December 21, 2024

What Do You Know About Green Energy?

January 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment

By now, everyone has heard the term “green energy,” but what all does that entail? Is there anything to know beyond solar panels, giant wind turbines, and energy-saving CFL light bulbs? Read on to see how much you know about green energy.

1. Green Energy – exactly what is it? Green energy is energy that can be harnessed with a lot less pollution than conventional means. It is also sustainable, meaning we have the means to make it over and over again, versus energy sources such as oil that have a finite amount available.

2. Why is green energy good for the environment? Green energy reduces our dependance on non-sustainable energy sources and causes little pollution.

3. What are the ways green energy is being used currently? Right now, there is a huge movement towards using greener sources for our energy. Everywhere you look there are more and more green options, from light bulbs, to cars, to public transit, to green utility companies.

4. What legislation is currently bolstering green energy? All over the world, countries are pushing forward laws and tax incentives to businesses and individuals that make efforts to utilize greener methods. In the United States, individual states are also signing laws that require greater green energy usage in the years to come.

5. What are the most popular kinds of Green Energy? The kinds of green energy that are most often used are ones that you have probably heard of already: solar panels for sun energy, wind turbines for wind energy, hydroelectric generators for water energy, and geothermal generators for geothermal energy.

6. Which energy sources are the least sustainable? Non-green energy sources are anything that are not sustainable or cause an undue amount of pollution. Examples would be any energy coming from coal and oil. These sources cause much of the air pollution we experience, which compounds the greenhouse effect.

7. What is the importance of green energy? Green energy is vital because without it, we have no hope of continuing to sustain our populations every-increasing need for energy. Fossil fuels are finite and cause pollution that accelerate the greenhouse effect. With green energy, we have a hope to continue to power our civilization beyond the limit of fossil fuels and to mitigate the harm we have caused to the environment using them.

8. What are the drawbacks to green energy? Each type of green energy has its own drawback or drawbacks. For instance, solar power from solar panels can be hard to get during cloudy days, and wind turbines won’t work if there’s no wind. The good news is that all of this energy can be stored in batteries for when there are circumstances preventing or limiting the generation of power.

Over the last few decades, we as a society have begun to realize just what an impact we have made on our environment. We need to make sure that we keep using and exploring greener ways to power our lives so that future generations can continue enjoying the planet.

Filed Under: Green Energy Tagged With: , ,

Five Fast Ways To Go Green In Your Kitchen

August 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

For most of us, our favorite room in the house is the kitchen, but it can also be the biggest drain on energy! Look over the following ways you can quickly, and for the most part very cheaply, turn your kitchen into a lean green machine.

1. A cleaner stove top and oven. If you’ve got any blackened material sitting around in the oven, or stuck to the stove top, you are wasting valuable energy! These materials will absorb heat, which is taken away from your cooking time. While you are trying to boil that corn on the cob or bake that birthday cake, the dirty surfaces are draining resources. Put the time and effort into spiffing up your stove, inside and out, and increase its efficiency in the process. It will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

2. Invest in a range hood. These can be purchased for any make or model stove, some very cheaply, but the energy they recoup for you will be well worth it. A range hood redirects all the hot air generated from cooking and sucks it right out of your kitchen. Otherwise, that heat will permeate your house and either kick-on your central air or prompt you to manually make the adjustment to compensate for the burst of warmth.

3. Change all the light bulbs in your kitchen. Fluorescent bulbs are significantly more efficient than incandescent bulbs and can last as much as ten times longer! The greater efficiency of CFL’s will offer you immediate savings on your electric bill and over the lifetime of the bulb. Additionally, these bulbs will reduce your carbon footprint and help the environment, as well as being easier on your eyes.

4. Use the fridge to defrost. Leaving any frozen food in the refrigerator to thaw out is simple and effortless, so long as you remember to do it in time! This will prevent excessive use of the microwave, saving money and energy and some swear that this is a much healthier method of defrosting meats. A fully thawed item will also require much less time in your oven or on your stove top, increasing the appeal of this tip all the more.

5. Multi-task! Using your oven for just a cake is a very inefficient use of your resources and a wastes time and money. Plan ahead and use all the space on your oven racks. Not only will this cut down on the energy usage, it enables you to get more done way ahead of time. Bake for the week by putting morning muffins on one rack, dessert minded cupcakes on another and even roasting a small side dish simultaneously. The more space you use at once, the more you save yourself and spare the environment. Consider freezing portions of baked food for later use, if your family is small sized or you live alone.

Our love of cooking and eating keeps us active in the kitchen, and if we learn to adopt newer and greener ways of doing things, we can do ourselves and the environment some huge favors. Save time, money and valuable resources by adopting the tips from this article into your kitchen today.

Filed Under: Green Energy Tagged With:

Five Fast Ways To Go Green In Your Kitchen

July 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

For most of us, our favorite room in the house is the kitchen, but it can also be the biggest drain on energy! Look over the following ways you can quickly, and for the most part very cheaply, turn your kitchen into a lean green machine.

1. A cleaner stove top and oven. If you’ve got any blackened material sitting around in the oven, or stuck to the stove top, you are wasting valuable energy! These materials will absorb heat, which is taken away from your cooking time. While you are trying to boil that corn on the cob or bake that birthday cake, the dirty surfaces are draining resources. Put the time and effort into spiffing up your stove, inside and out, and increase its efficiency in the process. It will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

2. Invest in a range hood. These can be purchased for any make or model stove, some very cheaply, but the energy they recoup for you will be well worth it. A range hood redirects all the hot air generated from cooking and sucks it right out of your kitchen. Otherwise, that heat will permeate your house and either kick-on your central air or prompt you to manually make the adjustment to compensate for the burst of warmth.

3. Change all the light bulbs in your kitchen. Fluorescent bulbs are significantly more efficient than incandescent bulbs and can last as much as ten times longer! The greater efficiency of CFL’s will offer you immediate savings on your electric bill and over the lifetime of the bulb. Additionally, these bulbs will reduce your carbon footprint and help the environment, as well as being easier on your eyes.

4. Use the fridge to defrost. Leaving any frozen food in the refrigerator to thaw out is simple and effortless, so long as you remember to do it in time! This will prevent excessive use of the microwave, saving money and energy and some swear that this is a much healthier method of defrosting meats. A fully thawed item will also require much less time in your oven or on your stove top, increasing the appeal of this tip all the more.

5. Multi-task! Using your oven for just a cake is a very inefficient use of your resources and a wastes time and money. Plan ahead and use all the space on your oven racks. Not only will this cut down on the energy usage, it enables you to get more done way ahead of time. Bake for the week by putting morning muffins on one rack, dessert minded cupcakes on another and even roasting a small side dish simultaneously. The more space you use at once, the more you save yourself and spare the environment. Consider freezing portions of baked food for later use, if your family is small sized or you live alone.

Our love of cooking and eating keeps us active in the kitchen, and if we learn to adopt newer and greener ways of doing things, we can do ourselves and the environment some huge favors. Save time, money and valuable resources by adopting the tips from this article into your kitchen today.

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With:

Create A Greener Living Environment With These Tips

July 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Concerns about the environment grow with each passing year, and “going green” has progressed from a trend to a norm as humans attempt to adapt to the changing world. You can do your part to reduce your footprint and protect the environment by performing a few updates to your home. Here are some projects to tackle.

1. Buy the most efficient appliances you can afford. Replacing an old refrigerator or an ancient water heater can save a significant amount of energy, which also reduces your utility costs. High-efficiency washing machines not only use less electricity, but they consume far fewer gallons of water than older machines.

2. Purchase low-flow plumbing fixtures. Older styles of toilets, faucets and shower heads consume far more water than necessary. If you are concerned about a lack of pressure when using these water-sipping fixtures, take heart; they force water through smaller holes to maintain satisfactory pressure, while saving gallons of water each day.

3. Install a programmable thermostat. Maintaining a comfortable temperature in your home when you are gone all day is a waste of energy. Programmable thermostats automatically adjust the air temperature based on the times you set. This means that you could turn your furnace down or your air conditioner up automatically when you leave for work in the morning and have it return to your preferred temperature a few minutes before you arrive home in the evening.

4. Install rain barrels to conserve water. You may use thousands of gallons of water for your lawn and garden this year, but thousands of gallons of water run right off your roof, unused. By attaching rain barrels to your home’s downspouts, you can use the collected rain water for giving thirsty plants a drink or watering the lawn, reducing the amount of water you have to pay for.

5. Clean your home with natural cleaners. Plain white vinegar is great for cleaning counters, floors, walls and other surfaces; you can also use it as a fabric softener and for cleaning your coffee pot. Baking soda is another versatile, non-toxic cleaner; use it to scour cookware, sinks, the tub and more. The fewer chemicals you apply to household surfaces, the better.

6. Use CFL bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs use far less electricity than standard light bulbs, and they last for years rather than months. While older CFL bulbs cast strangely colored light, newer varieties are available in cool, natural and warm varieties.

7. Replace old, single-pane windows with double-glazed varieties. Old windows allow a shocking amount of air to escape, making your heating and air systems work much harder. Double-glazed windows contain layers of air sandwiched between panes of glass; the sealed cushion of air acts like insulation. Some windows are even treated to reflect more light, reducing the amount the sun heats your home.

Creating a greener home doesn’t have to happen overnight. Simply making better choices when it’s time to replace your current appliances, fixtures, cleaning products and so forth can improve your home and the environment a little at a time.

Filed Under: Home Improvement Tagged With:

Balancing Going Green with Safety

April 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

If you’re committed to going green to protect the environment, you obviously don’t want to create additional risks to your health. Use the suggestions below to prevent unsafe situations that can arise from going green.

CFL bulbs for lighting are encouraged for use by homeowners concerned with energy conservation. However, the compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury and present a significant health threat to human beings if broken. If you choose CFL bulbs, make sure they’re located in places where they’re less likely to be broken or cause harm if they’re broken or choose LED lighting instead.

Recycled toilet paper and other paper products have been found to have BPA, bisphenol A, which is dangerous to human beings. Unfortunately, labeling is not always clear regarding whether recycled paper products contain BPA.

Solar panels are a great way to use green technology but have posed significant risks of electrocution to firefighters dealing with home fires in homes with solar energy. New legislation has been proposed to mandate that homes have a sign indicating their use of solar energy panels as well as a switch to turn off the solar panels on the exterior of homes.

Using building materials that include recycled wood products have been shown to grow more mold than other natural materials. The problem is addressed by using recycled wood materials that have a chemical finish put on them to prevent mold growth.

If you’re going to use reusable grocery sacks rather than choosing bags from the grocery store, you must be sure to wash them. Bacteria that collects on the reusable bags have been traced to illness in people eating foods from the bags.

If you’re switching to a low-flow shower head, make sure that you use current technology that indicates it is anti-scald. The older technology in the low-flow shower heads made scalding a risk of trying to conserve water.

When you use kitchen cloths or sponges to replace using paper towels you should be sure to wash them frequently to remove contaminants.

If you’ve decided to grow your own vegetables as part of greener living, it makes sense to have the soil you’ll be planting your vegetables in analyzed. Many gardens near homes are found to have soil containing lead paints or other contaminants that can make your home-grown vegetables dangerous.

If you decide to use solar lighting outside your home, be careful to have alternate lighting available if your solar lights fail or dim to avoid increased risks from tripping in the darkness.

Composting garbage in order to provide nutrients to the earth requires research about the proper way to compost. Avoid the risks of infestations of mice and other pests which can present health risks and learn about what you can compost as well as how frequently you should turn your compost pile to keep yourself safe while going green.

Going green is a great goal for the planet, but you shouldn’t risk your own safety to do so. Use the suggestions above to be sure that your green efforts coincide with your health goals.

Filed Under: Green Energy Tagged With: , ,