Our Earth

The planet is going to peril. I want to change it. And I know there are many who want to do their share of effort for this. Let’s get to discuss a couple of ways as to how we can all do that together.

1. The first important issue is, one has to understand the impact of the choices that we take. Make wise choices. Reduce the consumption of earth’s resources like... choosing goods with less packaging. Think about the products entire life cycle from manufacturing to the disposal. Replace your non-renewable resources with the renewable once like the solar and wind. Travel mindfully, cut down on your greenhouse gas emissions. Think in a more ecologically friendly way use train and local means more. I
Know it’s easy to say but it takes a lot to commitment to get to work. But anything and everything is possible

2. Make your homes healthy and more efficient going green:
• Keep a watch on the home illumination. Replace your light bulbs as they burn out with compact fluorescent models.
• Use kitchen and bathroom ventilating fans as little as possible to avoid sending too much heated or cooled air out of the house.
• Check the setting on your water heater isn't overheating your water.
• Next major saving should be with the water. Its earth’s most precious resource. Using as little of it as possible not only reduces the energy needed to transport the water from its source, process it, and send it along the pipes to people, but it helps to ensure that there's enough to go around. Fix the leaking faucets around the home right away. Use as little water as possible when cooking. Use water wisely when you are washing the dishes. In general, a shower uses little than filling up the container. Whether you prefer showers or baths keep water conservation in mind and limit the amount of water you use.
• Practice green cleaning: use baking soda, vinegar, and lime, Borax etc., as cleaning solutions to many household issues than powerful chemicals.

3. Minimize your trash and de-clutter your life:
• For many people, if trash is "out of sight, it is out of mind" as soon as it leaves their home. But that’s not the end of trash’s journey. It’s just the beginning. For every item you throw out, there's hidden waste- the raw materials that went into its production and the resources such as water and energy that fueled the process, from raw materials to finished goods to land fill. And much of that energy comes from non renewable sources. The main idea here is to reduce your trash so much that you produce no waste at all. It’s far more practical and achievable way with all the recycling and packaging practices that are catching up with today’s "Green" culture.
A few tips onto how to go about this
• Buy less. Identify the difference between what you "Need" and what you "Want"
• Be mindful of packaging. Buy fresh food that doesn’t come prepackaged. Avoid individually packaged items. Take your own shopping bag; reduce the usage of plastic bags. Opt for items in glass or other recyclable containers instead of plastic containers that can’t be recycled.
• Lengthening the life of your processions: try to opt of processions that you can handle longer. That way you would be helping with a lot of waste reduction and avoid buying new items and getting rid of the old once and also save some money.
• Recycle as many products as you can. Try to identify sources in your community where there are recycle hubs and use them. You can also turn your garbage into someone else’s gold by just donating them to the needy. Offer your used goods to another person reduce waste and fits in with the idea of reusing as much as possible.
• Disposing of electronic goods: electronics have become an important part of our lifestyle. And they have also become more prominent contributions of our homes waste. If you want to get rid of your old electronics just find an electronic recycler near to you. Or if you want to get rid of your old computer and TV don’t trash it. Donate it for reuse by facilities like charity schools or social organizations. Disposing your old vehicle. Don’t throw it into junk yards. It can be reused sometimes or can be donated. You can sometimes get a tax benefit if you donate things to charity organizations [:)]

4. Make more green diet decisions:
Be selective about where your food comes from. Go for locally produced food stuff. This way you would save all the green house gas emission form the transportation of the foods from distant places.
Go for the local farmers market which would be open just a couple of times a week but which would cater to buying fresh local and organic food.


These are all small tips, in all the various ways we can save the environment. These small issues can be a great contribution to the society.

And I feel all this education has to be done specifically at the grass root level. Little school children have to be educated with high priority about these issues. That is an age when, whatever is stressed will remain forever. We have to involve children in the green drive activates that the school undertakes. Teach them the effects of whatever we do. Such things don’t happen in a jiffy. All this is going to take some time. Persistent effort and working dedicatedly will definitely bring a change.

I would appreciate the discussion of more solutions to the issues. Pour your thought and bring in more issues to light.