Jiffy Feet asked:


Mine are… lots of pollen this year!
Loveable - as far as wearing shoes, I wear them all winter. When the weather is sunny and in the 70s, I just love to take advantage of it and go barefoot around my house as much as possible. The grass and earth feel so good, especially when you garden.

ALPHONSO

Joey Lee asked:


Many people are now getting frustrated with their usual gas-guzzling conventional car because of the constant increase in fuel prices and are they are actively looking for alternative modes of travel. Some people are now leaving their cars in the garage, preferring to car-pool, cycle or even walk to work to conserve fuel. More are turning to public transportation at the subways, bus stations braving even the worst of weather, simply to save on the ever-increasing fuel costs. However, there are some who simply need their car due to job nature or family obligations.

Hybrid Cars - Your Alternative to Gasoline Guzzlers. The alternatives to cheaper fuel costs and lower gasoline consumption, are to start trading off their old conventional gas-guzzling cars and purchase a different breed of car that can easily cut fuel consumption by half. These new line of cars are called hybrid cars and yes, your fuel consumption could effectively achieve about 50 mpg or miles per gallon with hybrid cars. Hybrid cars produce fewer pollutants than conventional cars. This means that not only will you cut fuel consumption by more than half, you will also decrease the level of pollution that is poisoning the environment and people. With hybrid cars, everyone can benefit from it.

How Hybrid Cars Work. The concept of the hybrid car is quite simple. Hybrid cars combine electricity, which is the cleanest energy source available, and internal combustion gasoline engine to run the car. In simple words, hybrid cars utilize both electricity and gasoline energy to power the car. Firstly when your hybrid car is started and in idle mode or not running, the gasoline engine is automatically shut off. You car is then purely running on electricity. That explains the reason behind why hybrid cars are very quiet. This is also the reason why it can effectively conserve fuel consumption. Once you step on the accelerator, the internal combustion engine will automatically start up again.

There are also hybrid cars that can run purely on electric mode. This is very useful if you are only using the car for local travels. You virtually don’t even need to put gasoline in the car. Most hybrid cars developed today no longer need to be plugged in like the electric car. The used kinetic energy when you are braking will be the one to recharge the battery. This is how simple a hybrid car works. It will be comprised of a battery for energy storage, a generator, an internal combustion engine, a fuel tank, and an electric motor.

However, for long distance travel, especially along the highway, you will need more power to drive your engines. The gasoline or fuel combustion will kick in when you need stronger power on the road. It is also used for back up power in case the battery is discharged.

So get out there and do your research on the various Hybrid cars in the market. It is time to start getting rid of the gasoline guzzlers and more so, your gasoline woes. Start saving on fuel consumption, contribute to the environment in generating lower toxic fumes and you even get to claim tax rebates from the government!

Do check out my site for more information on Environmentally Friendly Cars.



MARYANNE

screenwr05 asked:


I know a lot depends on color, clarity etc… but what is the high/low rates for rare green fluorite?

KATHIE

[[PunK]] BaRbIe♥ asked:


I’m writing a research paper on going green. My teacher wants us to write about how it effects the entire world. The paper is due December 19

BRUNO

Helen Hecker asked:


Giving an eco-friendly or environmentally friendly newborn baby, new baby or baby gift basket is a great way to help the environment. Whether you buy an eco-friendly gift basket from a gift basket business, make it cheaply yourself at home or add it to an existing line for your gift basket business, the environment will be better off for it. Think recycled paper (100% post-consumer, waste/process, chlorine-free), organic products, vegan products, non-toxic and non-plastic items, natural fibers, reusing and recycling. Just use these simple tips and follow these easy instructions and you’ll learn how to make a great, unique, custom, personalized baby gift basket.

First of all you’ll need to decide whether you’ll be using organic or vegan items or products, fair-trade products like soaps, items of clothing like new socks made from recycled cotton, or pre-packaged, homemade or recyclable used items. You probably won’t want to use any fragrant food items if you’re using any scented products. The fragrances of food and perfume don’t combine well in a gift basket. But use your best judgment. Also you may have some other ideas for making your basket more of a personal memory gift.

Next decide on what products or items will go into the environmentally friendly newborn baby, new baby or baby gift basket.

For an organic, vegan or all natural baby gift basket - some products and ideas are: organic baby foods, organic teething chews, all natural or organic baby lotions, organic shampoos, organic baby powders, other organic bath products, organic, vegan and fair-trade soaps, natural fiber sponges, organic cotton towels, terry cloth bath pillows, natural spa pillows, natural hair brushes, socks and other clothing made of organic cotton, CDs of nature sounds or other soothing music, baby toys made with natural fiber and/or safe recycled material, wooden blocks, safe, non-toxic baby games, personal memory gift items, or a no-expiration gift certificate to a store that specializes in environmentally friendly items.

Now that you’ve decided on what products or items to use it’s time to put your personalized environmentally friendly gift basket together.

For gift container ideas: fair-trade baskets, wooden baskets, wooden bowls, fiber baskets, straw baskets, locally made pottery, buckets, potted plant holders, wire baskets, fabric gift bags, homemade gift bags, used baskets and containers from Goodwill Industries and Salvation Army stores or anything recyclable.

For gift basket liner ideas: shredded newspaper, shredded comics, organic cotton tea towels, organic cotton dish towels, organic cotton wash cloths, hand towels, or bath towels, colored recyclable napkins, organic cotton cloth napkins, fabric pieces, or an organic cotton receiving blanket.

For gift basket filler, if needed, you can use: crumpled or shredded newspaper comics, or use your imagination to come up with a better idea.

And for gift basket wrap and tie you can use: recyclable paper, butcher paper, newspaper, newspaper comics, or reusable brown paper bags. Also check with the Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries stores for inexpensive recyclable wrapping paper. Tie with jute or raffia twine for a simple rustic look or leave the gift basket unwrapped.

Now the easy instructions for putting your custom, personalized environmentally friendly gift basket together - first start with your custom container. Place the liner inside and add the gift basket filler. Arrange the gift basket products and gift items with the tallest in back. If needed, fill any holes with small baby items or crumpled or shredded recycled paper. Cover with wrap and tie with jute or raffia twine. Don’t forget the personalized, recycled or homemade card. If you’re using a homemade card include a happy, personal, positive, uplifting, spine-tingling favorite quote or saying. Mom can read it to baby. That’s it! You should have a fine-looking eco-friendly, environmentally friendly newborn baby, new baby or baby gift basket!



FLOSSIE

John Elephant asked:


Environmentally friendly products are products that either reduces the use of natural resources to make products or use recycled resources to produce products. Using these kinds of products is very beneficial for the environment and your community as a whole. It’s also a great way to show that you care about preserving your environment and a good way to set example for your children and other family members. Many companies that take the time and effort to develop environmentally friendly products also take the time to ensure that their production processes are safer and more environmentally friendly as well. There are many benefits to environmentally friendly products. All you have to do is learn about them and then do your part to conserve resources and create less waste.

Variety of Products and Selections

Many people associate recycled paper and other environmentally friendly products with boring and plain colors. This simply isn’t the case. Because the fibers used to produce recycled paper can be dyed in a wide variety of colors, you can buy recycled paper products in colors from pink to blue. You don’t need to spend your money environmentally unsafe products or waste it on boring products you’re not interested in. You’ll find a great selection of environmentally friendly products if you look in the right places.

Use of Fewer Natural Resources

Products that are not environmentally friendly often use a number of natural resources in their production processes. This creates a lot of waste and does not help to conserve our resources. On the other hand, recycled products often use fewer natural resources and help to reduce waste during production. This helps to protect the environment and help keep it from becoming cluttered with waste and scrap materials.

High Quality Products Available

Many people also associate recycled environmentally friendly products with lower quality. The truth is, the quality of recycled paper products is equal to or greater than the quality of paper produced right from raw pulp. The recycled paper remains strong and durable through normal wear and tear and holds its appearance as long as you keep it free from marks and unnecessary roughness.

Safer Production Processes

Many of the companies that are producing environmentally friendly products are also using environmentally friendly production processes. Instead of polluting the environment and creating a lot of waste that must be disposed of in our landfills, they are using processes that reduce the amount of waste produced and limit the amount of pollution experienced. These safer production processes are better for both the environment and the people working in the production plants.

Buying and using environmentally friendly products is a great way to show that you care about conserving natural resources and reducing the amount of waste that is introduced into the environment. By buying these recycled products, you’re showing your commitment to protecting the environment and you’re also setting a great example for others in your community. It may not feel like you’re doing much, but if more people started buying these products, the environment would be a lot better off.



CALLIE

Stephen N asked:


How many of you out there are going green? Now are you going green for the planet? Or are you going green to save money on gas, or some other benefit for yourself?

ALLAN

Annie Trayhurn asked:


An allergy is a disorder of the immune system and is caused by reactions occurring from environmental substances known as allergens. Examples of allergic reactions include asthma, food allergies, eczema, and reactions to stings from wasps and bees. Treatments for allergies include the use of avoiding the allergen, anti-histamines, and steroids.

Avoiding the allergen can be an effective way of reducing the incident of the allergy occurring. For example, eczema, a painful skin condition, can be made worse when the person has come into contact with chemical cleaners used in the house. Therefore the use of non-chemical cleaners/environmentally friendly products can help to prevent a flare-up of the condition.

What are environmentally friendly products?

Environmentally friendly products are made from natural ingredients that have very few side effects. The advantages of environmentally products leans not only towards us but towards nature as well, which means the products are good for humans to use, and the products break down in the environment when they have been discarded.

Many companies manufacture environmentally friendly products across the world, and production is increasing as more consumers are realising the benefits to their health and the environment when they use the products. But some people are put off using such products because of the cost, and for people on a tight budget it is a major concern. However, there is a cheap and cheerful way to use environmentally cleaning products …and they are normally found in the pantry/larder:

Vinegar – white distilled vinegar can be used concentrated for tough jobs or diluted with distilled water for easier jobs. It is brilliant for removing lime scale on taps, shower screens, cleaning windows, as is a general disinfectant, and general cleaner. The ‘fish ‘n’ chip’ smell does dissipate and leaves the air smelling fresh and clean. Do not use vinegar on marble or some stone products.

Tomato ketchup – for cleaning brass, rub on and then rub off to a shine.

Lemon juice and bicarbonate soda – once the ingredients have been added together and made into a paste, it is great for cleaning dirty areas such as ovens…but some elbow grease is needed as well!

Bicarbonate soda – sprinkle on to carpets before vacuuming to freshen them up. Put some into a container and put at the back of the fridge to keep out odours.

Lemon juice and olive oil – one cup of lemon oil, half a cup of olive oil and shake together well. This makes a lovely solution for cleaning wooden furniture.

The cleaning products suggested above are nothing new as women have used them in the home generations ago. Unfortunately somewhere along the line recent generations have forgotten about the ‘back-to-basics’ cleaning products when they fell for the clever marketing of cleaners that used a variety of chemicals.

Other environmentally friendly products that manufactures are making are:

Hand made paper – not only reduces pollution by 70% but also helps in saving trees as the process uses non-wood raw materials to a large extent

Use of ECO wheels, also known as electric vehicles, which can help in reducing air pollution

Eco friendly furniture uses raw-wood and recycled products, so is a good alternative to wooden furniture

Equipment using solar energy provides heat without causing air and sound pollution

Eco friendly paints have fewer chemicals in them and there is very little odour

Eco shoes are made up of recycled rubber and plastics

Conclusion

Environmentally friendly products are good for humans and nature. Some environmentally friendly products are more costly than ‘traditional’ types of products but savings can be made if we go ‘back-to-basics.’

 



MARYLOU

Patrick asked:


I work at a automotive factory, and upper management has asked me to research, what it would take for us to be able to declare that we are a green operation.

JEWELL

Carssure asked:


Environmentally friendly cars are supposed to be the vehicles of future  generations. Nevertheless such cars exist now and are becoming more popular in the modern car market than conventional vehicles which work on fossil fuels. The advantages of such cars are not only in their lower harmfulness for the environment and people’s health but also in the lower fuel costs. However their production is rather expensive, so it is a moot point both for the customers and the automobile manufacturers. So they are more expensive to buy but they pay for themselves in a period of about 5 years because they consume less expensive fuels.

Here are the common types of environmentally friendly cars:

- Electric cars;

- Fuel-cell-powered cars (hydrogen and oxygen cars);

- Hybrid cars;

- Solar cars.

Electric cars operate on rechargeable batteries which are the most expensive parts of this type of vehicles. Most electric cars look like conventional vehicles and one usually cannot tell them apart. Electric cars are very quiet and produce no exhaust fumes at all. The interior of the cars is stuffed with wiring harness.

Fuel-cell-powered cars operate on chemical reactions between different fuel cells (like hydrogen and oxygen) which merge to turn into a new matter. As a matter of fact fuel-cell-powered cars are similar to electric cars because they work on electricity which comes as a result of such chemical reactions. They are also as quiet and ecological as electric ones, plus fuel-cell-powered cars almost don’t need any maintenance or repairs because there is almost no friction between the car parts of such vehicles. All in all this kind of environmentally friendly cars is supposed to be very economical and ecological and could be the champion among green cars but for one essential aspect – hydrogen is a very flammable gas and when it comes with oxygen a car accident can be very destructive.

Hybrid cars are something in between electric cars, fuel-cell-powered cars or gasoline cars. They are very ecological and produce almost no exhaust fumes. Hybrid cars are more widespread than other environmentally friendly cars.

Solar cars operate on the solar energy which they accumulate with the help of built-in solar panels. Solar cars have a very peculiar shape which most likely resembles spaceships from Star Wars. They are more uncommon and are not produced on regular basis. They can be driven at high speeds for a long time powered only by the energy of the sun.

Environmentally friendly cars have become the choice of many people who decided to reduce the influence of burning fossil fuels on the nature.



GILBERT