Increase Your Green Consciousness
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Preserve the Future of Our Planet for the Next Seven Generations
This lens will cover many sound Go Green Tips. In this lens you can find out what can you do as an individual to become greener. Living green is about consuming less, sharing more and enjoying life.
Go Green Tip #1: Find Your Litter Factor
Small changes such as not buying coffee in a disposable cup or water in a plastic bottle not only are good for your wallet, they actually better the planet. Every year, Americans drink more than 100 billion cups of coffee. Of these, 14.4 billion are served in disposable paper cups, enough to wrap the earth 55 times if placed end to end. Plus, those paper cups contain a plastic lining made from a petrochemical that would produce enough energy to heat 8,300 homes for a year.North Americans spent 15 billion on bottled water in 2006. Stop now, 9 of 10 of these plastic water bottles are simply thrown away, filling our landfills and blowing into our waterways. Is bottled water healthier? Federal standards are higher for tap water than for bottled water. 24 percent of the bottled water we drink (nearly one in four bottles) is actually tap water repackaged by Coke and Pepsi. Pepsi's brand is Aquafina and it costs nearly 2,500 times more than what comes out of your faucet. San Francisco has banned city employees from using tax dollars to purchase bottled water at work, and other cities are following suit.
Go Green action steps:
* Bring your own coffee cup
* Get a reusable water bottle and fill it with water from your tap
The newest generation of reusable water bottles is from VibesUP (stainless steel bottle).
Gift Someone a Green Book by Al Gore
Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis (Paperback)
Amazon Price: $8.46 (as of 02/15/2012)
Learn about environmental science, conservation, clean energy, climate crisis and public policy.
Protect Your Home with Affordable Solar
Brinkmann Solar-Powered Floodlight with Motion Sensor
Amazon Price: $47.08 (as of 02/15/2012)
Care free effective outdoor lighting.
Senses motion up to 75ft. away and turns ON
Solar panel has a 15ft. cord for easy mounting on the roof of your house or RV
6 volt system
Go Green Tip #2: Paper or Plastic?
The best answer for the planet is No, thank you. One of the easiest things you can do to save the Earth is to bring your own bags to the grocery store. The positive impact of skipping bags is huge. Between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are used every year worldwide. As many as 30 billion of them end up as litter-making their way into our oceans, killing birds, marine mammals, and sea creatures by the millions. That's because man-made plastics photo-degrade, which means that sunlight breaks them down into smaller pieces, perfect for wildlife to mistake for food. And they don't biodegrade, meaning they stick around for thousands of years. Several countries have banned or taxed the use of plastic bags including Ireland, Australia, and South Africa. San Francisco banned them in March, 2007.Go Green Action Step
Bring your own bags to the store when you shop. Visit www.reusablebags.com for facts on reusable bags and other eco-friendly packaging, plus a store that offers reusable bags and water bottles that make great gifts. Get your own Reusable Eco-tote.
Environmental Awareness Calendar 2012
Iris Tote Bag - Use Less Paper or Plastic for Your Shopping
Link to Help You Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
- Live Earth
- Take 3 minutes to get your Live Impact score and create your ECP account and get started on creating your personal plan! Be part of the solution to the climate crisis!
- Zero Footprint Offsets
- Offsetting is an interim measure that we use to deal with our ecological impact that is difficult to avoid. For example, if your business requires travel and travel is not yet "green", what do you do? You offset the impact with real, tangible, additional benefits to the environment. Offsets in this way sets a price for the services the environment provides and that our economy doesn't reward.
Heaven and Earth Art Print
Go Green Tip #3: Drive Smart, Finish Rich
Nothing will improve the planet quicker than the decisions you make about what you drive and how you drive.According to the Federal Highway Administration, we use 8.2 million barrels of oil per day to fuel the 24.1 million cars and trucks that are on the road in the United States. Burning all that fuel fills the air with 1,300 million tons of CO2 each year. The United Nations Human Development Report of 2007 reported that the automobile sector accounts for 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries.
What can you do? Changing what you drive and how you drive it can save you a small fortune, clean up the air we breathe, and help to turn the tide on global warming.
Go Green Action Steps
* Increase your fuel economy
Find out what mileage you are currently getting. Visit the EPA's Green Vehicle Guide to check your car's mileage. Find a list of the greenest cars here.
* Upgrade to a hybrid
If you drive 15,000 miles per year, a hybrid that gets 45 mpg will use 417 less gallons of gas per year than a standard car at 20 mpg.
* Maintenance matters
Keeping your tires properly inflated, getting a tune-up, eliminating all unnecessary cargo (weight) and avoiding aggressive acceleration and braking can increase your gas mileage by up to 30 percent.
* Get rid of a car
If your household income is $50,000 and you own two cars, you're working four months out of the year just to pay for them! If every family in the United States gave up one car, it would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by around 413 billion pounds a year. (Go to "The real cost of car ownership calculator" at www.bikesatwork.com or www.commutesolutions.com.
* Skip a Trip
40 percent of all car trips we make in the United States are less than two miles. Hike or bike the trip. If every person in the United States cut out just one car commute per week by carpooling or taking public transportation, we'd reduce carbon emissions by 149 million tons.
More Green Tips will be added pretty much weekly so check back regularly. Go ahead, turn over a new leaf!
Go Green Postage
Use Energy Saving LED Lighting
Vote for the Best Conservation Product
Debbie Meyer Green Bags
Includes 20 bags - 10 medium and 10 large - that c more...1 point
Hunter 44550 Auto Save 7-Day Programmable Thermostat
7 Day Programmable Thermostat1 point
P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor
Connect your appliances into the Kill A Watt, and more...0 points
Lux Products Smart Temp Programmable Thermostat TX1500
Smart Temp, Lighted Heating/Cooling Thermostat, Pr more...0 points
Suncast Recycle Bin Kit BH183PK
"SUNCAST" RECYCLING BIN 3 piece recycling more...0 points
Xantrex Technologies 852-2071 Xpower AC/DC Powerpack Solar With 400 Watt Inverter, Two Outlets, USB Port, And Digital Display
The XPower Powerpack Solar is the first portable p more...0 points
Fun Economical Solar Products - Buy Green or Give Green Gifts
Go Green Tip # 4: Buy in Bulk As Much As Possible
Buying in bulk doesn't mean purchasing large cases of individually wrapped goods or buying things you don't really need. It does mean buying the largest size of a product that you were going to purchase anyway. A 64-ounce bottle of laundry detergent is better for the planet than the 32-ounce bottle because it uses the smallest amount of packaging per unit. Containers and packaging make up more than 31 percent of all municipal solid waste-almost 80 million tons in 2006. And it's better for your shopping bill, because the large size almost always costs less per pill, per drop of shampoo, per flake of cereal, and so on.
Check out the bulk-bin aisle at your supermarket (Whole Foods & Vitamin Cottage are great) to dispense dry goods like pasta, rice, cereal, nuts, dried fruit, and spices into your own bags, at much lower prices per unit.
Go Green Action Steps
Join a bulk buying club (Costco, Sam's club, etc)
Find a supermarket like Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage that offer organic foods in big bins Check out www.vegfamily.com or search co-op food buying
I Love You Planet Earth
I Love You Planet Earth Poster by Bigboy20769
Learn how to sell paintings online at Zazzle.
Study and Apply The Green Year
The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference
Amazon Price: $0.01 (as of 02/15/2012)
Go Green Tip #5: Plant Trees or Shrubs
Here's an incredibly simple way to save on energy costs. Strategically planting trees and shrubs to shade your home can lower surrounding air temperatures during warm summer months by up to 9 degrees Fahrenheit-and can reduce your wall and roof temperatures by 20 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, keeping your home naturally cooler. In winter, trees can function as windbreaks as well, reducing your heating bill.The average home could save between $150 and $250 on energy costs-simply with smart landscaping. There are lots of other reasons to plant trees. Besides providing food and housing, for insects, birds, and other backyard wildlife, trees protect against erosion and clean the air as they soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Choose species that are either native to or well-suited for your location.
This is excerpt from an article in Tricycle by Wendy Johnson:
Dr. E. F. Schumacher reminded us that in the lifetime of the Buddha, 2500 years ago, practitioners were encouraged to plant and nurture at lease one tree every tive years. "Just imagine," Dr. Schumacher mused, "establishing a modern ideology for every man, woman and child in India to do this little thing - in a five-year period there would be 2,000 million established trees producing foodstuffs, fiber, building material, shade and water." . . . Without pontification or pride, remember the Buddha, who was born under a tree, taught under a tree, and died under a tree, taught that "the forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence...It affords protection to all beings, offering share even to the axman who destroys it."
Go Green Action Steps
Go to www.eere.energy.gov/consumer to learn about regional considerations for tree planting. Click on landscaping.
Go to www.nrel.gov for the National Energy Lab's guide "Landscaping for Energy Efficiency" type landscaping into the search box
Go to www.arborday.org The Arbor Day Foundation is offering ten free shade trees when you purchase an annual membership for $15.
2012 Nature Calendar for the Conservationist
nature 2012 calendar by cardart
Join one of the biggest artist affiliate programs
Go Green Tip #6: Get an Energy Audit
Go Green Action Steps
Use the ENERGY STAR Home Energy Yardstick to compare your home's energy efficiency with that of similar homes across the country. Go to www.energystar.gov and click on "Home Improvements".
To find a professional in your area who will conduct an energy audit, start with the local utility company or check the Yellow Pages under "Energy". Be sure to check them out with the BBB. A professional energy audit can cost from $50 on up.
You can do a scaled down energy audit yourself. Visit the Consumer's Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and click on "Energy Audits" in the quick links section.
Green Tip # 7: Eat Less Meat
You probably know that eating less meat is better for your health-but did you know that it's better on the environment, too? Methane from captive livestock accounts for nearly a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans.A 2006 study called "Diet, Energy and Global Warming," by two University of Chicago geophysicists, concluded than switching from a "Standard American Diet" to a vegetarian diet takes a bigger bite out of global warming than trading in your SUV for a hybrid car!
Go Green Action Steps
Go vegetarian one extra day a week. There are thousands of easy-to-prepare, tasty, meat-free recipes on the web. Start at www.vegweb.com.
Find more recipes, plus read more about meat's impact on the environment, at www.goveg.com under "Environment." Click on "Recipes" for menus, nutrition information, and tips on eating meat-free.
What Would the Buddha Recycle?
What Would the Buddha Recycle?: The Zen of Green Living
Amazon Price: $6.70 (as of 02/15/2012)
If the Buddha were alive today, he'd be the living embodiment of green living. He'd be collecting cans on the freeway, riding his bike to work, and replacing all his light bulbs-one little satori at a time. In this book you can channel His Holiness, reduce your footprint, and experience little Aha! moments when you
* Eat mindfully and lose the meat
* Make a Zen garden that nourishes the earth
* Choose sustainable clothing
* Meditate while walking instead of driving
* Let go of attachment to things by giving away belongings
Living green is living Zen. Now you can take right action and walk a green talk, starting today-just think how proud the Buddha would be!
Green Tip #8: Cards and Gift Wrap
Believe it or not, Americans spend $2.7 billion every year on gift wrap. That's more than the entire gross domestic product (GDP) of many countries in Africa and Asia. One easy way to green your holidays is to stop buying non-recyclable wrapping paper printed with petroleum-based inks and dyes. Use gift wrap made out of recycled paper-or better yet, use materials around your home (such as the Sunday comics) to dress up your packages.
Next, green your greetings. Nearly 300,000 trees are harvested each year to produce all the holiday cards sold in the United States-enough to fill a football field 10 stories high! Save money, time, and trees by sending free e-cards instead of traditional cards.
You Are Here by Thomas Kostigen
You Are Here: Exposing the Vital Link Between What We Do and What That Does to Our Planet
Amazon Price: $4.20 (as of 02/15/2012)
Kostigen shows us that, in a world of limited resources, there is no such thing as an insignificant choice. Pushing us from awareness to action, this is an unforgettable story about how, through our choices, we are all tied to one another. -- Alexandra Cousteau
Go Green Tip #9: Plan a Green Vacation
The Global Guide to Green Travel
Support Resorts who incorporate energy saving architecture, and low energy use alternatives. Eat local foods while there in order to avoid the use of fossil fuels in shipping food to you. Put your money where your beliefs are in order to conserve and to protect Mother Earth.
One thing you can't recycle is wasted time.
Go Green Tip #10: Green Your Decor
We spend about $78 billion a year on new furniture in the United States, and much of what is on the market today contains PBDEs (flame retardants) that cause health problems. Many types of furniture are treated with finishes and lacquers that release volatile organic compounds (VOC), formaldehyde and benzidine which can cause lung damage and cancer.
Seek out sustainable items made from responsibly harvested, renewable, or reclaimed materials that contain little or no toxic chemicals. They're better for the environment and for your health
Go Green Action Steps
Shop online for sustainable furniture at www.vivaterra.com, www.greenerlifestyles.com, www.pristineplanet.com, www.ecobedroom.com, >www.eyezotica.com.
Look for products certified by GreenGuard,, an independent certification system for products with low levels of toxic emissions.
Look for the seal of approval from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) which certifies lumber cut in an environmentally responsible manner.
Go Green Tip #11: Raise Your Children Green
Growing Up Green: Baby and Child Care: Volume 2 in the Bestselling Green This! Series
Amazon Price: $0.01 (as of 02/15/2012)
Reviewed by Charlene M. Gormley (Boston Ma)
This is a fabulous book. Easy to read. Great for parents with kids of all ages and for people considering having children or those that care for children. I highly recommend it. It is one of those books you have to buy because you will reference it so often. Great to buy and share with others also!
Use Maggie's Natural Soap Nuts from Trees
Go Green Tip # 12 - Stop Reading Paper Books and Newspapers
Kindle Keyboard 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display
Amazon Price: $189.00 (as of 02/15/2012)
Amazon's New Wireless Reader with books, magazines and newspapers of your choice.
For the person who has everything. Perfect for the one that likes electronic gagets.
Makes reading a lot more fun and saves the trees! Makes a great gift with a message on conservation.
Green This! Greening Your Cleaning' by Deirdre Imus - Tip #13
Green This! Volume 1: Greening Your Cleaning
Amazon Price: $0.01 (as of 02/15/2012)
Deirdre Imus is the founder and president of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology, part of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) in New Jersey. She is also a co-founder and co-director of the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer, and the author of the bestselling book, The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys.
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Green Consciousness Reader Feedback
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marsha32
Dec 4, 2011 @ 4:59 pm | delete
- I love all of your tips! Even if all would follow even half of them the planet would be so much better off.
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kiwinana71
Sep 16, 2011 @ 6:55 pm | delete
- Great lens, I have written one also on going green, but I think you have done a much better job of it than I did. Thanks for sharing.
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James C
May 26, 2011 @ 6:58 am | delete
- this was an interesting lens which states the importance of going green and creating awareness on going green. you can also install a solar panel system on your residence to save energy by means of going green.
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Marianna Pieros
May 4, 2011 @ 8:19 am | delete
- In our century is all about green consciousness. Going green is the most important issue that will shape our future-we have reached a tipping point on the environment.
So it's time to go green indeed, stop polluting the planet now.
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register cyprus company
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tvyps
Mar 16, 2011 @ 3:32 am | delete
- Pretty cool...but even Kermit says "It ain't easy bein' green!" ha!
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I'm Marsha Camblin. My Buddhist name is Rinchen Chodron. I'm a photographer and designer. Check out my Studio. For Clothing | Accessories... more »
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