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Green Living
Eco-Friendly Printing and Office Tips
Paper is a big problem from an environmentalism perspective. Every day, we come in contact with a lot of paper, and we mostly throw it out! Americans consume more paper per capita than any other country in the world - more than seven hundred pounds per person! Others have serious paper consumption problems as well (Western Europe used about four hundred pounds per person, Australia about three hundred pounds, and Latin America about one hundred pounds per person. The US is definitely in the lead, and our use of paper has a big effect on our environment. You see, our forests are the storehouses for half the world's terrestrial carbon. They hold onto carbon that could be ending up in our atmosphere. About half of those forests have already been burned or cleared, and more than three quarters of what remains are seriously affected by deforestation, poor management, and other problems. More than forty percent of our industrial wood harvest goes to make paper, and the industry for manufacturing it is the fourth largest contributor when it comes to manufacturing industries in the US. It contributes about ten percent of the emissions for the entire manufacturing sector. After that paper is used, it ...- Bookmark :
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Ditch your Answering Machine and Switch to Voice Mail
Although not an idea that jumps right to mind, experts are showing in study after study that by using voice mail, less energy is consumed and results in less hazardous waste than the use of answering machines. In the same way that power plants are responsible for producing considerably less pollution than if everyone ran their own fossil fuel-based generators (or by using electric cars in place of the commercially common gas-powered ones), centralizing voice mail into large servers requires far less electricity than by everyone using their own dedicated machines. These machines must be on and active 24hours a day, seven days a week. Such electronics are responsible for 25% of home energy use, according to Energy Star, the corporation responsible for rating electronics and appliances based on the energy that can be saved by their use, and these electronics directly contribute 2% of the U.S.'s output of overall global warming gases. The Green Book, an ecological conservation group, reports that should all answering machines currently used in U.S. homes was to be replaced by voice mail, the annual energy savings would be nearly two billion kilowatt-hours. This is more or less the equivalent of taking 250,000 cars off the road ...- Bookmark :
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Eco-Friendly Nail Polish
Did you know that your nail polish could be harmful to your health? Conventional nail polish is full of solvents and other substances that are known to be neurotoxins, including amyl, butyl, and ethyl acetates and toluene. Lead acetates may also be included, as well as formaldehyde, coal tar dyes, and other suspected carcinogens. Plasticizers, called pthalates, which are generally believed to have a hand in disrupting hormones in the human body. Why are all these dangerous chemicals allowed in our nail polishes? Cosmetics aren't subjected to safety testing in the United States, with harmful ingredients removed only on a voluntary basis and only after they've been proven to cause illness. The European Union has banned the use of pthalates and formaldehyde in cosmetics. Since it has been assumed that nail polish won't pass into the body, these dangerous materials are allowed. However, our nails are porous, so toxins can pass through them, into the nail bed, and into our blood streams. In addition, the production of these materials is harmful to the environment. Unfortunately, these chemicals are present throughout the cosmetics industry, in everything from lotion and perfume to hair gel and nail polish. That means that many people are using multiple ...- Bookmark :
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Avoid Overnight Shipping
Little Things Make The Difference Did you know that the way you have goods shipped could be having a big environmental impact? Overnight shipping burns a lot of fuel per item - the most inefficient means of shipping. That means that it's important to select regular ground transportation for your mailing needs, not rush delivery, if you want to cut down on pollution and save fuel. While it's easy to forget about things until the last moment, overnight shipping is about six times as wasteful as sending things ground. Plus, airplanes release their pollution high in the atmosphere, allowing any greenhouse gas they put out to do more damage than the same amount of gas released at ground level. From a global warming/climate change perspective, rush shipping is a bad idea. Plus it costs a lot, so by avoiding it, you'll be saving a lot of money. This is just one of the little ways that climate change affects us. There are all kinds of small aspects of our lives that can have an effect on the environment and on global warning. It's though that moving vehicles have the biggest effect on emission of greenhouse gases. We have about four hundred and fifty ...- Bookmark :
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Organic Living Tip: 5 Foods that Negatively Affect Sleep Time
Are you having a hard time sleeping? Maybe you think about getting a snack when this occurs. Well, you need to think carefully about what you end up eating. There are some foods that can actually negatively affect your sleep time. Here is a look at foods you need to avoid to get a better night of rest. Food #1 - Chocolate Maybe you love having a nice chocolate sundae or even a tasty cup of hot chocolate at night. You need to beware of chocolate in any form. As you age, you may get more sensitive to caffeine and even the small amount in ice cream with chocolate chips is enough to end up keeping you from getting a good night of rest. Tyrosine, an amino acid that is stimulating is also included in chocolate, which can cause you problems too. Food #2 - Meats that are Smoked or Preserved If you reach for a sandwich with lunch meats at night, this is definitely not a good choice. Smoked meats, ham, sausages, and even bacon has tyramine, the amino acid, in it, which can make your brain end up releasing norepinephrine, something that stimulates the brain and makes you feel wired and alert. Food ...- Bookmark :
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