: Apr 22nd, 2008 8:18 PM |
| vinegar, tea tree oil....lots of stuff kills all germs just as well....without killing humans with it!! Another thing I am trying to do is when I am doing laundry to use the water level adjuster. Not run a full load of water for just a partial load of clothing. ↑ |
