Learn how to make your flat more eco-friendly with help from the friendly residents of Toroa House.

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Technorati Tags: bathroom, eco-friendly, ecoliving, kitchen, laundry, recycling, toroa, town, transition

I have baseboard hot water heat, and a gas-powered hot water tank. No central air… just window units in the bedrooms. I have a fireplace, but don’t use it much. I live in cold New England. Lots of trees around the house.

I just want to go green, but I don’t want to move. What can I do without spending too, too much money?

going green is a large term many companies use today and it used to widely, mostly for profit. but that does not mean the little people cant go and do a little green them selves. just short of rebuilding a house, you can help by recycling all paper and plastics and glass etc…. then start reducing the amount of electricity you use by using a digital A/C thermostat, change your bulbs from incandescent to compact florescent bulbs (home depot, Lowe’s) (remember to check your local trash company for disposal when they burn out)bad for environment but cheap to use, check your electric company web sites, they usually have great tips on how to reduce power in your home. start using paper bags at the grocery store instead of plastic. all of the things i listed are cheap to start and very inexpensive to do…… going green is not always changing all of the products in house but adjust to help the environment, that alone is going green…
hope this has help you!!!!

Technorati Tags: eco-friendly, Green, recycling

Does anyone have tips on easy ways for a college student to help out the environment? I live with roommates who don’t recycle, plus there is no pick up service. I want to do what I can, but I don’t know how!

People have the whole "recycling" thing backwards. You should not worry about what CAN be recycled, start by looking at what you purchase as a consumer.

If consumers would stop buying excess packaging there would not be as much to recycle to begin with. Here is a great rule of thumb to follow:

1) Reduce – Do not buy individual servings of things. If you must have the individual serving then use your own re-usable container. If you are watchful and do not buy things that have excess packaging you will also see a difference in the money you save as well. Manufacturers do not give you that packaging for free, they charge for it and then YOU have to dispose of it.

2) RE-Use- If you just MUST have that Sobe drink in the cute bottle then find a way to Re-use that cute bottle when you are finished with it. Used coffee grounds are great for garden compost, Old sweaters can be unraveled and the yard used to make something new, jars and cans make cool and interesting containers for a new gift. Use your imagination and you will be surprised at what you come up with.

3) Re-cycle- If you follow the first two steps you should be left with almost nothing to re-cycle and this is how it is supposed to work.
So what do you do with the things you have left? Almost every town in america has some resource for aluminum cans… you may have to ask around or do some searching on the internet. If all else fails contact your local landfill or elementary school. They typicaly know who to contact.

I hope this helps

Elliscountymod
Moderator/Owner,
Ellis County Freecycle(TM)

Technorati Tags: be more environmentally friendly, recycling

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.

Technorati Tags: dispose of old computer, donate, eco-friendly, electronics, recycling

I’m not talking about people who are against green living, but those who thinks they are leading a greener lifestyle.

I have been bothered by people who thinks consumption of green products is thus green living. Some people buy green products in additional to their normal needs. The key is to consume less!!

There was a great article on New York Times, but it’s subscription only right now. Treehuggers have their own report on this issue: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/buying_into_the.php

Do you know of any other common misconception about green living that you’d like to share with us?
More about recycling controversy, here’s clips from Penn & Teller:
pt.1 http://youtube.com/watch?v=9oloM_dSoW4
pt.2 http://youtube.com/watch?v=gvfQ0iffj40
pt.3 http://youtube.com/watch?v=Cnoj9MPpi54
Not all recycling is good. I really hope that people notice that REDUCE is the most important part of green living.

people get squirrely when they want to ‘make a difference’ and don’t know where to turn. as belladonna says, it’s not difficult, it’s simple. there is no measuring stick for how ‘green’ you must be save the one you use on yourself. for those who think they ARE living a greener lifestyle, if they’ve made positive changes, god bless ‘em. they ARE.

instead of fretting about which strategies you CANNOT use, act upon the ones you will. one preconception people have is that, "i can’t do it all myself, so i won’t do anything." this misses the whole point that what we all do helps. baby steps repeated endlessly by you and cumulatively by us have the same effect as one large corporate or governmental one- and are a heck of a lot easier to manage.

"i’m the only one doing this". not true, but if you need a mentor, find one. look up local members of the green party. find a ‘recycling buddy’ at work: most people exercise more regularly when they have someone to ‘push’ them, why not find a kindred to inspire you? the misconception that you’ll be looked upon as odd is old news. the chance that someone will strike up a conversation with you as you bring your own bag to the local grocer (i did say local, didn’t i?) is more than likely, and it’s a chance to share your ideals as well as stroke your ego. good deal, eh?

finally i agree that buying a surplus of ‘extra’ items because they’re earth-friendly is the wrong way to go about it. in fact, permaculture and many other green philosophies emphasize using LESS, not more. perhaps you could use this as a good opportunity to compare the ‘green vs. normal’ products, and let them know that there’s no dropoff in quality. maybe next time, they’ll remember your conversation and only toss the ‘green’ one in their bag. their canvas bag.

it doesn’t always go the way we’d like it to go. best not to alienate anyone: just support the good works that are being done. lemonade, not lemons. not always easy, peace.

Technorati Tags: green living, greener lifestyle, recycling, treehuggers

What are some choices/changes you have made in your home or life to support going GREEN?

I switched to compound fluorescent lightbulbs. They last longer and consume one-quarter of the energy.

I Installed ceiling fans instead of air conditioning units to keep rooms comfortable in warm weather.

my torch and calculator both work with rechargeable batteries.

started to recycle old newspapers,taking showers instead of baths,turning off appliances when not using them.

Technorati Tags: eco-friendly life, going green, lighting, rechargeable batteries, recycling