| Green Lifestyle Basics - The Concept | | | | Tip 1: Unplug all unused appliances from the socket |
| There is an important logic behind the familiar | | | | when not in use or at the end of the day |
| slogan of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" that most | | | | Green Lifestyle Tip 2: Give away your old stuff |
| people don't realize. It is the ORDER of the words | | | | rather than throw them away |
| that make all the difference. Why? A major part | | | | Say if you had a real lot of junk in your garage, |
| of our current environmental problems stem from | | | | you'd hold a garage sale right? There is a similar |
| energy. We use energy for everything and in our | | | | concept and it's called freecycling. In contrast to |
| everyday lives. From petrol in our cars, electricity | | | | recycling, freecycling means giving away your old |
| to power our heating/cooling to making goods and | | | | usable unwanted stuff like your worn out sofa, |
| watching tv, all these require energy. And the | | | | your old Pentium PC, your old cellphone and |
| primary source of this energy comes from | | | | assorted junk to someone who is in need of it |
| burning fossil fuels, which in turn creates pollution | | | | (eg. the disadvantaged or needy) There are |
| and then... You get the idea. So the most | | | | networks like freecycling.org online which would |
| important step is to Reduce our consumption. | | | | hook up would be givers and receivers. Rather |
| Why? It's simple. Reducing consumption means | | | | than they ending up in landfill, think of it as a form |
| we directly use less energy. May it be driving less | | | | of charity and environmental activism rolled into |
| of the car, using one less plastic bag... Using one | | | | one! Again, this follows the "Reuse" principal that |
| less leads to a direct impact of less harm to the | | | | won't cost you a single cent! |
| planet! The next effective step is to Reuse. Again, | | | | Green lifestyle Tip 2: Rather than throw away old |
| this means that less energy would be expended | | | | stuff, give it to someone who would love to have |
| to produce the goods and services we so desire. | | | | it! |
| For example, writing on both sides of a piece of | | | | Green Lifestyle Tip 3: Sort your trash - Organics |
| paper or using old clothes as rags. These would | | | | from Inorganics |
| mean less trees cut down for paper, less energy | | | | Often, materials that can be recycled face |
| to produce that piece of cloth. This directly means | | | | problem of contamination. For example, if waste |
| less waste! The last step is to Recycle. Compared | | | | paper is mixed with food waste at home. This |
| to the first two options, this is like the "least of all | | | | degrades the quality of the paper - this means |
| evils". Recycling requires energy too! For example, | | | | that the paper may only be recycled to a lower |
| we can recycle drink cans, but energy is needed | | | | grade of product. i.e waste still occurs.. Instead, a |
| to melt and reprocess the aluminum in the can. | | | | simple system of different bin systems within |
| Therefore, ideally, recycling should not be your | | | | your home to sort the organics like food scraps |
| first option! Read on on how to adopt a green | | | | from paper and glass would increase the |
| lifestyle with the tips below! | | | | efficiency of recycling efforts. The benefits are |
| Green Lifestyle Tip 1: Switch off all "vampire" | | | | manifold. Organic matter, when sent to the landfill, |
| appliances in your home | | | | produces problems of leaching and contamination |
| Electrical appliances like televisions and computers | | | | of groundwater when it decomposes. |
| that remain plugged into the socket consume also | | | | Alternatively, if they are incinerated, their high |
| consume electricity! There are 20 appliances in the | | | | moisture content translates into higher energy |
| typical American home that is bleeding you of | | | | costs to burn them. Rather, the sorted organic |
| money, costing from some studies an estimated | | | | matter can be added to a compost pile, which in |
| $200 a household annually. That works out to | | | | turn can be used to make fertilizer for the |
| about $3 billion a year! For what? Nothing! | | | | garden. On a larger scale, such organic waste can |
| Appliances like TVs and VCRs aren't actually "off" | | | | be collected from neighborhoods and cities can be |
| but rather on standby mode, and this takes up | | | | used to produce energy in biodigesters! Other |
| power. This also includes computers and modems. | | | | materials like paper and glass can be collected |
| Remember Reduce? This is a classic example of | | | | with greater ease. This simple system does not |
| reducing use and you get to save money too! | | | | cost much or create a lot of hassle but is highly |
| Green Lifestyle | | | | effective in helping the environment. |