Green Living Tips For Computer Users

Do you know that using laptops and desktop computers have a lot of diference in terms of energy comsumption?

The following are some rough calculations based on coal fired power generation for just the computer aspect:

Laptop = 50w x 10 hours a day x 365 days = 182.5 kilowatts
Desktop = 300s x 10 hours a day x 365 = 1095 kilowatts

There is a huge difference as you can see and in terms of carbon emissions, the savings by using a laptop are around 1360 pounds annually or over half a ton.

Switching from a desktop machine to a notebook is a great way to save electricity. However, even with a desktop system there's a lot you can do to green your computer use.

When you're not using your computer for extended periods, switch your computer off at the wall to avoid phantom power load consumption.

Ensure your power saving/management options are enabled and properly configured. In Windows, this can be found in Settings/Control Panel/Power Options

While using your computer, only have your screen as bright as you need it - unneccesarily bright screens will use additional electricity.

For a screen saver, use a blank (black) screen as animated screen savers are energy suckers.

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Green Living Tips On How To Purify Your Indoor Air - Part IV

This is the 4th part of Green Living Tips On How To Purify Your Indoor Air.

Vent or Shut Off Your Wood Stove

Fireplaces and wood or gas stoves in your home can produce carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and fine particle pollution, as well as other toxic air pollutants.

Use a fireplace or wood stove only if you must have it for heat. If you must use a wood or gas stove or fireplace, make certain it is fully vented to the outside. Wood stoves should meet State of Washington emission standards, which require cleaner-burning stoves.

Beware of Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is a nearly colorless gas found in many home products. Disinfectants, adhesive or bonding agents, insecticides, urea formaldehyde foam insulation and particle board may all contain formaldehyde. It is a carcinogen and can cause health problems that include coughing, eye, nose, and throat irritation, skin rashes and asthma-like symptoms. People with asthma may be more sensitive to formaldehyde.

Keep formaldehyde away from your home by choosing wood panel products that are not made with urea formaldehyde glues, lumber or materials. Cigarette smoke is also a major source of indoor formaldehyde -- another reason to ban smoking from your home.

Avoid Pesticides

Pesticides used to curb household pests can allow harmful chemicals into your home and may cause added health dangers to children and pets. Still, some pests can trigger allergic reactions and worsen asthma.

Practice integrated pest management to keep your home free of pests and harmful chemicals alike. Integrated pest management includes simple things like blocking holes and keeping food in tightly sealed containers. Cover your trash cans and keep your floors and counter free of crumbs. Use bait traps if necessary to catch pests. Only use chemicals as a last resort and get professional help.

Avoid Toxic Products

Consumer products can produce harmful air pollution indoors. Hair and nail products, cleaning products, art and hobby supplies and other common products can increase the levels of VOCs, or volatile organic compounds. Some of the VOCs in these products include substances linked to cancer, headaches, eye and throat irritation and worsened asthma.

Look for products which are marked “low VOCs” and be sure to open windows and use exhaust fans when using these products.

Ventilate Your Kitchen

Cooking can be a big source of indoor air pollution, especially if you have a gas stove. Scientists who measured indoor air quality found that cooking a single meal on a gas stove can produce levels of nitrogen dioxide that the EPA considers unsafe to breathe. Nitrogen dioxide can worsen asthma and increase your risk of respiratory infection.

Ventilate your kitchen stove directly outside or open a kitchen window when you cook. Keeping exhaust -- including cooking odors and particles -- outside of your home prevents dangerous fumes and particles from harming you or your family.

Ventilate Your Bathroom

Bathroom fans can help reduce the level of moisture in your home and prevent the growth of mold. Make sure to use them whenever possible. If you are building a home or remodeling, install a fan with a separate timer that can continue to remove moisture after you turn out the light.

A little common sense goes a long way. If a bathroom smells like mold or you can see water spots, you need to reduce the moisture level of your home. Always start by identifying the source of household problems, and then find the simplest step to fix it. Taking small steps to improve the air quality of your home can have tremendous results.

Know The Limitation Of Air Purifiers
Air cleaning devices can help reduce some of the tiniest airborne particles, and as part of a comprehensive strategy, may help reduce indoor air pollution.

However, they have limits. For example, they aren't effective against gases or humidity. Larger, heavier particles -- including many allergens -- fall too quickly out of the air to be effectively removed this way.

If you chose to use an air cleaning device, make sure that it does not produce ozone -- either intentionally or as a byproduct.

Don't Install Carpet

Avoid using carpet whenever possible. Carpet traps unhealthy particles -- including chemicals, dust mites, pet dander, dirt and fungi -- and vacuuming can make them airborne.

If you do have carpets, use a HEPA (high efficiency particle air) vacuum cleaner to ensure better air quality.

Hard surface flooring, like wood, tile or cork can be readily cleaned by damp mopping.

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Green Living Tips On How To Purify Your Indoor Air - Part III

This is the 3rd part of Green Living Tips On How To Purify Your Indoor Air

Protect Your Kids From Bad Air On The Bus

Your child may be breathing high levels of dangerous pollution inside their school bus, including diesel exhaust, fine particles and carcinogens. Studies of air inside old diesel school buses found high levels of a wide list of pollutants, with consistently higher levels than outdoor air.

Protect children's health by advocating for the use of clean diesel school buses. While all buses emit pollution, buses with cleaner equipment installed can reduce the amount of pollution your child breathes.

Ventilate To Control Humidity

Properly ventilating your home is one of the best ways to protect and improve air quality. High levels of moisture in your home increase dampness and the growth of mold, which not only damage your home but threaten health. Dampness and mold are linked to increased wheezing, coughing and asthma attacks in people with allergies. Normal daily household activities -- including cooking, washing and even breathing -- produce water vapor, so having adequate ventilation is essential to remove moisture from the air.

Try these dehumidifying tricks to keep the humidity in your home below 50%.

• Install and run exhaust fans in bathrooms to remove unhealthy moisture and odors from your home.
  
• Make sure that vents exhaust air outdoors and not into other parts of your home.
  
• Remove any mold damage or growth and fix all leaks.

Beware of Dry Cleaning Chemicals

Dry cleaning solvents are strong chemicals, and can be toxic to breathe. Let dry cleaned items air outdoors before bringing them inside. Hanging them on an outdoor clothesline will prevent many of these chemicals from entering your home.

Beware Of Old Lead Paints

Keeping the air clean within the walls of your home starts with the walls themselves.

Lead-based paints can still be found in homes built before 1978. Any peeling, chipping or chalking of lead-based paint can increase the risk of unhealthy lead exposure. Young children risk delays in mental development, lower IQ and behavioral problems from inhaling lead paint dust. Some of those damages can be permanent.

Remodeling that requires sanding, scraping or removing walls will release paint dust into your living space. However, you can reduce the risk if you take the proper steps. The Environmental Protection Agency offers these six recommendations:

• Keep areas where children play as dust-free and clean as possible.
• Leave lead-based paint undisturbed if it is in good condition; do not sand or burn off paint that may contain lead.
• Do not remove lead paint yourself.
• Do not bring lead dust into the home.
• If your work or hobby involves lead, change clothes and use doormats before entering your home.
• Eat a balanced diet, rich in calcium and iron.
  

Get professional help for peeling paint or remodeling if your home was built before 1978. Older homes likely have lead-based paint on the walls, doors and trim. Inhaling the lead paint dust can be harmful to your health and professionals can help you stay safe.

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Green Living Tips On How To Purify Your Indoor Air - Part II

This is a continuation on my previous post on green living tips on how to purify your indoor air.

Kill the Dust Mites

Dust allergies are actually allergies to dust mites -- microscopic pests that need moisture to survive. Scientists have also concluded that breathing dust mite allergens can cause asthma in children. Dust mites feed on human skin and live in bedding, pillows, mattresses, stuffed toys, upholstery and carpets.

To fight dust mites in your home:

• Keep humidity levels below 50% indoors.
  
• Use a dehumidifier if necessary.
• Intensive vacuuming and steam cleaning of upholstered furniture may help.
  
• Remove carpets.
  
• Using dust-mite-resistant covers and washing your bedding in very hot water may help as part of a comprehensive approach, but don’t rely on those steps by themselves.

Don't Disturb Asbestos - Get Help

Asbestos is a mineral fiber that can still be found in many older homes. Inhaling tiny asbestos fibers can increase the risk of lung cancer and other lung diseases. Pipe coverings, flooring, shingles and roofs are likely places to find asbestos.

Check asbestos-containing materials regularly for damage from tears, water or wear. Don't try to remove asbestos that is already in place; asbestos is best left undisturbed. If the material is damaged or you plan to remodel, protect your health by getting professional help.

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Green Living Tips On How To Purify Your Indoor Air

Do you know that your indoor air quality is 2-5 times more polluted than outdoor air? The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that people spend 90% of their time indoors, and this indoor air pollution can threaten the health -- and the lives -- of everyone in your family.

The most effective way to keep the air in your home safe and healthy is to keep away cigarette smoke, excess moisture and chemical. Ventilate your house to pull dangerous pollutants out of the house. Run the exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen. Open your windows. Make sure you have a good exhaust system in place for appliances and stoves.

3 Most Deadly Indoor Air Pollutants

1. Carbon monoxide: over 400 people die each year and thousands of others become ill or seek medical attention after exposure to the odorless gas. Sometimes the early symptoms resemble the flu, but look for these differences: if more than one family member has symptoms -- even your pets -- and you feel better away from home, you may have a carbon monoxide problem. Carbon monoxide levels can rise very quickly in unventilated areas without anyone noticing the colorless, odorless, toxic gas. Protect yourself by installing a carbon monoxide detector near your sleeping rooms. Also have all fuel burning appliances inspected by a qualified technician once a year to keep the deadly gas away from your home.
2. Secondondhand smoke: 7,500-15,000 children are hospitalized or sickened with respiratory tract infections, and older adults with cardiovascular or lung illness are at higher risk of health problems from cigarette smoke exposure. Never let anyone smoke inside your home. The Surgeon General states that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke. Ask smokers to take it outside to protect the health of you and your family.
3. Radon gas: Is a lethal and invisible killer. It is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and the second-leading cause of lung cancer, period. Scientists estimate that radon causes thousands of deaths annually.
   
   Radon is an odorless, invisible gas that occurs naturally in soil and rock and can only be detected through testing. Protect yourself and your family. Test your home for radon. Testing is easy and inexpensive and getting rid of radon may save your life.silent. It's odorless. It's found in many American homes, and it is the second biggest cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoke.

Fix Leaks
Rain and high humidity can bring moisture indoors, creating dampness, mold and mildew -- big problems for healthy indoor air. Dampness alone -- not just mold -- is associated with higher risk of wheezing, coughing and asthma symptoms.

Check your roof, foundation and basement or crawlspace once a year to catch leaks or moisture problems and route water away from your home’s foundation. Fix problems as quickly as possible to prevent unhealthy dampness from entering your home.

Clean Your Air Conditioner and Dehumidifier

Asthma is the leading serious chronic illness of children in the U.S. Help keep asthma triggers away from your house by fixing leaks and drips as soon as they start. Standing water and high humidity encourage the growth of dust mites, mold and mildew -- some of the most common triggers that can worsen asthma. Use a dehumidifier or air conditioner when needed, and clean both regularly.

Keep Your Pets Outdoors
Pet allergies can come from an animal’s saliva, urine, feces and dead skin cells, so no pet is “hypoallergenic.” If someone in your family has pet allergies, keep your pet outdoors. Moving your pet from indoors to out can help reduce exposure to these allergens. However, cat allergens can stay in place for 20 weeks or more.

If you must keep your pet indoors, keep it away from sleeping rooms. Clean floors and upholstered furniture frequently (two or more times a week) to reduce exposure to pet allergens indoors. Unfortunately, two often-recommended actions do not seem to work: neither washing pets nor using indoor air cleaning devices helps.

to be continued next posting...

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The Wonders of Hemp : Eco-Friendly Materials (Part II)

Hemp as a fuel.
Hemp is an excellent source of high quality cellulose biomass. Biomass fuels are clean and virtually free from metals and sulphur, so they do not cause nearly as much air pollution as fossil fuels. Even more importantly, burning biomass fuels does not increase the total amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. The use of biomass will reduce acid rain and reverse the greenhouse effect.

Hemp is the #1 producer of biomass per acre in the world. Biomass energy expert Lynn Osburn estimates that 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 million acres of hemp could replace all of Canada's fossil fuel demands.

The hemp plant will reach a height of up to 5m(16 feet) and sink a main tap root down 2m(6 feet). This tap root will draw nutrients from deep in the soil and make them available to subsequent crops when the hemp leaves are shed on the soil, returning up to 60% of the nutrients it takes. This extensive root system also helps to alleviate the problem of soil compaction.

The hemp paper-making process requires no dioxin-producing chlorine bleach and uses 75% to 85% less sulphur-based acid. The paper mills now in place would require little conversion in order to switch from wood to hemp pulp.

Hemp produces the strongest, most durable natural soft-fibre on earth. Hemp cloth is stronger, more durable, warmer, and more absorbent than cotton.

Hemp grown in Canada will require no herbicide or insecticide applications. Hemp fibre breathes and is recyclable, unlike petroleum-based synthetic fibres. A fully mature hemp plant may contain 1/2 of it's dry weight in seed.

Hemp seed has an oil content of 34%, more than any other seed. Hemp seed oil is second only to whale oil in quality and has the same burning qualities and viscosity as #2 grade heating oil, without any of the sulphur-based pollutants.

Building materials made from hemp can be used as a substitute for wood. These wood-like building materials are stronger than wood and can be manufactured cheaper than wood from trees. Using these hemp- derived building materials would reduce building costs and save even more trees!

Hemp was NOT banned because it was a harmful drug. Hemp was banned because it was a competitive threat to the wood products industry and newly developed synthetic fibers that were patentable, and therefore more profitable than hemp. Corporations that profited from the demise of hemp propagated a smear campaign against hemp by claiming that marijuana use was a major drug problem (it was not) and that marijuana use caused people to become extremely violent-- another falsehood. Unfortunately, these false claims went unchallenged and hemp was outlawed in 1938.

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The Wonders of Hemp : Eco-Friendly Materials

As bloggers we often encounter to read some blogs about products made from hemp, like shoes, bags, food, oil and etc. But have we really understand what is hemp is all about? How does it looks like? Why they are so popular nowadays and noted as eco-friendly, environment-friendly, and or green products? So check out below some of the basic information:

Hemp is a variation of cannabis sativa. It is the most useful plant known to man kind. In fact, cannabis sativa means useful(sativa) hemp(cannabis). It is used to make over 25,000 different products, most of which are superior alternatives to less environmentally friendly products.

Hemp normally requires very little fertilizer, and grows well almost anywhere. It is also pest resistant, so it uses no pesticides. Hemp puts down deep roots, which is very good for the soil, and when the leaves drop off the hemp plant, minerals and nitrogen are returned to the soil. Hemp has been known to grow on the same soil for twenty years in a row without any noticeable soil depletion. Using less fertilizer and pesticides is good for two reasons. First, it costs less and requires less effort. Second, many agricultural chemicals are dangerous and harmful to the environment -- the less we have to use, the better.

Why is hemp better for paper?

Tree paper requires many chemicals to produce quality paper, which are extremely hard on the environment. Paper can be made from hemp without the use of these harmful chemicals. Tree paper yellows and falls apart in a matter of decades, while hemp paper can last for centuries. Hemp paper has been found dating back 1500 years. One acre of hemp can produce as much paper as four acres of trees. Hemp paper is suitable for recycle use 7 or 8 times, compared to 3 times for tree paper. Trees must grow for 20 to 50 years before they can be harvested for commercial use. Hemp requires a growing season of only 100 days! By using hemp for paper,we could stop the deforestation of our country and produce stronger, more environmentally sound paper for less than half the cost of tree paper. Millions of acres of forest and wildlife habitat could be preserved.

Make everyday Earthday with 10% of green products at Bangalla. Coupon code green.

to be continued...

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