10 Ways to Go Green and Save Green

How can we live lightly on the Earth and save money at the same time? Staff members at the Worldwatch Institute, a global environmental organization, share ideas on how to GO GREEN and SAVE GREEN at home and at work.

Climate change is in the news. It seems like everyone's "going green." We're glad you want to take action, too. Luckily, many of the steps we can take to stop climate change can make our lives better. Our grandchildren-and their children-will thank us for living more sustainably. Let's start now.

We've partnered with the Million Car Carbon Campaign to help you find ways to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint. This campaign is uniting conscious consumers around the world to prevent the emissions-equivalent of 1 million cars from entering the atmosphere each year.

Keep reading for 10 simple things you can do today to help reduce your environmental impact, save money, and live a happier, healthier life.

1. Save energy to save money.

   
   
   
   • Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs.
   • Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out.
   • Unplug appliances when you're not using them. Or, use a "smart" power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts "phantom" or "vampire" energy use.
   • Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water.
   • Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying.

2. Save water to save money.

   • Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.
   • Install a low-flow showerhead. They don't cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment.
   • Make sure you have a faucet aerator on each faucet. These inexpensive appliances conserve heat and water, while keeping water pressure high.
   • Plant drought-tolerant native plants in your garden. Many plants need minimal watering. Find out which occur naturally in your area.

3. Less gas = more money (and better health!).

   
   
   
   • Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.
   • Consider telecommuting if you live far from your work. Or move closer. Even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term.
   • Lobby your local government to increase spending on sidewalks and bike lanes. With little cost, these improvements can pay huge dividends in bettering your health and reducing traffic.

4. Eat smart.

   • If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store-and it's even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.
   • Buy locally raised, humane, and organic meat, eggs, and dairy whenever you can. Purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy.
   • Watch videos about why local food and sustainable seafood are so great.
   • Whatever your diet, eat low on the food chain. This is especially true for seafood.

5. Skip the bottled water.

   • Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste.
   • Bring a reusable water bottle, preferably aluminum rather than plastic, with you when traveling or at work.
   • Check out this short article for the latest on bottled water trends.

6. Think before you buy.

   
   
   • Go online to find new or gently used secondhand products. Whether you've just moved or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist or FreeSharing to track down furniture, appliances, and other items cheaply or for free.
   • Check out garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment shops for clothing and other everyday items.
   • When making purchases, make sure you know what's "Good Stuff" and what isn't.
   • Watch a video about what happens when you buy things. Your purchases have a real impact, for better or worse.

7. Borrow instead of buying.
   • Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.
   • Share power tools and other appliances. Get to know your neighbors while cutting down on the number of things cluttering your closet or garage.

8. Buy smart.

   
   
   
   • Buy in bulk. Purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging.
   • Wear clothes that don't need to be dry-cleaned. This saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use.
   • Invest in high-quality, long-lasting products. You might pay more now, but you'll be happy when you don't have to replace items as frequently (and this means less waste!).

9. Keep electronics out of the trash.

   • Keep your cell phones, computers, and other electronics as long as possible.
   • Donate or recycle them responsibly when the time comes. E-waste contains mercury and other toxics and is a growing environmental problem.
   • Recycle your cell phone.
   • Ask your local government to set up an electronics recycling and hazardous waste collection event.

10. Make your own cleaning supplies.

    
    
    • The big secret: you can make very effective, non-toxic cleaning products whenever you need them. All you need are a few simple ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and soap.
    • Making your own cleaning products saves money, time, and packaging-not to mention your indoor air quality.

retrieved from : http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3915

What is Bioenergy?!

How do you go to school? How do you do your daily activities? Do you know that we actually had a renewable energy which can be produce continuously? Yeah, it is bioenergy. A kind of energy which more friendly for our land and earth. What is bioenergy?

Bioenergy is renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources. In its most narrow sense it is a synonym to biofuel, which is fuel derived from biological sources. In its broader sense it includes biomass, the biological material used as a biofuel, as well as the social, economic, scientific and technical fields associated with using biological sources for energy. This is a common misconception, as bioenergy is the energy extracted from the biomass, as the biomass is the fuel and the bioenergy is the energy contained in the fuel.

Biomass is any organic material which has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. As a fuel it may include wood, wood waste, straw, manure, sugar cane, and many other byproducts from a variety of agricultural processes.

There is a slight tendency for the word bioenergy to be favoured in Europe compared with biofuel in North America.

So then, what is biomass actually?!

Biomass is material derived from recently living organisms, which includes plants, animals and their byproducts. Manure, garden waste and crop residues are all sources of biomass. It is a renewable energy source based on the carbon cycle, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels.

Animal waste is a persistent and unavoidable pollutant produced primarily by the animals housed in industrial-sized farms.

There are also agricultural products being grown for biofuel production. These include corn, switchgrass, and soybeans, primarily in the United States; rapeseed, wheat and sugar beet primarily in Europe; sugar cane in Brazil; palm oil and miscanthus in Southeast Asia; sorghum and cassava in China; and jatropha in India. Hemp has also been proven to work as a biofuel. Biodegradable outputs from industry, agriculture, forestry and households can be used for biofuel production, using e.g. anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, gasification to produce syngas or by direct combustion. Examples of biodegradable wastes include straw, timber, manure, rice husks, sewage, and food waste. The use of biomass fuels can therefore contribute to waste management as well as fuel security and help to prevent or slow down climate change, although alone they are not a comprehensive solution to these problems.

Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioenergy

What is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy is a type of material we can replenish. Most sources of renewable energy have an endless supply. They are also very safe for the environment which means we can avoid some of the destruction that the use of other resources is creating. As our society grows and moves forward we are more dependent on the resources we have. As a result there are concerns they will one day run out.

What are the renewable energy sources we can use? There are several of them you may already be familiar with. A common type of renewable energy is the wind. It is always moving around us even though the speed of wind changes. In wide open spaces, there is nothing to break the wind or slow it down. As a result, those are the areas where most of the wind can be changed into energy. That is where the use of a home wind turbine comes in handy.

Solar power is a very successful type of renewable energy we have. By placing home solar power systems on the roofs of homes and businesses, we can use it to create free energy. There are hybrid vehicles out there as well that use it to charge batteries for the vehicle to be powered by. With solar power, it is used as the main source of energy. When it is depleted then the back up source instantly takes over. Further studies on solar and wind generators can be found in Earth for Energy.

Hydropower is the use of water to create energy. There are many major waterways around the world that have this process in place. Biomass involves using the various types of waste materials we have to create a source of energy we can use. Ethanol and Biodiesel are two products that are created from biomass.

Geothermal energy is a more complex type of renewable energy. This process involves using the steam from the Earth to create a source of heat or electricity. Now that you are aware of what is renewable energy you need to think about how you can incorporate using it. The initial costs of implementing them will more than pay for themselves in a short span of time.

Retrieved from : http://www.greenearth4energy.com/renewable_energy.html

How To Save The Earth with Wind and Solar Power

Humanity is standing at an intersection. The signpost pointing in one direction reads “How to save the Earth.” Lining the road leading in that direction are the houses of people live chosen to install home solar panel systems or build home wind generators as part of their efforts to reduce the amount of fossil fuels they use. At the end of this road is a healthy planet which can sustain billions of healthy and happy people.

The signpost pointing in the other direction reads "How to exhaust the Earth's fossil fuel supplies.” At the end of this road are vanished glaciers, air to journey to breathe, a planet too warm to produce the food we need, and endless suffering from countless millions of people."

While none of us may have asked to reach this intersection in our lifetime, the reality is that the decisions we make will dictate the quality of life for billions of people yet unborn. Science has made clear that the most important way we have to save the planet and create a green and sustainable future is to find ways to supply our needs for energy which don't involve fossil fuels.

Knowing how to save the Earth, however, is not the same as actually doing it. Although we are gradually beginning to seriously develop alternative energy sources, the reality is that we have a very long way to go. Wind, solar, tidal, and geothermal energy are all there for the taking. You, as a homeowner, can tap into wind and solar power today by building home wind generators or installing home solar power systems, or doing well!

You can choose to help save the environment no matter where you live, because no matter where you are the sun shines and the wind blows. They are simply waiting for you to capture them and put them to work! If you're in your 20s now, imagine looking forward to the day in fifty or sixty years when you tell your grandchildren how you helped lead the charge to save the planet. Because of your efforts they won't be living in a world obsessed with dwindling fossil fuel supplies and struggling with the effects of global warming!

If the home you live in relies on electricity from a utility which burns oil or coal, you’re contributing to the amount of greenhouse gases (not just carbon dioxide, but nitrous and sulfur oxides) released into the air. If you've noticed that summer seems to be getting longer and hotter each year, you're not wrong. The International Panel on Climate Change, in its 2007 Report, says that winters are becoming milder and summers hotter.

Longer warmer summers are just one sign of the climate change the Earth has been undergoing over the past half-century, but they are a sign of serious consequences awaiting us all if things don’t change. Hotter summers can mean higher global water demand and reduced global food production.

The installation of home wind generators or home solar power systems will not only reduce the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels; it will go a very long way toward relieving international tensions which could erupt into something much uglier. Some nations of the world are simply blessed with enormous fossil fuel reserves, giving them an unfair advantage over other nations.

Because the Middle East has more than two thirds of the known oil reserves on the planet, any political disputes in that area assume disproportionate importance, and any war in that area threatens the economic stability of every nation on Earth. Knowing how to save the planet must include an acceptance of the reality that until every nation has access to unlimited energy, no nation will be completely secure.

Homeowners are at the forefront when it comes to answering the question of how to save the Earth, because they have the power to choose where they will get their energy. By using home solar power systems or home wind generators, they will free themselves from their local utility companies. Enough of them doing so will force the utility companies to begin offering wind and solar power to a far greater extent than they already do.

If you're a homeowner, the next time you drive down your street, picture it as one of the streets leading away from that intersection. Then ask yourself if you like the direction in which you’re headed. If the answer is no, the next time you feel the sun shining and a cool breeze on your face, you'll know exactly what it takes to get turned around!

Retrieved from : http://www.greenearth4energy.com/save_the_earth.html.

What is Solar Array?!

The solar array consists of hundreds of photovoltaic solar cells converting sunlight into electricity. In order to construct an array, PV cells are placed together to form modules which are placed together to form an array. The larger arrays in use can produce over 2 kilowatts (2.6 hp).

The solar array can be mounted in several ways:

• horizontal. This most common arrangement gives most overall power during most of the day in low latitudes or higher latitude summers and offers little interaction with the wind. Horizontal arrays can be integrated or be in the form of a free canopy.
• vertical. This arrangement is sometimes found in free standing or integrated sails to harness wind energy. Useful solar power is limited to mornings, evenings, or winters and when the vehicle is pointing in the right direction.
• adjustable. Free solar arrays can often be tilted around the axis of travel in order to increase power when the sun is low and well to the side. An alternative is to tilt the whole vehicle when parked. Two-axis adjustment is only found on marine vehicles, where the aerodynamic resistance is of less importance than with road vehicles.
• integrated. Some vehicles cover every available surface with solar cells. Some of the cells will be at an optimal angle whereas others will be shaded.
• trailer. Solar trailers are especially useful for retrofitting existing vehicles with little stability, e.g. bicycles. Some trailers also include the batteries and others also the drive motor.
• remote. By mounting the solar array at a stationary location instead of the vehicle, power can be maximised and resistance minimized. The virtual grid-connection however involves more electrical losses than with true solar vehicles and the battery must be larger.

The choice of solar array geometry involves an optimization between power output, aerodynamic resistance and vehicle mass, as well as practical considerations. For example, a free horizontal canopy gives 2-3 times the surface area of a vehicle with integrated cells but offers better cooling of the cells and shading of the riders. There are also thin flexible solar arrays in development.

Solar arrays on solar cars are mounted and encapsulated very differently from stationary solar arrays. Solar arrays on solar cars are usually mounted using industrial grade double-sided adhesive tape right onto the car's body. The arrays are encapsulated using thin layers of Tedlar and

Some solar cars use gallium arsenide solar cells, with efficiencies around thirty percent. Other solar cars use silicon solar cells, with efficiencies around twenty percent.

Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_vehicle

How do you build free solar energy panel just for instant?!

People around the world start talking about go-green campaign. Everywhere and everytime. Since the rapid climate exchange starts gnawing our green-world. All those who still care about the earth trying to go to preserve the earth by reducing the energy consumption which cost our green earth. One of them by using solar panels. But the problem here is solar panels prices are really high which not affordable by several people. But now it no longer, because I found a site that sells solar panels with just less than $ 100 and you can build it by yourself.

At first I was a bit skeptical about this, because the price is so affordable. But after several people gave their testimonials on this website, finally I start to believe.

You simply must see this for yourself..

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