Preserving the planet is essential to ensure future generations can enjoy and prosper as we and past generations have been able to do. The reality is that our planet is under treat from a whole host of dangers that include illegal logging, pollution and a receding ozone layer.
It may seem that one individual can make little impact in helping to preserve our wonderful planet however, this is not true. Your actions to help preserve our planet can motivate and inspire others to do the same and that collective movement can make a huge difference.
Helping to save the planet does not mean that you have to go to the rainforests and protest you can make a difference from the comfort of your home. To help you get started here are a few tips for going green:
1) If you have central heating in your house turn the thermostat down one degree. One degree will not make too much difference to the temperature of your home but it could save you up to 10 per cent on heating bills because you are using less energy.
2) If you live in a cold country make sure your home is fully insulated. Insulate places like the loft as this can help reduce the loss of heat by up to 45 %.
3) Do you spend a long time in the bath? For example, if you take a five minute shower everyday rather than a bath you could save between 400 to 425 litres of water a month.
4) If you use a washing machine and a dryer only fill it up with a full load and use the economy setting to reduce the power output.
5) Do you leave the tap running when you are brushing your teeth? Make sure you turn it off when not in use as you can save a lot of money that way.
6) Do not leave the lights on in the house when they are not in use. If the light is on in the room get into the habit to switch it off as you leave the room.
7) You can reduce your consumption of energy by using energy saving light bulbs. These special bulbs use less than a quarter of the electricity needed by ordinary bulbs. They also have the added benefit that they last much longer.
If you are interested in getting more involved with environmental issues you can volunteer with the Voluntary Services Overseas who have jobs available in overseas aid projects around the world. For further information check out their website at vso.org.uk
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About the Author:
As a full time writer, Peter Nibley researches and writes articles on subjects he is passionate about. You can visit his new website that discusses debit consolidation services and the different debt consolidation options available.
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Have you ever heard of aquatic dead zones? They are areas of water near inhabited coastlines that through natural or human intervention have oxygen levels low enough that no aquatic life can live. Fish and other animals that wander into these areas die and there are no plants on the sea floor. Scientists first discovered dead zones in the 1970s. Since then, a recent study in 2008 confirmed four hundred and five dead zones worldwide. Most of these are around heavily populated areas. Dead zones, while in some cases natural phenomenon, are typically the result of water pollution. Reducing the dead zones is beneficial not only to the environment, but also to the fishing industry which depends on healthy water to produce healthy fish.
The largest dead zone currently is in the Gulf of Mexico. Covering an area about 27,000 miles square it is about the size of New Jersey. This area is a recurring dead zone and is caused by the runoff from the Mississippi River. Dead zones that are caused by pollution are usually created by chemicals rich in nitrogen. Examples include fertilizers and pesticides. When these chemicals are introduced into, for example, the Mississippi, they flow downriver and eventually end up in the Gulf. Once there, “single-celled, plant-like organisms” that live in the ocean began feeding on the nitrogen in tight packs. This is visible to the naked eye as “algae bloom”. Algae is notorious for depleting water of oxygen through their process of “cellular respiration” which is the same way the human body changes food into energy. Eventually the oxygen in the area the algae are blooming is used up and all the aquatic life in that area dies. Last year, in 2009, the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico shrank due to weather conditions. While this ordinarily is a good thing, in this case the shrinking meant that instead of covering a large portion of the ocean floor, the dead zone area extended more vertically toward the surface of the ocean, putting a strain on the 2.8 billion dollar fishing industry.
“Low oxygen levels recorded along the Gulf Coast of North America have led to reproductive problems in fish involving decreased size of reproductive organs, low egg counts and lack of spawning.” These changes in the fish will have a large impact not only on the fishing industry, but also on the natural food chain in the Gulf. Combined with the recent problem of the BP oil spill and the Gulf of Mexico’s environmental ecosystem is in serious trouble.
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For more information on water pollution and conservation please visit http://www.centralbasin.org/
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Over the past few years, it’s become clear that the need to go green is not just a figment of Al Gore’s imagination. Across the globe, individuals, as well as entire companies, have been taking initiatives to become greener. And, no, they aren’t going to Sherwin-Williams and dumping gallons of forest green on themselves. They’re developing methods by which they can conduct efficient, eco-friendly business.
One of the easiest ways, thanks to the internet, that businesses are going green is to become paperless. E-commerce has swept the global market place by storm. Orders are placed and processed between different countries as if they’re right down the hallway from one another. Unfortunately, however, it’s difficult for any business to go completely paperless. You’re always going to have certain documents that need to be physically saved on paper and not a hard drive. That being said, when it’s time to destroy those documents, you should take initiatives to ensure their destruction is done so in green fashion.
Paper shredding companies, like most other companies, have been compelled to go green. Of course, though, when you’re in the business of destroying paper—which means that more paper will have to be created—that can be tricky. However, tricky doesn’t mean impossible. Paper shredding services have found environmentally friendly methods to destroy and reuse documents.
One popular method of document destruction is mobile shredding. Obviously, the idea of shredding paper while exhaust spews out from a truck doesn’t seem very green. However, companies are now using state-of-the-art mobile shred trucks that are equipped with exhaust after-treatment systems which include a diesel particulate filter. The filter traps soot from the engine exhaust gases reducing the amount of pollutants released into our atmosphere. Additionally, companies try to incorporate as many eco-friendly products as possible in their day-to-day operations. This includes biodegradable products and soy-based cleaning supplies. Also, many paper shredding companies are some of the biggest recycling companies. By reusing the shredded documents, these companies are actually slowing down the demand for harvesting trees to make paper.
While most green initiatives are only baby steps in the revitalization of our environment, it is refreshing to see even traditionally non-green businesses making the effort to better this planet.
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