Eco Friendly Living - Tips For A Family On Living An Eco Friendly Lifestyle

Climate change is something that affects us all. As a simple example, homes and transport are responsible for about 40% of carbon emissions in the United Kingdom and this is even higher in the USA. Taking the steps towards an eco-friendly lifestyle that reduces your "footprint" on the earth can be a difficult thing to understand in our highly interconnected world. What may at first appear to be energy efficient may have an ecological cost somewhere else. However, there are simple things that with a little awareness of our daily activities where we can make a difference. If you throw in some DIY Eco Projects and Recycling, you can be well on the way to making a positive impact. If you are interested in a more eco-friendly way of living, here are some tips to get you started.

• Fit energy-efficient light bulbs and save $US15 a year per bulb
• When buying new appliances choose the most energy efficient
• Switch to an electricity provider that produces all or some power from renewable sources
• Remember to turn off your appliances when not in use, average savings $US60 a year
• Insulate your home for a warmer, cheaper winter. Double glaze windows, and consider cavity-wall insulation. Use draft excluders, put silver foil behind radiators, cover up keyholes and close doors
• Turn your heating down (one degree saves ten per cent on your bill) and use the timer
• Save money and provide up to half your total water consumption by installing a simple rainwater tank. It not only saves water but also the energy to store & pump it to your home
• Remember to turn the tap off when brushing your teeth and have a shower instead of a bath (showering uses less heating energy)
• Save food miles and aeroplane emissions by buying locally produced food when available
• Plant your own fruit and veg, even if you have a balcony, cherry tomatoes are perfect
• Make the most of your kitchen waste by turning it into compost
• Try to by unpackaged and unprocessed foodstuffs, this cuts out the packaging you have find a way to recycle
• Where possible, use public transport, bike or walk
• Check out "eco-friendly" cars, you may be exempt from road tax, some congestion charges and parking fees
• If using your car, keep it properly tuned, correctly inflate tires and drive slower
• Combine car trips for multiple chores
• Recycle, recycle, recycle! Landfill sites are a big producer of methane – a greenhouse gas.
• Rediscover the pleasures of local holidays or look into responsible tourism
• Have an eco-work holiday, help with a community or eco project, plant trees, meet great people
• Buy an eco-friendly Christmas presents
• Buy Fair Trade gifts and in so doing help a community in the developing world to build a better, more sustainable future
• By secondhand and recycled goods and cut out the extra manufacturing energy cost.

When you look down the list, nothing here is really that difficult. If everyone were to cut back and go green, the difference in out ecological impact would be immense, even in our western busy lifestyles.

About the Author:
Providing information to online users interested in living, lifestyle and marketing. Helping people find DIY and Eco-Friendly solutions to everyday living. Visit SolarDIYTips for information solar DIY solutions.

Saving The World With Scarves Through Sustainable Development

More and more people are being concerned towards sustainable development, which basically refers to fulfilling the needs of people and at the same time, keeping the environment in mind. A lot of products have been applying sustainable development techniques to be able to contribute to saving the environment. The process of making a scarf is no exception.

Since scarves are usually made out of organic raw materials, a lot of manufacturers have been exploring the different alternatives to be able to apply recycling techniques. For instance, processed paper and plastic could actually be converted into usable thread. It is all simply a matter of having the industrial and man power to be able to turn waste into something usable.

One concrete example would be the Gap: Product Red which aims to start a new wave of business instead of simply doing charity. Bono, the lead singer of U2 was one of the pioneers of the venture. It started off by launching the "INSPI(RED)" Gap t-shirt which was modeled by Hollywood superstars and music celebrities such as Don Cheadle, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Garner and Anne Hathaway.

Basically, all the products are made from a hundred percent African cotton and half of all the profits are given to The Global Fund, which is centered in helping women and children with AIDS in Africa. This new kind of business is a good example of sustainable development at its best.

Not only does it create opportunities for those in need but it gets influential people to reach out and inspire others to go and make a difference. To this very day, Product Red has branched out to several other brands such American Express, Converse, Giorgio Armani, Motorola, The Independent Newspaper, Apple Inc, Hallmark, Microsoft, Dell, Windows Vista, Girl Skateboard Company and Starbucks.

The bottom line is that if prominent brands such as Armani and Gap can create scarves made out of African indigenous materials, why can't local manufacturers do the same thing as well? As citizens of the world, it is our responsibility to keep the environment in mind and the best way to approach this pressing issue is by applying sustainable development into our lives.

In Kathmandu, a group called "Manushi" which stands for "energetic woman" used sustainable development to create scarves that could help disadvantaged and poverty-stricken Nepali women. They used recycled loom-end silk to be able to create beautiful crocheted silk ones.

Meryl Rougeaux has been in the fashion industry for many years. She know what looks good, is in style at reasonable prices. She sells all kinds of shawls, scarves in silk, and many, many fashion accessories. Visit her top ranked online store at: http://www.fashionscarvesandshawls.com. You'll be glad you did.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Meryl_Rougeaux

Going Green This Christmas With Eco Friendly Gifts

Gifts and dinners play an important role in Christmas celebration. People start planning for buying different gifts for their loved ones. Christmas is the time of joy and this joy doubles by giving Christmas greetings and gifts. On this wonderful occasion, everyone wants to do something creative and special for their family and friends.

This Christmas, why not go green by going for some exclusive handmade paper gifts in your gifting spree for your friends and family. These handmade gifts are unique in many ways. They are environment friendly being made of recycled paper and have a unique look. Also they are made of most of the waste materials like cotton cloth rags, waste cotton, jute, husk, waste wool and waste biomass like grass. Not just that but these handmade paper products are also biodegradable and free of any harmful chemicals. Each of these Handmade paper Gifts will fulfill your day to day requirements.

Some of the exclusive gifts are handmade paper dairies, handmade greeting cards, handmade paper food tray, letter pads, paper jewelry box etc. All of these items come in varied colors, designs, shapes and sizes. Surely, these gift items will give your loved ones a special feeling.

Handmade Dairies
Dairies are the perfect gift for Christmas because new year is just in a few days. And diaries help you maintain your daily plans, schedules and keep your cherished memories of life. They are made of non toxic, natural strong paper which does not degenerates with time. Dairies are evergreen dairies like your beautiful memories and come in unique designs and ranges, making them a perfect gift.

Letter Pads
Handmade paper Letter Pads can be used as stationary for office as well as home. These letter Pads are elegant and come in stylish shapes and designs. They are made of different types of colored paper like plain white off paper, jute, white cream colored. These letter pads are manufactured using natural materials with the combination of real flowers and leaves, making them more appealing and attractive.

Greeting Cards
Greeting cards help you in expressing your emotions and sentiments with the touch of natural elegance. The handmade paper greeting cards are more natural than any other greeting cards as they they are made of eco friendly handmade paper. After making these greeting cards, they are decorated with dry flowers and leaves. Each card is exclusively embedded with multi colored silky fibers, leaves and some of the real floral magic.

Paper Jewelery Box
This is one of the best gifts on the occasion of Christmas for women. These jewelery boxes are beautiful and hold many of the valuable items. Various types of jewelery boxes are available depending on shape and size. These paper jewelery boxes are also embroidered with alluring beads, to keep your jewelery collection look beautiful.

These boxes are made using exotic and domestic wooden recycled fabric. They are soft, divided in compartments with velvety interior and beautiful inlays. Jewelery boxes look stylish, gracefulness and eloquent with handmade papers.

Paper Food Tray
Using handmade paper products help you in conserving the environment because of their recyclable nature. They have many environmental and economic benefits. Among these products, handmade paper trays are also one special gift for women. Some of the handmade paper trays are casual, some elegant and few of them more sturdy than others for serving food. These paper trays can be custom made as per your requirements.

For the occasion of Christmas different types of gifts are available in the stores. But you need to be careful while selecting them. On this Christmas go for handmade paper gifts and play your role in protecting the environment.

About the Author
For more handmade paper products like paper jewelry box, handmade dairies, letter pads, paper food trays.

Art And Design For Sustainable Living - Video

Rebecca Brayton: Sustainable living is a dream that many people strive for but you shouldn't have to sacrifice style and design to get there. Hi! I am Rebecca Brayton and welcome to watchmojo.com and today we'll be speaking with Sarah Richardson, the brains behind CO. So first tell us about the idea behind CO.

Sarah Richardson: CO has been something I've been thinking about for a number of years now. It comes from my own experience working in trade and sustainability and my travels around the world where I have discovered amazing communities, making incredible things at very little. Two years ago, I was working in South Africa quite a bit and I would say that was really the tipping point for me when I decided that these products really were something that would be interesting to people in the West. They are contemporary, they are cool, they are funky and they are sustainable. That's fit in well with my own personal philosophy that we should be using globalization to enhance sustainability as oppose to allowing it to erode.

Rebecca Brayton: What can we consider sustainable and what is sustainability mean?

Sarah Richardson: There are three aspects: There is Social Equity, Environmental Protection and Economic Well-Being. Here, when we talk to people about sustainability, generally, the environmental issues are at top of their minds. When you go to other countries and talk about sustainability, you'll get quite a different answer. I mean the environmental issues are important but they are not as important as the issues of equity and the guarantee that workers have safe working environment and they are paid at decent wage.

Rebecca Brayton: What qualify something as sustainable?

Sarah Richardson: What we've done is we've developed a list of eight indicators of sustainability that we use here at CO. They range from energy efficiency to organic to recycled. When we consider a piece, we go through our indicators, we see which ones match up, now no one hits all eight indicators, but what we are trying to do is have at least three or four that are relevant for the products that we carry.

Rebecca Brayton: Would you say that sustainability is something that's attainable for everyone?

Sarah Richardson: I think sustainability is attainable to a certain degree in the choices we make. That means the choices we make as people in terms of what we are going to buy and it seems the choices we make in terms of what kind of businesses we're going to support. At the same time, we also think about where the things that we consume come from and who is making them under what conditions they have been made and we're trying to bring in things that will support that angle of sustainability.

As consumers that's interesting, we have a lot of power and often we can move faster than governments in terms of promoting sustainability. And what I am hoping is that this gallery offers people just another choice.

Transcription by: Scribe4you Transcription Services

Can You Live A Green Life Without Breaking The Bank?

Going green isn't always cheap - at least in the short run. Whether you're shopping for organic beef, an energy efficient washing machine, or a bamboo sweater, the price of green living can be a little higher. Here are some ideas that will make going green a little easier on your pocketbook.

What's the difference between "organic meat" and "natural meat"? What's a carbon footprint? Why is everyone suddenly using the word "sustainable" to describe everything from food to furniture? There are lots of great resources out there that explain the labels, the terms, and the impact of various choices. You might begin with some basic books such as:

Green Living for Dummies

The Everything Green Living Book

It's Easy Being Green

These books not only explain important concepts, but also provide tips on making small changes and investments that can actually save you money in the long run.

Do your homework

Green is more mainstream now than ever before. There are more and more recycled products, organic food, energy-saving appliances and other green choices on the market. You can search on the Internet and compare prices. You can find wholesale or bulk options that reduce cost over time. You can learn more about exactly what you're paying for, so that you know, for example, whether the price of your organic steak reflects a commitment to quality and taste as well as organic certification.

Prioritize your values

Price is important, especially in these lean times. But remember to consider different aspects of your choices: lifestyle, taste and aesthetics, convenience, sourcing (where does it come from?) and philosophy (what kind of producer or company do you want to support?) Also decide what parts of your life you feel most passionate about "greening up." For some people, choosing organic food is essential, since it impacts individual health as well as the environment. If you commute long distances for work, you may want to spend more on a hybrid or fuel-efficient vehicle. If you're energy bills are sky high, you may want to focus on lowering them through savvy investments.

Vote with your wallet

If you haven't seen the movie Food Inc. yet, you can now watch it on DVD. The film makes many compelling arguments about the problems with our current food industry. One thing that stands out: every time you make a food purchase, you're telling producers what you want to eat. So if you really prefer organic beef, make a vote with your wallet! When enough people demand organic food and other green products, they will be more available and affordable.

Invest in a green lifestyle

Spend money to save it. Consider buying an extra freezer to stock up on bulk or wholesale quantities of organic beef and other organic foods. Calculate how much you'll save over time if you buy that energy efficient washing machine, or a programmable thermostat, or new windows for your older home. Eat out at restaurants less, cook meals at home more, take public transportation, get an energy audit, calculate your carbon footprint... If you're willing to take the time and spend the money to make changes now, you may find that green living is much less expensive than you thought.

About the Author:
Donna Jefferson has been an advocate living healthy. Organic Beef is her specialty and would like to share facts with the public.

How To Go Green With An Eco Friendly Diet

Our western diets have a negative impact on the environment due to the manufacturing, processing, packaging and transporting of our foods.

Many diet products come in fancy packaging which increases our overall wastage that goes into landfills. Recycling is great to do and something we all know about. Would it not be better, even greener when buying foods to choose those with little or no packaging. This will actually reduce the need for recycling.

Opting for a more eco friendly diet that is 70% more fruits and vegetables can not only help you lose those unwanted pounds but can help you do your part to help save our planet.

An eco friendly diet does not mean you have to eat only fruit and vegetables nor do you have to spend loads of money. You can start with simple things like having a plan before you go shopping and sticking to a list and a budget that you have set out.

Choosing Organic: It can be more expensive so choosing your fruit and vegetables that are in season will work out to be cheaper. Organic guarantees against the use of pesticides and chemicals. As a result there is no negative leaching and contamination into our water sources providing a cleaner drinking water and protecting vulnerable marine life. Organic foods taste better and are filled with more nutrients. The farming methods prevent soil erosion and help to build healthy soil also organic farming is labour intensive so uses less energy.

Reduce Packaging: Start by cutting down on processed foods, fast foods and snacks as these products mostly come excessively packaged. You will also be doing your health a favor as these foods tend to be high in negative saturated fats. This applies also to vegetarians, because just being vegetarian does not mean you have a eco friendly diet.

Eating Meat: We have been educated to have meat at every meal. We do not need to. Try introducing tasty vegetarian meals as part of your diet. They are high in fibre which helps to eliminate waste and maintain the health of your colon. By reducing the number of times you consume meat you can probably afford to buy a higher quality of meat. Meat that has been raised more humanely with less impact on the environment. You can also taste the difference. Meat production effects the environment, from pollution to the excess use of resources such as land, water and fossil fuel use. Animals are also given antibiotics and hormones to meet standards based on consumer demand.

Growing Your Own Food: This a great way to have an Earth friendly diet. Even if you live in an apartment you can grow sprouts that are filled with essential vitamins, minerals and live enzymes which help to provide more energy, improve your immune system and improve your complexion. Growing food at home is very easy. Get the kids involved and make it a family project. 
 Start Cooking: Stop going out for meals and start cooking more at home. Do it from scratch with fresh ingredients. There are many meals you can cook that will take very little time and taste absolutely delicious. They will be a lot healthier and better for the environment. There will be no packaging and you will have control over what goes into your meal.

We have covered a few simple tips on how to go green with an environmentally friendly diet. You can lose weight, improve your wellbeing and do your part to protect the planet.

About the Author:
G W Mason promotes a healthy green lifestyle. Discover how to go green and help save the environment without going broke by visiting www.howtogogreentips.com. Check out the many tips and ideas on how to go green and learn how to create a greener lifestyle by visiting www.howtogogreentips.com