CityTV morning hosts take a close look at a number of eco-friendly products for greener living from Vancouver online boutique Lavish & Lime – from bags made of Coca-Cola billboards to waste-free lunch kits. Visit http://www.lavishandlime.com to browse the entire eco collection.
Duration : 0:1:48
We live in a victorian house and light our fire alot over christmas. We use a mixture of smokeless coal as well as wood collected over the year – whats the best thing to do with this?
Note i know that wood ash is fine but this is mostly coal/charcoal.
if you have an area of the garden you wish to make into a path then use the ash etc as a base a little like using hardcore..alternatively makes a great weed suppressant on slabbed paths etc..just sprinkle into gaps and cracks and brush off the surplus..or on whole areas if you have one that needs treating great as a soil conditioner too
This short film by National Downshifting Week’s creator Tracey Smith, explains a few of the ways we can all ‘Slow Down and Green Up’.
(As featured recently on Channel 5 News)
Duration : 0:3:36
The EcoFabulous Home was designed by Kanau Uyeyama Architect Inc. As a firm, we have been researching eco-friendly solutions for many years. In 2008 we put all our knowledge to the test and designed and built the EcoFabulous Home (1000 sq.ft., 400sq.ft. deck) as the Feature Home for the British Columbia Home and Garden Show. There is a living wing (kitchen, dining, sitting) and a bedroom wing (2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms). Eco-friendly solutions included such things as 100% recycled paper with zero VOCs for kitchen and bathroom cabinets, cedar deck, siding and spa skirt, and other sustainable woods, CFLs and LEDs, Hydronic heating system with each radiator with its own non-electric thermostat 95% plus efficiency gas fired condensing boiler supplemented with solar panels, integrated home control system. www.prefabuloushomes.ca
Duration : 0:3:37
As it is, I walk mostly everywhere I go, so as not to add more car transmissions into the environment. I recycle paper, bottles, and cans. But what else can I do to live more green and eco-friendly?
Going green is easy, there are so many great resources about the subject. My personal favorite is "The Green Book" which has parts of its book online as well at www.readthegreenbook.com.
As I have been striving to "Go Green" I realize it is like stepping back in time without getting rid of my modern conveniences. I’m doing many things I learned as a child, like line drying my clothes, sweeping instead of vacuuming, opening the windows in the morning to catch the cool breeze, only buying what I need instead of everything that looks cool, growing some of my own food, and canning what I can’t eat now.
To me "going Green" is a frame of mind. Do what fits your lifestyle and do the easy things first, it is a process and like dieting if you go to radical to soon, you are more likely to go back to bad habits. I also believe there are good, better, best choices in most things. If you aren’t ready to start a home garden, then try finding a farmers market, until you locate one look for produce grown as close to home as possible and go organic when available.
Many people think "going green" is expensive, I disagree. Some changes may take an initial investment, but they usually have a short payoff time. Things like weatherstiping and insulation cost, but the energy savings will add up quickly. You may need to purchase reusable bags, but most stores give you a 5 or 10 cent credit, so you are paid back within a few months.
My top tips are make your home more energy efficient, that also means using natural light, cooling and heating.
Reduce your packaging, if you eat more fresh food you will generally reduce packaging, it’s the same thing they tell dieters, shop the perimiter, that is where all the meat, dairy and produce are located. Only buy what you will use, many Americans throw away a lot of unused food. Buy in bulk, that doesn’t just mean large packages, but that area with the bins that you buy only what you plan on using.
Replace disposable items with durable items, if you eat outside often and use disposable paper or plastic plates, it is a wise investment to purchase a set of reusable plastic plates. Replace disposable razors, diapers and cleaning products like swiffer. Avoid bottled water, get a home filter like Pur or Brita.
Recycle, www.earth911.org will help you locate the nearest recycle center. I try to only purchase plastics that are #1 or #2, they are more easily recycled. I also buy recycled products when available, that includes paper towels, napkings, toilet paper, tissue, school/office supplies and clothing.
Detox your cleaning, vinegar and baking soda clean almost anything, they can even losen a hair clog. Seventh Generation and Method are a couple mainstream brands that are very earth friendly.
Just start small and build from there, don’t get overwhelmed.
I live in Montgomery County, MD. I have a couple of working old computers 2GB hard drive, 256 MD RAM etc (obselete now), and bulky monitors. I don’t think anybody would be interested in them anymore and I feel that I cannot donate them. How do I dispose them off in an eco friendly manner (without harming the environment)?
You can donate it to non-profits, a friend, or other places.
You can also call the company that created the computer and see if they offer re-collection of old systems (if it’s a Compaq, that’s HP now; Packard-Bell is HP; eMachines is also Gateway).
Since you can’t get rid of it in a landfill because its components have lead and mercury, call your city administration building (city hall or 311 in most areas) to ask them if the city or county offers electronics recycling programs.
We will be be more caring about how we treat the earth we live on, instead of destroying it.. And when you destroy the place that sustains your life you’re just pressing the "self-destruct" button.
Martha Stewart featured Kirei Board in a “Living Wall” episode with Scott Hutcheon of Seasons Landscaping. Living walls are a “hot new trend” according to Martha with environmentally aware architects, interior designers and gardeners. Live plants are grown indoors or outdoors on walls, sides of buildings, or in frames, made out of Kirei Board. The benefits of a living wall are air purification and health and wellness.
(more)
Duration : 0:1:47
East West magazine Editor-in-Chief Anita Malik talks about the latest eco-friendly products for home, wardrobe and entertaining.
Duration : 0:7:39
This book is very easy to read with wonderful and useful information. If you want to start thinking "green" then this book is a great start.
The book spans a wide range of topics - including beauty products, cleaning products, linens and mattresses, and home improvement. If you are going to make any large-scale eco-friendly investments (on-demand water heater, organic mattress, hybrid car, solar panels) youre going to need to do much more research than what is in this book. If youre just looking for a primer covering a lot of topics and dont mind it when it states the obvious (bring your own bags to the store, recycle your trash) or hawks products, then you might find this book useful.
Make Earth Day an all year-event. Better shows you how.