Top 10 ways to live green
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Don't drive when you can walk
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Don't run the water if you don't need to
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Don't throw everything in the trash
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Compost is extremely versatile and beneficial in many applications. Compost has the unique ability to improve the properties of soils and growing media physically (structurally), chemically (nutritionally), and biologically. Although many equate the benefit of compost use to lush green growth, caused by the plant-available nitrogen, the real benefits of using compost are long-term and related to its content of living-organic matter.
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Trees are green machines that act as natural filters of our air. Through the process of photosynthesis they absorb carbon dioxide (a key GHG and principle contributor to global warming) from the atmosphere and store it in their trunk, branches, leaves, roots, soil and foliage, while releasing oxygen back out. Whereas deforestation, degradation and poor forest management reduce carbon storage in forests, sustainable management, planting, and rehabilitation of forests can increase carbon sequestration. In fact the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation states “global carbon retention resulting from reduced deforestation, increased forest regrowth and more agro-forestry and plantations could make up for about 15% of carbon emissions from fossil fuels over the next 50 years (2006).” Not only are trees an effective means for absorbing and storing the carbon you emit, they have far reaching benefits that extend well beyond that of filtering the air. Sustainably managed forests and urban forestry projects have multiple environmental and socio-economic functions important at the global, national and local scales, and play a vital part in sustainable development. Forests are sources of wood products. They help regulate local and regional rainfall. And forests are crucial sources of food, medicine, clean drinking water, and immense recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits for millions of people.
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In contrast to tap water, which is distributed through an energy-efficient infrastructure, transporting bottled water over long distances involves burning massive quantities of fossil fuels. Nearly a quarter of all bottled water crosses national borders to reach consumers, transported by boat, train and truck. In 2004, for example, Nord Water of Finland bottled and shipped 1.4 million bottles of Finnish tap water 4,300 kilometers (2,700 miles) from its bottling plant in Helsinki to Saudi Arabia.
Fossil fuels are also used in the packaging of water. The most commonly used plastic for making water bottles is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is derived from crude oil.
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Whether you rely on an old-school Walkman to tend to your musical needs or a battery-eating digital camera for snapshots, there’s no need for your mode of entertainment to stock landfills. Now that battery rechargers are cheap and small enough, there’s little reason to buy single-use batteries again. The savings: 500 to 1,000 disposable batteries for each rechargeable.
Consumer Reports recommends nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries for handheld music players and games. And recent advances have resulted in “hybrid” NiMHs which come powered up and lose their charges much less quickly than other NiMHs. This is a great plus for digital cameras and other high power equipment.
Beware, however, since some products require 1.5 volt batteries, while many NiMH batteries recharge at 1.4 volts and are quickly depleted to 1.2 volts. And since different rechargeables work better for different devices, follow manufacturer recommendations.
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Buy energy-efficient appliances. Use your consumer power when buying appliances by shopping for energy-efficient models. You may spend a little more up front, but you'll save a lot on electricity, and you'll reduce pollution produced by power plants. Look for the Energy Star label, which identifies the most efficient appliances. You can also use the Energy Guide labels to compare the efficiency of specific models. Remember that refrigerators consume the most electricity in the home. Today's refrigerators consume less than one-fourth the energy of models built 30 years ago, so an upgrade could mean huge energy savings for your household.
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Green News
SOLAR POWER - posted 9/14/2007 by Surfin' Sid
In a recent press release Sopogy, Inc., of Honolulu, Hawaii, indicated that it will deploy its concentrating solar power (CSP) technology at the Avista Clean Energy Test Site located in Rathdrum, Idaho. The company is going to demonstrate how Sopogy’s CSP system will perform in a northern climate, while generating power on a utility grid scale.
Avista, a Spokane based electric and natural gas utility company, created the Clean Energy Test Site to allow for deployment and testing of emerging renewable energy technologies. Ultimately the applications could provide additional renewable energy for utility customers.
Sopogy’s MicroCSP(TM) is designed to provide thermal energy as process heat, generate electricity, or provide air conditioning in areas with the right solar conditions. Many areas of the Northwest have long days and clear summer skies and a summer daytime peaking load, an ideal condition for MicroCSP(TM) technologies.
At full deployment at the Clean Energy Test Site Sopogy plans to produce up to 50 kilowatts of electric power that will be integrated onto the Avista grid. The highest output of the Sopogy systems is expected to coincide with the peak demands of the utility’s high summer daytime load.
The initial phase of the Sopogy test deployment will begin in mid-September, with full deployment targeted for the summer of 2008.
Concentrated Solar Power has been reliably used in the U.S. for over 30 years. These systems have been engineered for desert locations covering hundreds of acres and producing power very cost effectively. Sopogy’s technology shrinks desert CSP bringing this renewable energy opportunity to a commercial, industrial or on-site power application.
NEW FUEL SOURCE - posted 9/14/2007 by Surfin' Sid
It has been discovered that ethanol can be produced from CO2 and Sunlight. Professor Pengchen Fu has developed a cyanobacteria that consume carbon dioxide and excrete ethanol. Ethanol which is a green fuel, is produced by an expensive and time-consuming methods, Professor Fu's method can make it within a few days using just water, sunlight and carbon dioxide.