Category: Green Lifestyle

Organizing and organizing electronics

Posted on by gogreen

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Do you have a drawer full of used phones and adapters? Do you hide old computers and cables in a closet? Are you afraid of getting rid of those wires, adapters and old phones, for fear that “you may need them”? Or is it a matter of ignorance what to do with them? Should they be recycled, donated or thrown away?

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, the average life expectancy of smartphones is 4.7 years, and of computers 4 years. I think that’s generosity.

This means less space in the wardrobe or drawers for you. Time to do something about it.

To handle cleaning electronics on your own, read on to get rid of electronic clutter in your home and free yourself from e-waste.

How to get rid of unwanted and used phones and used electronics

1. Sell them. Many phones, tablets and laptops can be sold even when they are no longer working.

  • Gazelle.com will give you a quote, send it for free and pay in cash for your electronics.
  • Take advantage of the Amazon Exchange Program and exchange used electronics for Amazon gift cards. Like the Gazelle, they will give you a quote and send it for free.
  • Local Target, Best Buy, and Game Stop stores also buy used electronics. Ask at the customer service office.

2. Hand them over. There are people in need who will benefit from your electronic donation.

  • Cell Phones for Soldiers is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to serving soldiers and veterans with free communication services and emergency financing. Each $ 5 worth of device donated will give soldiers approximately 2.5 hours of FREE talk time. Just print a free label to ship your old phones or find a pickup point closest to you.
  • Thanks to the partnership with Dell, many Dobra Wola stores now accept cell phones and computers for free recycling.

3. Recycle them. Electronics contain things that are not good for the environment and should be recycled rather than thrown in the trash.

  • Dcal Services, LLC, headquartered in St. Louis, recycles most electronic devices for free and charges a small fee for a few items.
  • Call 2 Recycle has a nationwide coverage to search for the closest shipment location and tells you exactly what exactly that body location will accept. .
  • Many cities organize free recycling of electronic devices at least once a year. Contact your city to find out when these events are scheduled.

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Source by Susan Stewart

Advantages of living in small houses

Posted on by gogreen

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Recent economic difficulties have forced everyone to make tough choices when it comes to home budgets. Many people reduce everything in their lives, from the cars they drive to the homes they live in. For some, the move towards small houses is about saving money, but for others, the chance to have a simpler life is just as much of a attraction.

The average size of a small house is between 100 and 400 square feet. By comparison, the average size of new homes built in the United States in 2013 was approximately 2,600 square feet. The compact living space is attractive to people of all ages, including college graduates, newlyweds and retirees.

One of the most obvious advantages of such a small house is that the owner does not need a large plot of land. The home is so portable that it can be moved virtually anywhere. Production costs are low as builders do not need that much material and assembly takes less hours. This translates to a much lower price, making it affordable for more consumers. Tiny homeowners don’t have to worry about signing up for a 30-year mortgage just to have a roof over their heads.

The savings last long after you move into this type of home. They are much cheaper to heat and cool than a house of several thousand square feet. Miniaturized devices cost less and require less resources to run.

The new construction is traditionally putting a strain on the Earth’s natural resources. Moving into a small home is especially attractive for people looking to reduce their carbon footprint. Due to their size, many of these homes are built with recycled materials. Once built, they are energy efficient and generate less waste.

Small house designs allow you to make the most of the available space. Hidden storage cabinets and lockers use areas that are usually wasted. Without the extra space, residents are less likely to hoard things they don’t really need. Without the clutter, the rooms appear larger than they really are. Reducing impulse purchases means less waste, less money spent and more money saved.

Many people realize that after eliminating unnecessary belongings, they lead a higher quality of life. They lose the desire to buy status items just to keep up with their peers. They feel less stressed and get more happiness from the little things in life that are more important in the big scheme of things.

A smaller house means less time spent on maintenance and cleaning. Instead of spending hours vacuuming, vacuuming and cleaning windows, it only takes a few minutes to clean your entire home from top to bottom. This means more time with your family and enjoying life.

Despite all the benefits, leading this lifestyle is not for everyone. Before making a commitment to living in a small home, individuals should consider their options and consider the disadvantages of reducing to just a few hundred square feet of living space. One of the biggest problems is probably deciding which things to keep and which to sell, donate or throw away. As difficult as it can be, many people find this process liberating once they have gone through it.

Living in smaller neighborhoods requires a high level of organization. A bit of a mess does the trick in a small space. Someone who cannot be organized will quickly get overwhelmed. The house will look more like a storage closet and will lose all its charm.

Someone who loves having guests at home will have a hard time following this lifestyle. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to accommodate additional people in a room. Depending on the climate and season, homeowners may consider welcoming guests outdoors. Creative use of outdoor space is an effective way to increase the available usable space. The porch or terrace is a convenient place to barbecue, eat, or simply relax and unwind, whenever the weather permits.

The reasons why people choose to move to smaller homes are personal, but many are looking for a simple life and a way to escape paycheck-to-paycheck life. Satisfaction with self-sufficiency is something else that people gain when they shrink their living space. Moving into a small home can be the perfect solution for someone looking to achieve financial freedom with an eco-friendly lifestyle.

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Source by Geza Csuros

Green cars – is there a hybrid with a diesel engine?

Posted on by gogreen

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We know that diesel vehicles are efficient and typically have a long service life, allowing for several years of use while maintaining excellent overall mileage. Today we can see that the newly designed diesel engines run cleaner and more efficiently than ever before. The same is true for hybrid technology as we see vehicles becoming more efficient and with longer lasting batteries we get more life out of hybrid battery packs. In fact, battery packs are becoming so durable that companies like Hyundai are giving a lifetime warranty on their hybrid vehicle’s battery packs. So it’s only a matter of time before someone tries to combine a diesel and a hybrid engine, thus creating a highly efficient vehicle.

At the Geneva Motor Show in 2012, Volkswagen unveiled its off-road concept vehicle that used a hybrid diesel powertrain. The vehicle had a 1.8 liter turbocharged diesel engine coupled to an electric assist motor, and together the Volkswagen achieves up to 131 miles per gallon. They also claim that a 4,000-pound vehicle can go from 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds. These results are quite stunning, and since it was an idea, you could say anything you wanted about your product as no one would be able to drive it. Nevertheless, Volkswagen has already been caught testing another diesel hybrid, still in car form.

Volkswagen is working on a diesel hybrid car under the name XL1. The 2014 Volkswagen XL1 uses an 800cc turbo diesel engine that produces less than 50 horsepower, but a torque of around 89 pounds. Then the 27 horsepower electric motor powers the diesel engine, helping to push the 1,749 pound car. This ultra-light and streamlined Volkswagen vehicle can reach speeds of up to 235 miles per gallon. With so little power, it feels like the vehicle won’t win a race unless you go extreme distances. But what’s nice about these Volkswagen is the fact that the company is working on developing highly efficient vehicles using off-the-shelf technology. So if we can just get Americans to buy diesel vehicles, we should see how the development of diesel vehicles will be driven by other manufacturers.

We can see today that trains offer amazing efficiency thanks to diesel generators producing electricity to power the locomotive. So why couldn’t we do this with heavy duty trucks as well as commercial vehicles which provide much better fuel efficiency and save a business owner fortune on fuel bills. Either way, it looks like Volkswagen is making advances in technology and hopefully other companies will adopt and start producing diesel hybrid vehicles. In 2013, we will start to see diesels entering US markets, but it still depends on whether the vehicles sell or not.

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Source by Chana Maddu Abey

Why is recycling important?

Posted on by gogreen

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Recycling as we know it today was the result of the environmental movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Since then, the national recycling rate has increased from 7.3% to over 30%. Unfortunately, despite the ‘green’ mantra of the 2000s, our national recycling rate has remained unchanged at 33.8% over the past two decades.

But why should we worry about increasing our recycling rates? Why is recycling important? Here are the top four reasons why we should recycle.

Recycling reduces air and water pollution and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to global warming.

Recycling one ton of paper saves:

  • 17 trees
  • 7,000 gallons of water
  • 2 barrels of oil
  • 4100 kilowatts of energy
  • 2 cubic yards of landfill area

In addition, it prevents air pollution weighing 60 pounds.

Recycling is the gateway to other pro-ecological behaviors.

Recycling is a relatively easy activity to get involved in and allows people to feel like they’re making a difference without requiring major lifestyle changes. When people see that “greening green” is not a major problem, they are more likely to make other small changes to their lives, such as using energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps, spending less on heating and air conditioning or composting, and food waste.

Recycling saves space in the landfill.

Landfills are shrinking and many states are forced to export their waste. Today, Americans produce about 4 pounds of garbage per person per day. This number must be reduced to ensure future sustainability. Landfills are also unpopular with the inhabitants. Homes close to the landfill suffer a 5 to 10% reduction in property value compared to similar homes further away.

Recycling creates jobs.

Sorting and processing secondary raw materials creates ten times more jobs per ton than storage. 10,000 tonnes of waste is enough for just one task in a landfill. 10,000 tons of compost provides 4 jobs. Collected 10,000 tons of recyclable materials provides 10 jobs in a material recovery plant. The news keeps getting better in the manufacturing industry. The same 10,000 tonnes of recycled materials provide 18 jobs in the paper industry, 26 in the glass industry and 93 jobs in the plastics industry. If the computer is reused, 296 jobs are maintained! In addition, manufacturing jobs averaged $ 47,700 per year, compared to about half that of the landfill industry.

summary

Recycling reduces our dependence on landfills, saves resources, reduces pollution and stimulates the labor market. Our future sustainability depends on these factors, both in environmental and economic terms. For these and other reasons, governments need to find ways to increase participation in local programs and thereby increase the national recycling rate.

More information on recycling and job creation can be found at http://www.ilsr.org.

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Source by Erica E Balk

Green Building – sustainable materials for building houses

Posted on by gogreen

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There are important problems in modern society, especially those that deal with the mass impact of things on the environment. In the real estate industry, it is becoming a trend to prefer technologies and systems to protect the environment. One of the common concerns today is the use of sustainable materials to build houses.

There are countless criteria that can be taken into account when talking about sustainable materials and how to classify such items into this category.

One of the main characteristics that sustainable and green buildings must qualify is their lower environmental impact. Since such actors have an impact on land use, water and energy consumption, as well as changes in the air and atmosphere, buildings must first and foremost reduce the consumption of natural resources, which are slowly depleted and are being eliminated with no chance of renewal. .

Sustainable materials are those that are recycled and reused in the construction or renovation of houses and buildings. This way you are not contributing to the depletion of natural resources to meet the demand for new materials and items for the construction and renovation of your property. There are many industries in the real estate world that cater to the idea of ??recycling and refurbishing materials instead of producing new ones to build new properties or improve old ones.

In general, remember that the process of building a building definitely generates a lot of waste. Accordingly, materials that are recycled and reused must be able to reintegrate any scraps or waste that has been produced and remixed or reused for other construction purposes.

Another important criterion to consider is looking at the sustainability characteristics of the material and checking that it is truly sustainable from harvesting or harvesting as a raw material to its final disposal.

The material must have a very minimal impact on the environment, especially in terms of waste, emissions, energy consumption and self-regeneration capacity, so as not to deplete the resources derived from nature through its production. Energy consumption, especially in terms of the material collection process, its actual processing and the required transport, are all the important characteristics that allow you to mark material that is truly not hazardous to nature.

There are different types of resources that cannot be recycled, but are still considered to be sustainable as they primarily have high replenishment capacity. Examples of such materials include, but are not limited to, straw, hay, bamboo, cork, brick, and clay. They are labeled with this type of quality because they can quickly replenish and replenish their quantity after being harvested. These materials also have low or very minimal emission factors and are highly regarded as energy savings.

Therefore, if you want to build an ecological and healthier property, you must consider using all natural materials that are sustainable and renewable in nature in every corner and foundation of your home.

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Source by Rose B

Licensing of copyrighted works

Posted on by gogreen

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If you have taken the necessary steps to register your copyrighted works, you will inevitably be able to obtain royalties from them. To take advantage of this opportunity, you need to read the copyright license agreements.

Copyright License Agreement

The copyright license agreement sets out the terms under which a third party may use your content. In legal language you will be the “licensor” and the other party will be the “licensee”. The purpose of the agreement is to define the terms under which the licensor grants a third party, the licensee, the right to use, publish or reuse a copyrighted work in exchange for a royalty. Let’s take a closer look at the key elements of the license agreement.

Special rights granted

This may seem obvious, but the contract must state exactly what copyrighted material you can use. If you have copyrighted articles, do you grant the right to use all of the articles, or only some? It is strongly recommended that the contract includes a detailed description of the specific material concerned.

After agreeing on the exact materials, you must define any restrictions on how the material can be used. Can the material be used online or will it be limited to a specific niche such as textbooks or collections of materials?

It is extremely important whether the contract confers exclusive or non-exclusive rights. In English, it simply means whether the licensor can grant similar rights to other parties. Granting exclusive licenses should require a much higher royalty rate as you basically assume the third party will be successful.

License royalties

A third party will pay you a license fee in exchange for a copyrighted work. The exact amount of royalties depends on the nature of your work. Considerations include:

1) Will you receive a fixed amount or percentage of sales?

2) If percentage, will it be calculated from gross income or less?

3) How often will you be paid?

4) What rights do you have to audit third party books to determine if you are receiving full royalties?

In some situations, you may choose not to pay royalties. This usually happens when a third party uses the material in a way that will bring you enormous publicity. For example, many professionals are looking for suitable publishing columns as a marketing tool. They often don’t charge a publishing fee for material because the resulting publicity has enough benefits.

In closing

If you are considering licensing copyrighted content, keep the above in mind. Since such contracts are difficult to break, it makes sense to hire a lawyer.

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Source by Richard Chapo

The computer is running slow?

Posted on by gogreen

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Often times, PC or PC users find that their computer’s performance degrades over time. Lamentations such as the computer is slow, my computer is slow, etc. supports the informal gatherings of these PC users. The primary reason for this development is not a computer malfunction, but solely the fault of the person using the personal computer.

A person’s inability to keep the computer’s performance at 100% performance level is the real culprit behind the slowness of the computer, and it is not due to any manufacturing flaws on the part of the computer or anything else.

The computer is used for many activities, such as browsing the Internet, downloading software, audio and video files, e-mail and chat, just to name a few. Every time software is downloaded or played a music file over the Internet, a whole lot of cookies and viruses sneak onto the hard drive of the computer without any knowledge of it for the user. Periodic system maintenance is of paramount importance in keeping the performance at the highest level.

Files deleted from the system with the Delete key, disappearing from directories, appear in the recycle bin and take up space in turn. This is a safeguard so that files are not deleted by mistake, and you can recover files that have been deleted incorrectly. After confirming that the files are no longer needed, the recycle bin should be cleaned at least two or three times a week. Or you can use the Shift + Delete key to delete files so that the files will be deleted once and for all from the system without storing in the recycle bin.

The quickest way to speed up your computer is to simply download a registry cleaner and run a scan. It will fix errors and immediately speed up application loading and computer boot.

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Source by Sherman Choo

Title – Is grass the only thing green in the World Cup?

Posted on by gogreen

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Event organizers are making great strides to think outside the box about being “green”, they have tons of press releases about how they “green” the event, and the people who attend have a warm, fuzzy feeling that they are green. However, it didn’t take long for people to choose convenience over reading by putting plastic in the nearest bin rather than the designated bin. While some people go the full nine meters to recycle, be sustainable, and only buy green products, the mass of the public still has an interest in instant satisfaction, convenience, and a comfortable lifestyle.

South African cities had a lot of good ideas for greening the World Cup, but can the public implement these concepts and actually stick to the plan. Being “green” may be fashionable, but another current trend is to put country flags on cars and blow vuvulezes.

The flags stuck to the cars show our pride in our countries, but Cape Town is known as the Cape of Storms for a reason. Few have already found their way into the gutters and trees on the roadsides. The question is also whether the flags will last through the winter, will they continue to be used after the hype is over, or whether the landfills and heaps of rubbish in our cities will be decorated with cocktail flags. Then there are vuvulas; Regardless of the obvious flaws, with the noise pollution and the amount of plastic that was used to make them, where will these plastic chaos creations be thrown away after the game?

Before the World Cup started, there were (and still are) problems with what we are going to do with the stadiums after the event. While stadiums are being built with sustainability in mind, the idea of ??never using them again is unsustainable given that the definition of sustainability is “Can be continued with minimal long-term environmental impact.”

This event focused on two large “green” projects. These projects, along with others, were funded by the Global Environment Fund, which donated $ 1 million. The first was to green all lighting in and around the stadiums with solar panels. 12 billboards with 60 traffic lights and 78 street lamps will go to solar energy.

The second is the Green Passport, an initiative to encourage visitors to make ‘green’ choices while in the country. The Green Passport is a 32-page brochure that will be distributed to 100,000 World Cup spectators. Think it over – that’s 320,000 pages of paper given to viewers who are there to watch the game. Consider what you are doing when you receive the brochure while waiting at the traffic lights or the event program at the conference.

Hopefully the co-organizers of the event have placed a “paper” basket in a convenient location, otherwise they could end up in the vicinity of the lost flags.

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Source by Celeste Maxine Yates

The benefits of eco-friendly wooden cabins

Posted on by gogreen

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Today, people are more environmentally conscious. They want to surround themselves with natural materials such as wood. Wooden cabins are back because they are environmentally friendly, as the main building material is a renewable raw material – wood.

One of the main things you should pay attention to when choosing a wooden cabin is the type of wood it is made of. The most popular selections are Scandinavian spruce, pine and cedar. There are many reasons why people like wood. The wood looks amazing and the construction company can easily work with it. Moreover, wood is an extremely durable, durable, natural and renewable raw material.

With a huge selection of materials, finishes and layouts, you can create the perfect building for your friends and family members. Wooden houses are places where you can escape and commune with nature. Of course, they can be very small and tiny or large and spacious, but one thing they have in common is their rustic look.

Top-quality wood is very expensive and in great demand. You should know that if you want to invest in the highest quality wooden hut or other wooden structure, you should carefully select and look for sources in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania or Latvia due to their knowledge and history of cabin construction. It is worth knowing that pine and Scandinavian spruce grows near the Arctic Circle, where extreme cold causes the growth rate to be much slower, and the wood has a higher density than the faster-growing varieties.

Wooden cottages are environmentally friendly compared to traditional brick houses and, in addition, have a low environmental impact. Striving for ecology is the best path today. Resource depletion, pollution and unclear living conditions are potential threats that all people on earth must face.

Moreover, these wooden cabins are still gaining in popularity due to their affordability and insulating properties. The best part about getting a bespoke cab is that your construction company can tailor the package to suit all your needs and needs.

The wooden floor of the cabin will most likely be wooden or covered with stone tiles. What’s more, it’s good to know that natural fiber rugs and wool rugs look like these floors. Of course, there are more options. For example, another option for matching floors is thick rugs made of animal skins, such as bear rugs. It is also worth knowing that wood burners look amazing and are the perfect way to heat wooden houses. While maintaining the revolving ethos of the building style.

When the weather is fine, your wooden cabin makes you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere, even if you are only in your garden. Another advantage of having your own log cabin is the perfect way to add extra space or have a cheap garden office or guesthouse. Moreover, your building can be used for many different purposes, such as garden building, garage, garden shed, gym, summer house, workshop and many more. They are usually used as an addition to the main house.

Since wood is a very light material, wooden cabins are generally very light buildings. It is also worth knowing that with such a large selection of different windows, there is no excuse for cold or dark rooms.

These buildings are easier to build than brick or mortar buildings. Of course, the helping hand of a friend, family member or neighbor is always helpful. Moreover, these buildings are very easy to change to meet the changing needs of your property. For example, new furniture can be integrated very easily into the building.

It is really worth the trouble and time to carefully choose a reputable, quality manufacturer of wooden cabins, buy directly from the manufacturer to carefully assemble it yourself. You can rightly decide here that you prefer to find a company that deals with wood first-hand, cares about the end result and knows its products very well. More and more people appreciate the rustic look, simple design and natural building materials.

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Source by Goda Mackeviciute

Why green life is important

Posted on by gogreen

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Have you ever wondered why living in green is important? You hear so much about green life in newspapers, radio and television today that you have to be aware of the concerns about the environmental issues of our planet. As our global population continues to grow, so does the pressure on our natural resources. . Listed below are what I consider to be global concerns about our environment.

Energy is perhaps the main concern of most people in today’s society, largely due to the continual depletion of oil. We need to stop looking for so-called dirty fuels and focus on wind, sun and water to make energy choices. Finally, the congress adopts a legislative section to help promote new clean energy resources. You can contribute to saving energy by fine-tuning your vehicle, turning back the thermostat and using energy-saving devices.

We must avoid products that contain toxic chemicals. Before you buy a cleaner, make sure it contains biodegradable chemicals made from natural resources. By doing just a little you can help keep these types of products off our waterways and send a message to the big chemical companies without buying their products, after all, selling them will be a lesson.

Today our children are exposed to so many additives and pesticides in our food that it is downright scary. Every day we create a new health threat to our future generation. Avoid foods that contain preservatives and try to eat foods that are completely natural. By doing this, you are well on your way to a green life. We must protect our children at all costs.

A few other examples of how we can become green are my use of non-pesticides on lawns and gardens. We all know how easy it is to grab a garden hose and water our lawns and gardens. Why not do what I do and capture the rainwater with a 55 gallon drum attached to the gutters down the spouts. You will be surprised how easy it is to think about green life.

I challenge anyone serious about green life to sit down and make a list of things you can do to help our environment. Add things like light bulbs to your list and the fact that the next time you buy them you will buy new energy-saving lamps. Add recyclable paper products to your list and you can help save our shrinking forest. There are so many ways to answer the question ‘why green living is important’. You will be surprised how many items you will have on your list. Think ecologically and you will help save the planet.

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Source by Jerry Standefer