Going Green?
March 3, 2010 by admin
Filed under Green Living Q & A
I am thinking about doing my Senior Project on Going Green. I need to know why we should go green, how to go green, what the benefits of going green are, and etc. I would need books, magazine articles, websites, basically anything that has to do with going green. I need a product for this, so I was thinking about having my school go green for at least one week and holding assemblies to teach students about going green. If you can provide any information to help me, I would greatly appreciate it!
Saving water is a great way to go green! The post above mentioned Dripworks which is a great resource for drip irrigation. They have all the supplies that you need to put together a drip irrigation system and they also have lots of resources on how to get started. One of the most valuable resources is their library of installation and how-to videos. Check them out at dripworksusa.com
Just make them buy carbon credits then go spend the money on yourself. Thats what Al Gore does
a car that runs on water. didn’t believe it till i saw it.
Think BIG. Buy a car that runs on methane (natural gas). It’s way cheaper and way cleaner than gasoline in many areas. I have 2 of them and they’re awesome! $10 to fill up in Utah; can’t beat that. Check out my sources for more good info. Have fun and good luck with your project.
There are a variety of reasources, some of which I have listed below.
Sure, I’ll start with our blog where we write about our energy conservation efforts; everything from our home energy audit to exterior solar shades to solar charged lawn mower to ….
Next is the David Suzuki Foundation providing facts about global warming, global conservation, and so on.
Next is a very nice web site by Gary called Build It Solar with an incredible array of articles and information on solar energy projects from a variety of genres.
ENERGY STAR has their own web site with lots of information on individual products that have received their accreditaion for using less energy vs the competition.
Remember Earth Hour? Well, they have their own web site with lots and lots of information as well.
I hope that helped!
Dan
may be just what you’re looking for, mate. awesome e-book, and it’ll even teach you and your class how to make a windmill. i think that would set your project over the top.
[ I just posted this answer on someone else's similar question, so please don't get me for spamming on this -- it still ought to be helpful...
]
There are a LOT of ways out there that you can reduce your footprint, but one thing you can do that receives far too little attention and makes a huge impact (relatively easy, really) is to eat less factory-farmed meat. As crazy as it sounds. (Hang in there with me for a second.)
When it comes to reducing your personal carbon footprint, eliminating meat from your diet is more powerful than switching to a hybrid vehicle (for the average lifestyle, anyhow). Most people are not willing to eliminate meat altogether (quite understandable), but just being more mindful about what types of meat (and foods in general) you purchase can make a big difference.
Here’s why: In their natural setting, animals replenish the earth as they consume its resources. For instance, cattle eat grass, fertilize the earth with their manure, and work their fertilizer into the ground with their hoofs. Pigs, who have a very narrow temperature tolerance, use hay to keep warm, and mud to keep cool. In a factory farm setting, animals are kept indoors in very tight (hyper “efficiant”) quarters, which are wired up with lighting, heating, and cooling (these huge buildings do NOT run low electric bills), and are fed feedlot style — eating imported food, which takes more carbon to fuel the trucks it was brought in on, as well as the factories in which it was manufactured. Their waste is disposed of rather than utilized for its high nitrogen content which is perfect for fertilizing crops, and ends up as harmful runoff which pollutes waterways. And to top that off, the nitrogen which farmers DO use as fertilizer comes from petroleum, which is just that much more wasted fuel. It’s a vicious cycle — you get the picture.
The best and easiest way to avoid this is to buy free-range meat. I personally am a vegetarian but I do eat free-range and wild meat — I’ve been vegetarian for about a year now and I’ve just recently become aware of how many sources there really are for sustainable meats. In our local grocery store chain, Dillon’s, I recently discovered a tiny section in the meat aisle for free-range certified chicken. It is very slightly more pricy than regular chicken, but it is absolutely delicious!! Also look into any local butchers and stores that specialize in meats, as well as any farmer friends you may have that will sell you a few cuts. If you cannot find reasonable sources for free-range meat (grass-fed is another great label to look for), locally raised meats are also incredibly beneficial for the environment, even if they are produced in a factory farm, simply because of the huge output of emissions from the vehicles that transport meat all across the country. The average cow is born in one location, transported to another farm to be raised, and moved yet again for slaughter, only to then be shipped out to retailers. That makes for a LOT of automobile emissions.
I am a huge fan of shrimp, so when I go to nicer restaurants I always ask the waiter to find out whether their shrimp is wild-caught or farm-raised. A lot of the nicer places do still carry wild-caught shrimp, which I will eat. When eating out, other great things to look for are things such as bison burgers (at least in my area, I live in Kansas) or whatever other local livestock isn’t farmed in masses. You can use your own logic on those things. Lamb is another good one, and so forth.
Also, you would be surprised how many great meatless options there are out there — I personally am a huge fan of black beans as a meatless protein source. Beans, legumes, and whole grains are fantastic. Get in the habit of thinking in terms of complimentary proteins rather than meat as the center of your meal.
The fewer animal products are used in a meal, and the closer to your home that it was produced, the greener it is. And as much eating as humans tend to do, this is definitely a HUGE determining factor as to how big your carbon footprint really is.
The book I’ve cited as my source for all of this is an incredible resource if you are into this kind of thing — it is written by a master chef with environmentally concerned non-vegetarians as its target audience. It is absolutely PACKED with useful information (and tons of green recipes!) on how to eat more responsibly without compromising taste and food quality. I am not a reader by any means, and I haven’t even read half of the book to be honest, but it has been incredibly helpful to me.
here are some sites and books you can get awesome suggestions
go to these sites and get these books
treehugger.com
green.alltop.com
ecomall.com
ecochoices.com
naturalcollection.com
theorganicpages.com
newdream.org
coopamerica.com
ens-newswire.com
foe.org
environmentaldefense.org
epa.gov
awionline.org
catgen.com/ifat/en
fairtrade.net
charmoneshoes.com
branchhome.com
econsciousmarket.com
furnature.com
methodhome.com
modgreenpod.com
mrsmeyers.com
milkpaint.com
gcollection.com
paporganics.com
vivattera.com
theorganicmattressstore.com
farmaesthetics.com
jason-naturals.com
juicebeauty.com
pageaorganics.com
abundantearth.com
greenearthcleaning.com
chelsea-girl.com
prana.com
bepresent.com
coolnotcruel.com
mociun.com
johnpatrickorganic.com
indigenousdesigns.com
albabotanica.com
gaiam.com
satarainc.com
hankettes.com
greenhome.com
earth911.com
intentblog.com
recycline.com
lavera.com
aveda.com
natracare.com
organicessentials.com
drhauschka.com
johnmasters.com
aubrey-organics.com
hugonatural.com
annasova.com
coyuchiorganic.com
kocandels.com
equiterre.org?en
intentblog.com
babuhome.com
naturaleurope.com
farewellmysubaru.com
solarnation.org
localharvest.org?csa
dripworks.com
cspinet.org
search.caringconsumer.com
just keep cutting and pasting my friend you will find what you need especially on treehugger.com and ecomall.com its a amazing resource but dont discount green.alltop.com either because it is a site that has major green sites all in one place that is a link to them and is updated daily i love it
books
365 ways to change the world : how to make a difference–one day at a time / Michael Norton
500 ways to change the world / Global Ideas Bank ; edited and compiled by Nick Temple
Farewell, my Subaru : an epic adventure in local living / Doug Fine
Go green, live rich : 50 simple ways to save the Earth and get rich trying / David Bach, with Hillary Rosner.
The green book : the everyday guide to saving the planet one simple step at a time / Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen with a foreword by Cameron Diaz and William McDonough
Green living : the E magazine handbook for living lightly on the earth / by the editors of E/the environmental magazine
It’s easy being green : a handbook for earth-friendly living / Crissy Trask ; illustrations by Mike Clelland.
The lazy environmentalist : your guide to easy, stylish, green living / Josh Dorfman
Making kind choices : everyday ways to enhance your life through earth- and animal-friendly living / Ingrid Newkirk ; foreword by Paul McCartney.
MySpace OurPlanet : change is possible / by the MySpace community ; with Jeca Taudte ; foreword by Tom Anderson
Worldchanging : a user’s guide for the 21st century / edited by Alex Steffen ; foreword by Al Gore ; design by Sagmeister
Ethical markets : growing the green economy / Hazel Henderson with Simran Sethi ; foreword by Hunter Lovins
Sustainable planet : solutions for the twenty-first century / edited by Juliet B. Schor and Betsy Taylor
trust me there all excellent books i love them and they have alot of info