Five Ways to Go Eco-Green Friendly in Your Apartment



Here are five ways to make your apartment an eco-friendly place:
1. The first thing you should always do is take into consideration the location of your apartment and make it as convenient to your occupation and also the places you go to on a regular basis, so that you could walk or ride a bike. You will be helping the environment and your heart from all the exercise you would be getting.

2. Several of us tend to get into the habit of turning the lights or television on the moment we get home. We usually do it because we like the noise in the background and the lights to feel warmth of security. Try going without it for a while. When coming home, instead of turning on your lights, open some blinds or curtains. Plus you’ll be amazed at how much more calming it is, without having the T.V. blaring.

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What is Composting? How to Composte.



Composting is the natural decomposition of weeds, manure and other yard waste, fruit and vegetables.  The breakdown of these organic materials produces compost which can be made into fertilizer to enrich soil.    By composting we do not only help conserve our environment by reducing the amount of garbage sent to landfills, we also help promote healthier soil where we can grow healthy flowers or fruit and vegetables like tomatoes, carrots and herbs.

There are many ways to compost.  Some make bins from recycled materials or buy one at the store.  Others go binless, by digging a hole directly on the ground.  But there are some basic composting dos and don’ts.

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Eco-Friendly Cars for Reducing Global Warming



The recent crisis in global economies has made several industries revise their production plans. For the advocates of environmentalism, this depression has brought good news as the European Union (EU) has pressed on auto-makers to produce eco-friendly (green) cars. The EU policy of replacing traditional cars with energy-efficient green cars primarily aims at cutting the vehicular emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, by as much a one-fifth of the existing amount of emission, by the year 2012. The production of green cars will also help sustain the auto industry without losing business.

The sharp fall in the purchase of cars has not only affected the European auto industry but also the car-manufacturers in the United States where lawmakers are asking auto-manufacturers to raise the mileage of an average car from 35 miles per gallon of fuel to 50 miles per gallon. Given the fact that vehicular emissions are the second major source of greenhouse gases in America, the US government is keen on replacing gasoline cars with electric cars.

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Greenery Bridges the Health Gap Between the Rich and the Poor



Greenery is central to eco-friendly communities and its role in improving health continues to be supported by scientific research. The latest evidence, corroborating the role of greenery in maintaining public health, comes from a study published in the renowned British medical journal The Lancet. It concludes that green spaces not only reduce blood pressure and stress levels, preventing heart diseases and stroke, but also bridge the gap between the health condition of the poor and that of the more well-off members of society.

The research has been conducted by Dr. Richard Mitchell (Glasgow University) and Dr. Frank Popham of (University of St Andrews). They analyzed the records of over 366, 000 people, who passed away between 2001 and 2005, concluding that even a little area covered with greenery plays a significant healing role in the health of the population that lives nearby. This finding is important in that it counters the mainstream belief that social class is the major determinant of health – rich people being privileged with better health due to their higher socio-economic profile.

For both health professionals and the general public, the health-friendly effects of green spaces denote a new hope of living longer and happier life without any demand for wealth. Local councils can bring about a notable improvement in people’s health by introducing more greenery in the locality. From health’s viewpoint, poor people can get the same share in life as do the rich. What is needed is more volunteering for increasing the greenery in one’s area. Previous studies have proved the positive role of roadside trees in improving health in urban areas. The recent findings strengthen the belief in the environmental-friendly practice of plantation – an activity that literally promotes life against the threat of diseases.

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Cleaning It Green



Whenever it comes to a general discussion of hazardous chemical products, most people tend to feel worried about industrial wastes that are contaminating the air, water, and land around us. To give you all goose bumps, the threat of toxicity is more immediate – lying next to our daily life inside our very own houses. True that the levels of toxic chemicals used in households is usually much lower than those dealt with in industries or workplace. Nevertheless, houses do carry a threat to health and environment due to hazardous chemical products. While different substances in the house may contain higher than safe levels of toxic chemicals, household cleaners are particularly infamous for posing greater risks to health.
Aside from the composition of household cleaners, the latter are of worse concern to health-conscious families because they are used throughout the house for cleaning purposes. Since water is used with many of them, the vapors formed indoors may affect all the inhabitants of the house. Within a house, various cleaners of toxic composition are used in the kitchen, bathrooms, garages, and virtually anywhere. Two main reasons appear to be responsible for the use of potentially harmful chemical cleaners in our modern day houses. First, synthetic chemical cleaners are quick to use and help save the consumer’s time. Secondly, they are easier to use than many natural cleaners that were used prior to the popularity of synthetic cleaners. Given the health and environmental effects (both actually related) of synthetic cleaners, spending more time and effort is worth adopting.
Prior to going for natural and safer cleaners at home, it is important to identify hazardous cleaning agent used for household cleaning. This is easy since most of such cleaners are labeled with one of these three main alarming words: Danger, Warning, and Caution. Those marked with the word ‘Danger’ are the most toxic followed by those with ‘Warning’, and products labeled with ‘Caution’ are rather low in toxicity (though still not advisable for use). Generally, caustic and highly evanescent (solvent) substances used at home are mostly toxic to health. In the long term, they cause a large number of health problems ranging from skin problems to cancer.
For general safety to your health and environment, proper disposal of all waste/left-over materials is indispensable. Following the instructions on the container is the best way of safely using the product it contains. All labels need to be duplicated and affixed to a new container in case the user needs to change containers. People with access to the Internet (and who hasn’t got it these days) can get plenty of free information on safe disposal of household products. It goes without saying that all chemical cleaners need to be kept out of the reach of kids.

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