How to Give Your Kids a Green Education
Posted by sozmore on Nov 10, 2009
Growing up with parents that were children of the depression, I heard a lot of energy saving techniques. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that most of them were ways that I could contribute to saving the environment. When I was young I didn’t understand why all those things were important. When I began paying my own bills it made some difference, but now even when I could afford higher electric bills, I understand that there is something far more important at stake. It is important to teach our children now the importance of helping to save the earth and protect the environment. They can be involved in this by helping to reduce the family carbon footprint, saving energy and money at the same time. Here are some tips to help educate your children and make them part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Expose your children to the beauty of nature. You can do this regardless of where you live.
- spend time outdoors
- learn to identify types of plants and trees
- learn about endangered animals
- watch television shows about the environment
- keep picture books around the house appropriate to the age of your children
Do activities together that will help the environment. Start including them in these activities when they are young and still think it’s fun to “work” with mom and dad.
- wash the car by hand (a little water fight never hurt anybody)
- hang out your clothes (with a little game of hide and seek behind the sheets)
- rake leaves (be sure to allow time for a little jumping in the pile)
- plant a garden (most young children like to play in the dirt)
- For older kids teach them the value of the money they save by saving energy. Let them see your electric bills and explain how saving energy saves money. If you pay them for chores reward them for their part in the savings.
Reward children for creative thinking. Encourage them to look for ways they can reduce, reuse, and recycle, or for ways to save water and energy. Be sure to congratulate them when they do and put their ideas into practice. For young kids most parents put a stool by the sink so that they can wash their hands by themselves. Put a stool under the light switch in their room as well so that they can reach to turn off the lights. Make a game of it and congratulate them when they can stretch to reach the switch.
Use educational materials to help them understand why you do things the way you do. Don’t let them be just things that mom and dad insist on. Teach them the value of helping to preserve the environment. Check out the following website for ideas:
http://www.kidsforsavingearth.org/ Has music, resources, worksheets, even a petition to get adults to commit to save the earth.
http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/childrenresources.htm Includes websites and resources including coloring books.
http://www.epa.gov/kids/ A site just for kids to learn about the environment
Above all lead by example. In the long run, your children will be a lot more like you than you may think. If they develop responsible habits as children, they will maintain them as young adults. Last but not least make it fun! Preserving our earth is very serious business, but for children it can be about pleasure. Keeping the earth beautiful, with clean air and water, plenty of trees and plants and animals, is something that we can all take pleasure in.
Going Green – Lessons from the Depression
Posted by sozmore on Oct 12, 2009
Lately, as I have been doing more and more research about the environment and going green, I have heard my mother’s voice in my head over and over again. “Turn off the lights.” “Put on a sweater and turn down the heat.” “Keep the door closed.” “Don’t stand there with the door open (about the refrigerator).” She was thinking about saving money, but the same instructions can apply to saving energy and the environment.
My parents were both born immediately following the depression. A lot of the energy saving techniques that they insisted on while we were growing up seemed silly to me at the time, but now they make perfect sense. The methods they used to save money also save energy and help us reduce our carbon footprint.
You may already be doing some of these money saving things, or you may not have to worry about saving money. If not, think about saving the planet. The amount of carbon emissions that we, particularly Americans, are putting into our atmosphere is harming our planet and contributing to global warming.
If you are newly aware of the danger to our planet, or are a new homeowner that needs to save money, try the following tips to help reduce your budget and carbon footprint at the same time.
- Turn off the lights when you leave the room, even for a few minutes.
- Turn down the heat in rooms you are not using.
- If you have central heat, put on a sweater and reduce the thermostat by one or two degrees, even one degree will save you money. Raise it in the summer to save on air conditioning costs.
- Use the sun to heat whenever possible by opening drapes during the day and closing them at night to prevent heat loss.
- Seal drafty windows and doors, even if you have to use plastic for the windows and a rag rug at the bottom of the door, it will make a difference.
- Clean baseboard heaters, radiators, registers, and air filters often.
- Take shorter showers, heating water is one of the largest energy requirements of most houses.
- Take showers not baths. Showers use less water. Less hot water means saving energy.
- Don’t hold the refrigerator or freezer door open.
- Match the pot size to the eye on the stove.
- Use a pressure cooker it takes less time and uses less energy.
- Don’t open the oven door when cooking, you lose about 50 degrees every time you open the door.
- Wash your clothes in cold water.
- Hang your clothes to dry.
- Rake, don’t blow leaves, the exercise will do you good.
Thanks to our parents and grandparents, we know a lot of the things we need to do to help save our planet. Getting back in the habit is another thing. But the alternatives are unthinkable. If we don’t act now, we may be in severe trouble down the road.
Do you have a rain barrel?
Posted by sozmore on Sep 23, 2009
I have a spigot in the middle of my backyard for gardening convenience. But, the water that comes from it is from the city system and contains chlorine and other chemicals. I filter the water that I drink and that I give my dogs, why not what I give my plants.
So I have recently put a barrel outside my house to catch rain water for my plants. Water is a resource that we tend to think of as renewable, but more and more it is becoming polluted. If not by bacteria, by chemicals that we use to kill bacteria. My neighbors didn’t go on city water when it became available. They use a well, and they have rain barrels. I don’t know what took me so long, but next years garden will get pure rain water.
Depending on where you live and what type of barrel you use you may have to put it away in the winter to prevent it from cracking. For me I am just starting with a plastic garbage can (in back of the house), so I will leave it out. A little melted snow will probably do my house plants some good.
Hypermiling – What is it? and How do you do it?
Posted by sozmore on Sep 21, 2009
Hypermiling refers to ways you can make you car go further on less gas. Let’s face it, especially in the US, it is difficult if not impossible to get along without using our cars. We are a nation of independent individualistic people who don’t like to be tied down or at the mercy of other peoples schedules. That being said, we should be concerned with out environment and willing to make some sacrifices to preserve it. But, sometimes carpooling, working from home, getting a job closer to home, using public transportation, are not always possible for us. This is where hypermiling comes in.
Hypermiling involves a number of different things including: driving habits, keeping your vehicle in good working order, making your vehicle lighter by removing unnecessary items, and knowing when it is time to trade in that gas guzzler. Obviously, if it is time to trade, if it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep your vehicle in good working order, you should consider a vehicle with higher gas mileage. If the size of your family or habits make it impossible to use a smaller vehicle, make the best choice you can and then use the other hypermiling techniques.
The most difficult area for most people to make changes is in your driving habits. You want to drive at a constant speed wherever possible. If you are on the highway use your cruise control. This means eliminating the constant in and out trying to stay ahead of the pack. If you think about it, this rarely saves much time anyway. Slow down a little and don’t follow others too closely. This will prevent the constant breaking and speeding up that wastes fuel. It also helps reduce wear and tear on your vehicle and is safer.
Don’t let your car idle. At stoplights we don’t have any choice but to idle. However, stop letting your car idle just to warmup the interior in the winter or to cool it off in the summer. Run your errands in the cooler parts of the day in the summer to try to avoid using your airconditioner. Try to avoid bottleneck situations even if it means going a little out of your way. If you do get stuck in a traffic jam, turn off your motor if you will have to idle for more than about 5 minutes. See if you can vary your work schedule by 30 minutes to 1 hour. This could help you avoid traffic jams and help you keep your travel speed more constant.
Keep your car in good repair. Do routine maintenance on a schedule. This is something that I have to work at because I can’t do the maintenance myself. But keeping the oil changed, the cooling system in good repair, tires inflated properly are all things that have small, but accumulating effects on your gas mileage. Use good quality motor oil with friction reducing qualities. Pay particular attention to the fuel injection system, air filters, and your oxygen sensor. If you can smell gas after starting your car you need to have it checked out. Even though your car may be operating well, you are probably wasting gas.
Don’t forget the standard conservation methods. Consider a second vehicle that you use for work. You may need a large vehicle for the entire family, but purchasing a small fuel efficient vehicle for your daily commute may save you money in the long run. Organize your errands and do as many as possible on the way home from work. And of course try to carpool if you can.
Saving money on fuel costs is important to most of us. But working together to help save our environment is something that we all should participate in. Hypermiling is one way which we all can use to save money and help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Basic Tips for Going Green
Posted by sozmore on Sep 16, 2009
If you are new to the idea of going green here are some basic ideas that you can use to get started.
1 Eat Green – One of the easiest ways to go green is to eat green! when you eat fresh and local foods you help the environment in several ways. You help reduce the demand for foods that must be trucked in. You also immediately reduce the amount of packaging going into the landfills.
2 Reuse anything – producing new goods requires a lot of energy – the production of the article, transport to the consumer, etc. Any time you buy used or reuse your own goods you help reduce this energy consumption.
3 Reduce the amount of driving you do – it’s been said for years, but carpooling is still a great idea to help reduce the carbon dioxide input into the atmosphere. Also, organize your errands. Do as many errands on the route you travel daily as possible – grocery shop on the way home from work, keep track of local sales so that you can stop as you pass particular stores. I love to get home and know I don’t have to go back out.
4 Don’t drink bottled water – buy a water filter instead. You can get a simple one to fit on your tap, or use a Britta water filter pitcher. Get a few inexpensive washable sqeeze bottles from your local Walmart and you are set. This helps reduce the energy required in the making and transporting of bottled water as well as reducing the waste in the landfill. Yes you can recycle the bottles, but why use the energy in the first place.
5 Use your clothes line or a foldable clothes rack – Not only do electric dryers use energy, they are also hard on some clothes, particularly clothes with elastic such as underwear and lingerie. A little water softener in the rinse cycle and your clothes will be soft even after line drying. And nothing smells better than towels or sheets dried on the line in the sunshine.
Overall keep in find the manta Reduce-Reuse-Recycle. When you get ideas please share them with us here in the comments.