Eco Green Living
The recycling efforts that we embark on are ultimately for a larger cause – Eco Green Living.
What is Eco-Green Living
Eco-Green Living is about living life, as an individual as well as a community, such that it is sustainable for the earth.
In essence, living a green life entails the following principles:
- conserve resources
- conserve energy
- reduce waste
- reduce pollution and the release of harmful substances into the environment
- protect the earth’s ecological balance with other living things.
Read more about these principles for green living and what going green is about.
Why is Eco Green Living important
As more nations become developed and affluent, as more communities embrace the culture of consumerism, and more industries respond to meet the demand for goods and services through mass production, it becomes inevitable that resources and energy are being used up at extremely rapid rates.
At the same time, pollutants and harmful substances are released into the environment and materials are discarded as waste at unsustainable rates. In turn, because of our activities (eg. deforestation and mining to extract resources from the earth) and the pollution we create in the process, we have also upset the ecological balance for many communities of living creatures and plants on earth.
The way that we, the human race, are living now is not sustainable. At the rate that we are using the earth’s resources and energy, they would run out very soon and there would be nothing left.
And as we wipe away more and more animal and plant species through our irresponsible activities, soon there would be none left on earth.
Some people may argue that there is a cost of going green. However, this cost is small, compared to the cost that we will pay if we do not do something today to protect the environment.
At the rate that we are polluting the earth – beyond the rate which it can clean itself through natural means – in no time, we would be surrounded by so much pollutants that it would be impossible even for us to live in.
Global warming and climate changes could eventually destroy our very existence.
What a horrible state to be in!
Hence, Eco Green Living is VERY IMPORTANT to ensure that we live in a sustainable way and minimize our eco footprint.
Read more about the benefits of green living.
Learn tips for green living:
Eco green living for homes
There are many things that you can do at home for living a green lifestyle.
Beyond adopting the Reduce Reuse Recycle principle, you can also adopt energy saving practices, help to reduce pollution by reducing the use of harmful chemicals and substances in your home, practising eco-friendly house cleaning tips and using eco friendly home cleaners and other eco-friendly products in your daily needs.
Check out the tips you can adopt for daily green living for the home, green household cleaning, as well as green shopping. Find out where you can find green household products and green gifts.
If you are even thinking of building a green home, then you can learn from those who have built a green home (from scratch) for themselves. There are many energy efficient practices and appliances that you can use to turn your home into a green, energy efficient home. Alternatively, you can even purchase a green home.
Help introduce more plants and trees into your environment and encourage others to do the same. Grow your own green garden using green gardening principles, or even plant trees in your name.
Eco green living for weddings
If you are planning for your upcoming wedding, why not consider having a green wedding? (No, I don’t mean that everything at your wedding should be in the colour green, but that your wedding preparations and celebrations can be eco friendly and do less harm to the environment than conventional ones.)
Find out how you can make such an eco friendly wedding happen.
Eco green living for birthday parties
Wish to plan a dream birthday party for your darling kids, but do not want to create excessive waste or harm the environment in the process?
Then you must read more about how you can go green when planning your kid’s dream birthday party!
Eco green living when on holidays
You can be surprised by how much waste and harm to the environment you can create when you go on holidays, if you are not careful.
Read more about eco vacations and going green tips for holidays that you can adopt. In this way, you can make your trip an enjoyable experience, as well as a sustainable one that does no further harm to the environment.
If you have little time to plan your own green holidays, there are green holiday planners that can help you locate the green holidays that you are looking for.
Eco green living at the workplace
Many of us spend a large part of our lives at the workplace.
It is not hard to imagine how much resource like paper and electricity is used on a day to day basis. At the same time, much waste such as unwanted paper is also created.
Similarly, large quantities of resources and energy are used by industries daily, whether in frontline or backend operations. These industries also generate substantial amount of waste and at times release harmful substances into the environment on a daily basis.
Whether you are the owner of a company or a factory, or just an employee of such a business, you can do your part:
- Help your company adopt green practices like saving energy and resources, reducing waste and recycling.
- Switch to environmentally friendly materials (eg. recycled and recyclable materials, biodegradable materials) in your manufacturing process or operations.
- Ensure that your production or operation processes do not create substances harmful to the environment. Find alternative production or operation methods, and invest in Research and Development if needed.
- If it can’t be helped that harmful substances would be produced in the process of production or operations, then invest in methods of treating the harmful substances, so as to render them neutral, before releasing them into the environment. The release of harmful substances into the environment upsets the ecological balance that we have on earth.
Read more on how each and every one of us can consciously adopt green living practices at your workplace and make a difference by going green in the workplace.
If you are planning to start a company, consider adopting green tips for businesses. You can also check out what the various companies that have gone green are doing – learn from them, and do your part for the earth now!
Eco green living tips for cars
Many people own cars or other automobiles, to allow them to move around with greater ease and comfort. However, there is one big disadvantage to the use of motor vehicles.
Automobiles are one of the single largest sources of air pollution on earth today.
The exhaust gas from automobiles contributes an estimated 14% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, and this figure is steadily rising. If you were to add on the carbon emissions from the exploration, extraction, transportation, refining and distribution of fuel to operate these automobiles, then automobiles would contribute at least 20 percent of the world carbon emissions.
Other than carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, automobiles also emit other harmful gases like methane (another greenhouse gas) which contribute to global warming and climate change, and tetraethyl lead which is toxic and is extremely detrimental to our nervous systems. In fact, the average car emits a cocktail of more than 1,000 pollutants!
That is why it is important to adopt green tips when it comes to travelling.
If you can, take public transport rather than getting your own car. Car pool if needed. At times, it may even be more environmentally friendly, and economical, to hire a cab, rather than to drive your own car.
If you have little choice but to own an automobile yourself, get a small car (unless you often have to ferry many people around at one time). Get an
green car and adopt
green driving practices, so as to reduce the impact of your driving on the environment.
Read what others have to share about eco green living
If you know of any other green living tips, share them with us and others by using the “Contact Us” page. :)
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