The earth is a beautiful place and there is so much beauty to see as well as the partaking of  its resources.  If people continued to live carefree and completely disregard this beauty, the environment will continue to fill with trash and the earth's entire ecosystem will be threatened.  We will continue to damage the ozone layer and worsen the global warming phenomenon that we are currently facing.  The key to maintaining your planet green is reducing, reusing and recycling. It's simple.

Reduce

The first step to ensuring minimal waste is the reduction of the products that contribute to the waste. Unfortunately, most of the recycling lobby groups overlook this important step. If we use less of the plastics, there will be less waste to deal with. Here are important ‘reduce’ strategies that you can adopt

•   Go zero waste: Make it your ultimate goal to cut down on waste completely. Do not waste water, energy or accumulate the waste of non-biodegradable items.

•   Only keep whatever you use

•   Determine the impact of your purchase decisions to the environment

•   Buy used produced at local thrift stores, eBay, Craigslist and elsewhere

•   Buy lunch that you can finish. Avoid large helpings only to throw them into the bin

•   Go paperless in getting your statements, newsletters and newspapers

Reuse

The marketers are keen to have us buy the new items due to the added benefits. However, did you know that you could survive on many fronts with the existing items if you reused them a few times?

•    Hold and shop garage sales to get good old stuff

•    Replace disposables (such as batteries, cartridges, and coffee filters) with reusable items

•    Donate your used products such as household items, electronics, food, art materials and more

•    Share facilities with your neighbors (carpooling also saves on gas emissions)

•    Fix items that can be repaired instead of throwing them away

•    Most plastic items can be reused as storage and package materials

•    Repurpose several items after the end of their useful life (furniture, metallic items and so forth)

Recycle

Give your used items a new life by having them recycled and used again. Here is how to go about it

• Buy recycled: Support the recycling movement by buying into it. An example would be a new environmentally friendly bathroom tissue or toilet paper. WHOLEROLL will be brought to market in 2017.

• Use the grass clippings in your lawn as compost manure rather than applying fertilizers

• Avoid throwing away the cans and plastic bags out there when on a trip. Pack them and bring them back home if you do not come across a recycle bin

• When sending off your loved ones, consider eco-friendly burials that use recycled material for coffins

•   Use recycled or recyclable materials when packing your lunch. Lunch packaging materials are big contributors to waste.

The Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted in COP21 and reflects a collective vision by 95 countries on ways to curb global warming and other undesirable climate changes. The agreement lays a framework of essential goals and important milestones to achieving a green environment. However, the success of the agreement depends on the rules, guidelines, and processes that are adapted to making the agreement work. An ad hoc Working Group on Paris Agreement (APA) that is made up of the parties that ratified and adopted the agreement is putting these rules and processes in place. The group is supported by such organizations as UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)

Much of the work should have been completed before the full implementation of the agreement and well before 2020 when parties to the agreement meet and go through the progress.

 Here are key areas that parties have to focus on to ensure that the agreement works and within the set timelines

There must be guidance for states to increase their ambition

There are critical processes that have been put into the agreement to help companies increase their ambition in enhancing their climate plans. Countries are expected to come up with Nationally Determined Contributions every five years to achieve long-term goals of the agreement. 

Ensure accountability and transparency

 The backbone of the Paris Agreement is a transparency framework to help track how governments are progressing with the commitment to enhance a green environment. However, there must be rules to hold the parties accountable while enhancing the understanding among these countries. A key item towards the achievement of this goal is the enhancement of UNFCCC current Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) system by 2018.

Climate finance must be tracked

The core challenge for the international climate control regime is to ensure that climate finance is flowing towards the intended recipients and meeting the intended objectives The SBSTA is tasked with the role of developing the accounting rules for the parties, which should be done by 2018. The goal of the agreement is to encourage reporting every two years for easy reviewing.

Create New Technology Framework

The long-term vision of the agreement is the development of new technologies and the transfer of these technologies from the developed parties to the developing countries to aid them in mitigating the effects of climate change and adapting to it. The challenge in this is that the timelines have not been set and some parties do not want to share their technologies.

A committed focus in these four areas will keep each country and entity that is collaborating accountable to each other for the long term common good. 

When using appliances, 30 percent of energy on average can be lost. Conserving this energy could save you hundreds of dollars each year and contribute to lower pollution through energy production and over exploitation of natural energy resources. It may be a little expensive to have a fully green powered home, but saving on energy will help save in your wallet and the planet.

Here are a few practical ways to save energy at home

Wear clothing that is appropriate to the weather. Warm clothing during winter means that can turn down the heater while during the summer wearing light clothing enables you to adjust the thermostat a little higher. This keeps the units from working hard and from constantly coming on and going off.

Central air conditioning units tend to cool or warm the whole house regardless of whether there is anyone in the rooms or not. However, you can create zones by adding a few devices to your system so that you are able to turn off the AC when a particular room is unoccupied.

Chargers and other electrical devices still use energy when they are switched off even when still plugged to a socket that is still on. Such devices can use up to 10% of the electricity bill. You can switch off devices at the socket when you are not using them or purchase a standby power controller. This ensures that no device uses power when it is not powered on. 

You can prevent heat or cold from escaping the room when it is properly conditioned and insulated. Make sure that there are no cracks in the ceiling, door joints and windowpanes where the air could leak out. Good insulation should be rated R3.5 or higher especially for the ceilings.  

 In the same line, shut doors and windowpanes when you are conditioning the indoor air. Your A/C works harder when some of the indoor air leaks out and is replaced by the outside air.

 Check on the energy star rating on electronics

The energy star rating is a graph that shows the energy rating of a particular appliance. The more the stars in the rating, the higher the efficiency of the appliance in question. As for the washing machines, the front loaders are more efficient than the top loaders.   

You will use about 15-20% of the energy in heating water. However, you will rarely need to use very hot water. Turn down the water heater temperature setting to warm (about 120°F) to save on energy. This also protects you from the risk of faucet scalding.

These tips should help you conserve energy as well as save a few bucks here and there.

There are hundreds of articles out there that talk about DIY renovation and home improvement. However, did you know that you can have an eco-friendly home renovation with just a few bucks? Here are practical eco-conscious DIY tips.

Do one thing at a time

 It may not be possible to do a whole home overhaul when it comes to an eco-friendly renovation. Start small on your first project. Instead of a long list of item, start with one task at a time. A good area to start is the changing of your light bulbs from CFL to LED solutions. You may then go on to swap your old shower faucets that may not have been efficient to the modern water-saving options. You can then proceeding to collect rainwater for use at home or watering your plants. 

Repurpose the old and integrate with the new

Once you get rid of the old items from home, do not just throw them away. Make use of the items to create something new. For example, if you have a solid wood floor and decide to replace the floors, the wood could be used to create outdoor furniture, storage boxes, and carvings for home décor. By not throwing away the items, you are reducing your carbon print and contributing to a greener environment. 

Be more conscious about your product choices

 One of the most important aspects of sustainable living is understanding what your purchase decisions transition to when it comes to the green environment. Think of the sustainability of the products that you use for the home renovation. For example; when renovating your floor, think of wood that can be cultivated over and over again quickly such as bamboo rather than a hardwood tree that takes long before it matures. You may also buy recycled products for your renovation to support the green cause.

Donate what you do not need

Do not throw away items that can be reused just because you do not need them. Doing so is actually contributing to the filling of the landfills. You can donate the cabinets, sinks, old appliances and left over building materials to green organizations around you. You spare another pile of trash and help someone on the way.

Avoid the VOCs

 The VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) are mostly used for the finishing work but permeate dangerous chemicals into the air. Thus, they are bad for your health and the environment. Avoid these chemicals in your finishing and go for eco-friendly finishing solutions. 

Employ this tips and you are on your way to a greener home.

Donald Trump recently said that no one was really sure that the climate change is real. His sentiment has spurred fears that his administration will not support any initiatives to save the planet from the adverse effects of climate change. Not all is lost; we can still convince Trump and his administration that climate change is real. These are proven effects of climate change that hopefully can bring some measure of realization to him about this global problem.

 We now have better technologies that are giving us accurate results. Most of the people that argue that the earth has not warmed up in the last 15 years use inferior technology to reach their conclusions. Earlier technologies only measured temperatures on the surface. With the new technology, we can also measure the core temperature. The earth has indeed warmed up like it would if four nuclear bombs were detonated on its surface.  Lets take a look at a few ways we can convince Donald Trump.

 There is the rise in sea levels across several coasts around the world. This is attributed to the melting of glaciers and ice caps. It is also attributed to changes in gases found in the sea. The average global sea levels rose by 6.7 inches in the last century.

 It doesn't matter how much technological progress we have made to date.  Agriculture remains the backbone of our survival as it satisfies the most basic of our needs which is food. Technology has been in the forefront in ensuring that agriculture is enhanced in a variety of ways. However, some practices have led the chemical to our dining tables and of course polluting the environment.

Organic farming is an agricultural method where the environment is being preserved and the plant ecology maintained without the use of toxic chemicals and processed fertilizers in the farming. Here are common techniques that make up the organic farming;

Crop rotation

This technique involves growing various crops on a given piece of land in that different crops grow in different seasons sequentially. This helps in replenishing nutrients that may have been exhausted by a particular type of crops. Legumes are important in aiding nitrogen fixation in the soil. Thus, they form part of the crop rotation schedule.

 Green manure

Rather than the fertilizers, organic farming makes use of green manure to add the nutrients to the soil. This manure is made from dying plants that are used to make compost as well as household animal droppings. This kind of manure also helps in increasing the soil quality.

 Biological pest control

 Another important aspect of organic farming is the limited or no use of chemicals to control pests and diseases in plants. Rather living organisms and crop husbandry practices are used to control pests and diseases. Most of the chemicals that remain in the food after harvest gets into the food at this stage. Organic farming deals with this problem using natural alternatives.

Weed management

Weed is any unwanted plant that grows in the agricultural field. In organic agriculture, we focus more on suppressing the weeds rather than using labor-intensive methods to control the weed. The two commonly used methods include mulching where compost is layered on the spaces between the plants to block the growth of weed and mowing which in involves cutting the winds top growth to limit the growth.

Genetic modification

Organic agriculture discourages the use of genetically modified organisms in enhancing crops and soils. Instead, it strives to use natural ways to enhance the farm. Despite higher production using GMOs, these organisms have known negative effects on soil and human beings when consumed as food.

 Are you looking for healthy food in your diet? Consider practicing organic farming in your kitchen, garden or the backyard. You won't grow dollar bills, but the results from healthy eating will be priceless.

If people continued to live carefree, the environment would be filled with trash; we will continue damaging the ozone layer and worsen the global warming phenomenon that we are currently facing.  The key to maintaining your planet green is reducing, reusing and recycling.

Reduce

The first step to ensuring minimal waste is the reduction of the products that contribute to the waste. Unfortunately, most of the recycling lobby groups overlook this important step. If we use less of the plastics, here will be less waste to deal with. Here are important ‘reduce’ strategies that you can adopt. 

•   Go zero waste: Make it your ultimate goal to cut down on waste completely. Do not waste water, energy or accumulate the waste of non-biodegradable items.

•  Only keep whatever you use

•   Determine the impact of your purchase decisions to the environment

•   Buy used produced at local thrift stores, eBay, Craigslist and elsewhere

•    Buy lunch that you can finish. Avoid large helpings only to throw them into the bin

•   Go paperless in getting your statements, newsletters and newspapers

Reuse

The marketers are keen to have us buy the new items due to the added benefits. However, did you know that you could survive on many fronts with the existing items if you reused them a few times?

•    Hold and shop garage sales to get good old stuff

•    Replace disposables (such as batteries, cartridges, and coffee filters) with reusable items

•    Donate your used products such as household items, electronics, food, art materials and more

•    Share facilities with your neighbors (carpooling also saves on gas emissions)

•    Fix items that can be repaired instead of throwing them away

•    Most plastic items can be reused as storage and package materials

•    Repurpose several items after the end of their useful life (furniture, metallic items and so forth)

Recycle

Give your used items a new life by having them recycled and used again. Here is how to go about it.

• Buy recycled: Support the recycling movement by buying into it

• Use the grass clippings in your lawn as compost manure rather than applying fertilizers

• Avoid throwing away the cans and plastic bags out there when on a trip. Pack them and bring them back home if you do not come across a recycle bin

• When sending off your loved ones, consider eco-friendly burials that use recycled material for coffins

•   Use recycled or recyclable materials when packing your lunch. Lunch packaging materials are big contributors to waste.

Your choices help to preserve the environment, and the world will be a better place when you live an ecofriendly lifestyle.  Remember to pick it up and put it in the can.  Yes You Can!