Eco Consciousness Starts From Home



I firmly believe that our ethics was heavily molded in our childhood years. These were the years when we have no idea how to act in this crazy, heavily-laden with issues world so we just took after our supposedly role models i.e adults around us. It’s funny how hard we deny our caregivers’ characteristics—even despise at times—and yet be able to carry them to our own adulthood. It’s because these characteristics are deeply embedded in our own subconscious minds that if reflex has it, it will certainly come out unabashed.

It was also said that the earliest you can train your child of certain things, the better he or she will absorb the things you want them to perceive. This may be true and with this I also hope the next generation to be more eco conscious than the generation we are living right now since together with us, our kids are the ones experiencing the many diverse effects of climate change, global warming and other eco-related issues.

It is very important for us parents to start encouraging our kids to be more conscious of our environment. Who else would teach them anyway? Of course, if you want them to accept the practice better, you might want to change your ways for the better too. Learning with them is a great way to ensure bond and save the environment at the same time. Help them see the importance of educating one’s self and how they can help the environment in their own little ways by providing them with all the materials they need such as reading materials and short field trips around your area.

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Eco Tourism Around the World



Two decades ago, the word eco tourism would not be on any dictionary in the planet.  Today the word is associated with green adventures with the focus on preserving and viewing some of the most beautiful and green environments in the planet.  Here are some noteworthy destinations to consider for ecotourism.

Brazil, the land of the Amazon River, Carnival and Iguacu Falls.  The Amazon is one of the most popular ecotourism destinations in the world because of its diverse plant and anima life.  The Amazon has over half of the world’s species of flowers, trees and herbs.  Not only is the Amazon mysterious, there is also a sense of adventure and danger whenever visitors visit this ecotourist destination.

When people say Dubai, ecotourism is probably the last thing that will enter their minds.  Indeed a lifeless desert seems to be an inappropriate location for ecotourism but The Al Maha Desert Resort is eco-tourism, Dubai-style. The resort features 40 bungalows, furnished like Bedouin tents stocked with pillows, sherry, expensive soap and pillows.  It is more like an exclusive retreat rather than an eco tourism desitination with all its luxury, but the resort has helped the wildlife in the area. The biggest success to date is theArabian oryx, a big white antelope whose numbers had been poached to fewer than 50 by the 1960s.  Today, its numbers are thriving thanks to the efforts made by the resort and its staff.

Canada is known as the Land of Plenty and it has plenty of ecotourism destinations to choose from.  The country offers many unique ecological experiences.  There are whale watching expeditions, treks through ancient forests that also feature Canada’s native people’s art and artifacts.  There is always something Canada has to offer for different people, making it an ideal ecotourism destination for lots of people.

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Sustainable Living for Your Home



Everywhere you go, you’ll see that people are taking steps in adapting a different kind of living. Sustainable living is definitely on its peak as people are exerting conscious efforts to push through sustainable living. Apparently, this conscious effort has been around for some time now but it’s only now that people are starting to notice—partly because of the threatening effects of Global warming and Earth destruction we have been experiencing these past few years.

Many innovative products for your home are being released to the market nowadays that answer directly to sustainable living. Concepts and ideas flow in minds of developers; not only are they helpful for the environment but also it brings them an alternative source of income. Here are some examples of new sustainable living, eco friendly products to hit the market today:

·    SinkPositive is a water saving sink attached on top of a regular toilet tank. The concept behind the design takes after a traditional Japanese toilet which was developed to meet American standards by its designer Nashvillian Carl Brown. Currently, the design is patented to the designer.
·    The very eco friendly corn carpet boasts of low VOC emission, biodegradability and durability. Naturally, this carpet is made from corn fibers and it is very resistant to wear and stains. This carpeting alternative is good because of its many environmental benefits including the reduction in CO2 emission. By the way, VOCs are very harmful for our bodies since they are gases emitted by most solid and liquid substances. When inhaled, they can bring adverse health effects to the body.
·    EcoTop countertops were included in the Top 10 Green Home Products for 2007 and have been the choice for green homes eversince. These countertops are made from recycled paper and wood composite. The resin that is used for binding fibers is 100% water based so there’s no VOC and best of all, it’s petroleum free.

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How To Green Your Cleaning Products



Green is very IN nowadays.  People are stepping up and taking responsibility for the damage our environment has sustained after years of abuse and neglect.  And we should be right to be concerned.  The Earth after all, is the only planet where human beings can live.  Without our planet, we would not only have a home but we would also cease to exist.

This is one of the primary reasons why we should do everything we can to green our way of living.  As usual, change begins at home and it is there that we can slowly initiate the change needed in order to take care of our ailing planet.

The home is actually a very good source of environment damaging chemicals.  We often forget that there are harmful chemicals that we dump on to our waterways every time we do the laundry, wash the dishes or do some household cleaning.  Start by taking a look at the cleaning agents under your sink.  Chances are these chemicals do more harm than good.  Yes, they make our home smell fresher and cleaner but at the price of damaging and harming our environment.

Throw away these cleaners and detergents as they have chemicals which damage and harm our planet. Use natural products which are not only biodegradable, they are safe and contain no toxins.  This means that you and the environment are safe whenever you clean your home.

Instead of using chemical based cleaners, you can substitute these for baking soda which is a natural abrasive and won’t scratch surfaces.  Baking soda is great for soap scum and works as a disinfectant too.  For bleach, you can use lemon juice instead.  Lemon juice is nature’s bleach and is a very effective stain remover.  For best results, mix one cup lemon juice to a gallon of water and soak stained garments overnight.  White vinegar is slightly acidic and works as a disinfectant too.  You can use this to deodorize utensils, cookware and other house hold items.  Borax is a good laundry additive and is environment friendly.  Club soda is another very good stain remover.

Being Green does not cost more or will cause inconvenience.  If you look closely at the products mentioned above, you can probably find them inside your cupboard right now.  The internet is also a very good source of Green cleaning solutions and certain websites have a list of products, detergent and other household needs that are certified as Green or environment friendly.

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Living Power: Renewable Power Generation from Animals and Humans



Generating electricity from biomass is stepping to the forefront of commercial power generation and Netherlands’ chicken-manure power plant, which started working around September 2008, stands as the largest biomass power plant in the world – supplying renewable electricity to nearly 90 thousand households. And yet more fascinating is the pursuit of developing renewable power projects that are modeled on the generation of electricity from the body of living organisms. The technologies are still in their infancy but whatever results have been obtained, thus far, are no less than amazing.

Of all the animals, studied for producing electricity in or on their bodies, none has come so stunning to the scientists as the electric eel. With its thousands of electrocytes (electricity-producing body cells), a large electric eel can generate an electric potential of about 600 volts – enough to stun a horse. Yale University researchers, in collaboration with nanotechnology engineers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), are working on developing artificial cells that would generate renewable power for medical implants and charging other small devices. The findings of these researchers, as published in Nature Nanotechnology (October 2008), show that the artificial cells modeled on electric eels’ electrocytes can be improved to produce up to 40% more electrical energy in a single pulse as compared to an eel’s natural electrocyte.

More recently, a team of researchers, led by Georgia Tech’s Zhong Lin Wang, used a nanogenerator to harvest electrical energy from the physical movements of hamsters, like running and scratching. The team used hamsters wearing specialized jackets, designed by the researchers, to run on exercise wheels. The biomechanical energy of the hamsters’ movements produced electric current in the device connected to the jackets on the hamsters. The electric power generated by the small animals is not much – only a nanowatt – so that it will take a thousand hamsters to charge a cell phone. Still, the research stands as a milestone in the conversion of biomechanical energy to renewable electric power.

Still more exciting is the quest for deriving electricity from humans (without giving them over to oppressive cyber systems, as in the Hollywood hit The Matrix). The research of Dr. Wang’s team on hamsters also tested the tapping of human fingers for nano-power generation. The result was positive, albeit very small in quantity. But German scientists have been working in another direction to reach the same goal. In August 2007, Peter Spies and his team, at the Fraunhofer Institute, used the principle of thermoelectric generation to convert the body heat of humans for producing a small amount of electric current. They have now developed circuits that can be recharged by the warmth of one’s hands. If further developed in future, these circuits can be installed in a number of devices like small medical instruments and cell phones to enable their recharging by the hands that operate them.

At the moment, biomechanical and biothermal electric power are in their infancy. But we have seen the spark on the horizon of research conducted on renewable power generation, and success in this field doesn’t sound like a fantasy anymore.

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