Eco Green Tips

photo credit: OakleyOriginals

This year Earth Hour falls on March 28 at 8:30 pm and it basically requires all participants (as many people as possible, so go ahead and let al your friends and family know about it) to turn off all their lights and other electrical devices for one hour between 8:30 and 9:30 pm. Nothing too troublesome and imagine all the possibilities (e.g. a romantic candlelit dinner with your honey…)

Last years Earth Hour was a test and a successful one at that! Although some people tried to claim it nothing but a publicity stunt, the results were mind boggling. If you’re not sure if your own input will make any difference, consider this:

• An estimated 36 to 50 million people took part in the Earth Hour last year
• Bangkok saved an astounding 42.6 tons of CO2
• Toronto minimized its energy usage by 8.7%
• Dubai managed to save 2.4% of the energy usage during this hour
• Christchurch, New Zealand, reached a boasting 13% of energy saved, and the country as whole saved 335 megawatts
• Australians were not much worse: Melbourne saved 10.1% and Sydney saved 8.4% of energy

So let’s all do our part and turn off the lights for just one hour that day. And perhaps we may actually discover the joy of talking again….

photo credit: mohán

The Indian mountains of Western Ghats where three states, namely Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka meet are a home to the largest and possibly best developing population of Asian elephants. However, this already fragile eco-system is even further threatened by the ever-rising economical and developmental needs of humans.

According to scientists, there are about 2000 elephants surviving in Peninsular India in various habitats, the largest of which numbers about 1000 animals and is found in the 4500sq km area boarding the three Indian states. Event thought the best fodder is in Tamil Nadu, the elephants need to migrate to Kerala and Karnataka when the food and water become scarce in Tamil Nadu every summer. And here lies the problem…

The clearing of land and development made it impossible for the direct migrations of elephants, which are now forced to move through a narrow corridor extending from Mulehole in Karnataka to Muthanga in Kerala, which is only about 2.5 km wide. However, a major interstate highway connecting Bangladore and Calicut passes through that corridor and is used daily by hundreds of vehicles posing a significant threat to the safety of migrating elephants.

Moreover, the Indian government has recently decided to relocate four governmental check-posts to the corridor itself. The decision involves erecting all kinds of infrastructure (e.g. offices, toilets and dormitories for drivers, building and housing complexes, gas station etc), which will ultimately make it impossible for any elephant migrations through the forest. However, there is an alternative to placing the check-post in the forest itself and the Ecological Internet is currently protesting erecting the said infrastructure right in the middle of the last available migration route for the Asian elephants.

If you’re interested in helping, go to http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/

photo credit: jwalsh

Spring is coming and with it warmer and sunnier days, which for many people means cleaner cars. However, for the environmentally conscious this poses somewhat of a problem.

So what do you do is you want to have a clean car and be eco-friendly? The best and greenest option is a waterless car wash or dry wash, which works best on slightly dirty cars (not so good for cars that are sloshed with mud from the melting snow, dirty rain and such). So if you’re considering either washing your car at home or using a commercial car wash, there are some facts you should consider that may be quite surprising.

First of all, washing cars at home uses on average about 80-140 gallons of water while commercial washes use only about 45 gallons per car. Moreover, most states are required by law to put the waste water used in the commercial car washes in the sewer systems where it is treated and then released as clean water back into the environment. This cannot be said for washing your cars at home since both the waste water and soap wind up in the storm sewage, where the untreated and contaminated waste is released into the environment, more often than not ending up in waterways adding to their pollution.

Additionally, most commercial car washes will take precautions to save money thus many have systems installed that allow to save water by minimizing the water usage, recycling and reusing the rinse water etc.

So if you’re considering washing your car at home, go to a commercial car wash instead. And if this will become slightly too much of an expense, think about where you drive mostly and perhaps devise a way to avoid certain routes to keep your car cleaner longer. And maintaining your car clean instead of letting it accumulate dirt is probably the best solution since it will allow you to combine the waterless or dry wash to remove slight dirt and commercial wash once in while when the car simply gets too dirty for comfort.

Have you ever wondered what impact women’s period has on the environment? The numbers are staggering and do not fair well for Mother Earth. Over 7 billion tampons are flushed or thrown away each year in North America alone. Not to mention 13 billion pads that end up in landfills on top of that.

And even though some of the pads and tampons available on the market these days are made of unbleached, organic cotton (e.g. Seventh Generation), they are still disposable so the end result is just the same. Thus, if you’re thinking about the impact you have on the environment fro a few days every month (like I have many times in the past), the best way to go is most likely to go reusable.

Now, the idea of reusable pads or tampons (in this case it is a cup that serves the same purpose as the conventional tampon) is really not a very appealing one, to be honest. But taking into consideration the greenest choice, it seems our grandmothers’ ways are always the best, at least in this respect.

So if you’re looking for a safer, healthier and more eco-friendly option for you periods, I found one company that has the largest variety to offer, namely Luna Pads (www.lunapads.com). The company caters to the environmentally conscious women by offering a number of products, including reusable and washable cotton pads and liners, pantyliners, underwear and the Diva Cup that is the green substitute for a tampon. What makes it more appealing is the myriad of colors and varieties these come in, therefore you can choose whatever products first your own menstrual cycle best. Perhaps I should try it myself (the ‘practice what you preach’ thing) as soon as I get over the unwillingness of washing my period pads…