Green Living

Noise Pollution: Few Tips to Reduce it

Take a step outside your front door and what do you hear?  The joyful laughter of kids at play?  Birds, singing in the trees?  The occasional barking of a dog down the block?  Most likely, the answer is a resounding, “No!” We humans love our machines.  Gas and electric powered mowers, blowers, trimmers and saws fill most home garages.  And long gone are the days of the self-contained vacuum … now we blast the neighborhood with a garage mounted monster that screams to the neighborhood “I’m a good housekeeper!”  Tying it all together is the constant drone of televisions, radios and computer games running 24-hours a day.  Who have we become? In bygone days the relative peace of a quiet neighborhood was shattered only by the occasional roar of a treasured Harley or dad’s darling Jeep fired up for a trip to the countryside.  Now, however, we rely upon these resounding vehicles for everyday transportation. Even docile country landscapes are shattered by the constant din of dirt bikes and ATVs as weekend warriors make their way to the out of doors.  The former calm of rural quietude has been replaced by mechanized entertainment that pollutes the bucolic scenes, churns soil and destroys delicate ...

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Looking at Compact Fluorescent Lamp Bulbs

The increased public awareness of environmental issues has led to a number of unique, “green” products entering the marketplace.  One such product is the compact fluorescent lamp (light) bulb.  This new light bulb is rapidly replacing the traditional incandescent bulb thanks to its cost and energy saving benefits. Surprisingly, compact fluorescent lamps are not a new invention.  There were originally developed in response to the 1973 Oil Crisis.  Since these new bulbs were far more energy efficient than the traditional light bulbs, there were high hopes for their success.  However, the compact fluorescent lamps were far from cost effective and could not compete in the marketplace. For the past several years, the prices for compact fluorescent lamp bulbs were quite stratospheric.  As recently as only a few years ago, the cost of the bulbs was around $20.  That put them well out of the range of affordability for most people.  Recently, the bulbs have dropped significantly in price and can be purchased for around $5. Yes, it is true that that $5 is more than the cost of an incandescent light bulb.  However, there is a significant benefit to purchasing compact fluorescent lamp bulbs.  Namely, they last upwards of ten times longer than ...

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Light Pollution Facts

Have you ever seen one of the satellite images of earth in the darkest hours of the night?  It’s an incredible testimony to the degradation of nature’s beauty from Thomas Edison’s elementary invention a mere 100 years ago.  What must our planet look like to passersby from neighboring galaxies?  Most likely, the stellar equivalent of the Las Vegas Strip at midnight! Then, there’s the effect of light pollution for the night sky watcher from earth.  Unless you have the good fortune to live – or camp – far from the reaches of man, an unimpeded view of the heavens is a virtual impossibility.  Street lamps, traffic lights, advertisements, cars and buildings emit untold kilowatts of light to keep the darkness at bay.  Look into the night sky on a cloudy or foggy night.  City skies emit a rosy glow of reflected light that overpowers nature’s delicate sparkle. The effects of light pollution can also be found in more than 70% of homes the world over:  night lights, LED emissions from clocks and appliances and a cacophony of glowing green, red and yellow indicators reassure us that the power grid is still functioning.  For most, especially young children nurturing a fear of the ...

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Eco-friendly Easter! - Complete Report

Easter is coming up fast.  April 4 will be here soon enough.  If you celebrate this holiday, but you're also concerned about the environment, you may be facing a dilemma.  After all, like most major holidays, Easter has been heavily commercialized, and the traditional activities require a lot of spending and create a lot of garbage, plus there seems to be an awful lot of sugar and artificial coloring around. That's bad news for anyone wanting to contribute less to the waste stream.  Having an Easter without these things can look difficult, if you just look at what's available in ordinary stores.  So, what can you do to cut down your impact on the environment without telling the kids they're going to have to give up Easter this year?  Let's take a look at some of your options for an eco-friendly Easter celebration that'll still be lots of fun, but won't break the budget. Why Choose An Eco-Friendly Easter Easter can produce a lot of waste, and have a bigger impact on the world around us than it might seem at first glance.  However, the basic components of an Easter celebration don't have to be ecologically problematic.  You can paint eggs, give treats, ...

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Make your Own Delicious Home-Baked Bread

Few experiences delight the senses as stepping in from the cold outdoors and into a cozy home rich with the smell of baking bread.  Grab a stick of butter, settle into the breakfast nook and get ready to enjoy one of the most cherished comfort foods.  What?  You haven’t ever lifted a loaf of home baked bread from your own oven?  Don’t despair … it’s not as hard as it looks! For the uninitiated, bread baking is fraught with peril … activating the yeast, kneading the dough, finding the right spot to let the dough rise, and shaping the dough into a reasonably tantalizing shape.  But bread making is one of the most basic cooking skills learned in cultures around the world and can truly be mastered by anyone. Bread comes in many shapes and forms:  unleavened flat breads, such as tortillas and pita, quick breads like Irish Soda Bread and corn bread, sweet breads such as zucchini or whole wheat raisin bread and yeast breads like sourdough and potato bread.  Start with something simple – sweet breads mix up just like cake batter – and work your way into more advanced techniques. Quick breads and sweet breads require little experience to perfect ...

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