Archive for Sustainable Living
Some More Comments On Going Green
Posted by: | CommentsWhenever I write something about “going green”, like in my previous post, I almost universally get two different responses from people. Either they basically agree and have some more eco friendly tips and tricks of their own to contribute or they say something like: “Yes, I guess you are basically right but I can’t afford to do it – especially not in this economic climate”.
I certainly understand that your personal finances dictate what environmentally friendly changes can actually be accomplished when it comes to things like buying a new car or drastically remodeling your home.
But what I find odd is that I seem to always get this response even when I write an article in which 4 out of 5 of my suggestions will actually save you money. It is as if though some people follow the rationale that if they can’t go all out and be 100% eco friendly they might as well not go green at all.
This is a typical example of the “declaring yourself powerless” routine I was getting at in my last post.
I can’t help but compare this line of thought to someone who is occasionally trying to follow a healthy diet but in a moment of weakness eat that pizza slice anyway – and “as they dropped the ball anyway” they use that as an excuse for also devouring a super size bag of potato chips and a carton of premium ice cream.
Regardless if you are going green or dieting that kind of behavior is not going to yield any positive results.
It goes without saying that meeting the global goals for reduced carbon dioxide emissions is going to cost a lot of money. This is evident in the struggle to reach any kind of international agreement on the matter.
But as an individual you can do lots of things that will not cost you anything more than a bit of extra awareness. Sometimes you can make a positive difference merely by making better bad choices.
When it comes to the bigger and more expensive choices one would of course hope that governments worldwide do their part to encourage green alternatives through various tax cuts and financial aides.
Is Going Green Only A Luxury Problem?
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Have you analyzed how YOU feel about global warming?
It can hardly have escaped anyone that “going green” is a very trendy subject right now. In the wake of Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth celebrities and average citizens alike are doing what they can to lead a more eco friendly life.
As our entire western lifestyle is more or less built upon an endless supply of natural resources like oil and coal the going is somewhat tough right now. And to make matters worse there are also people who like to do everything in their power to spread the word that global warming isn’t happening at all – or at least they stress that any changes possibly taking place right now aren’t caused by humanity.
In other words they want to reduce the problems of unsustainable lifestyle, pollution and global warming to actually being some kind of luxury problem. Merely a fad that smart marketers are now making a quick buck from – selling everything from carbon emission rights to new kinds of light bulbs.
Some would almost have you believe that the green movement is nothing more than some kind of new age religion.
A very good site to visit if you want to learn more about what really gives in this debate is how to talk to a climate sceptic. In fact, I would almost consider this mandatory reading before making any public comment about global warming and climate change.
Besides the common arguments and fallacies discussed (in great detail and fully referenced) at the above site an attitude I have come across often enough is something like.
“It doesn’t really matter - we will end up destroying earth anyway.”
The best explanation for that kind of black and white reasoning I can come up with is that it is used as a kind of mental self defense. A person expressing something along those lines have probably understood the very real threats to our environment perfectly well.
Seeing how the western lifestyle is the cause of many of these problems the person is thus faced with a delicate dilemma: On the one hand he wants to be a good citizen and do what he can to help, but this might on the other hand mean having to face the difficulty of actually changing the lifestyle he really can’t even imagine being without.
One way to solve this mental conflict is to whip out the “it doesn’t matter anyway” argument, which essentially is used to declare yourself powerless in the matter. However, in reality it is nothing but a rather poor excuse for not having to do anything about your lifestyle.
Because learning how to go green is by no means impossible. Like anything worthwhile it will naturally take some time and effort to implement, so we had better start by doing what we can today.
The vast majority of climate scientists agree that the accelerated change in climate we are now experiencing is to a significant extent caused by human activities. If we don’t make any changes to our way of living it is not a question of if we are indeed facing some kind of disaster, but how quickly it will become a reality and exactly where it will have the most devastating effects.
So in conclusion – no, going green can definitely not be reduced to something that you do purely out of personal vanity. If eco friendly living happens to make you feel better about yourself that is just a nice bonus.
Photo credit: ItzaFineDay
How To Get Even More Efficient Ceiling Fans
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Even ceiling fans can be made more energy efficient.
Energy conservation is a trendy word these days, and much is being done in order to cut down on consumption in the average home. Changing to new eco friendly light bulbs and turning down the thermostat a notch during the winter months are given changes, but there are many small things that you probably haven’t thought about (me neither). Do you have energy efficient ceiling fans for example?
Isn’t that question a bit redundant, I hear you ask. Because after all, a ceiling fan is meant to be an energy-saving device in itself is it not? For one thing, it takes less electricity to operate than that employed by an air conditioner. It can help in reducing heating costs for a room in winter, by pushing hotter air down from the ceiling and into the living area. In a similar way, while it might not lower precise room temperature in summer, it does circulate the air, permitting enough of a breeze that those in the room get some refreshing cool air.
So isn’t that your energy saving right there? Basically, it is definitely possible to save still more, so that even the ceiling fan itself runs more effectively in its own right. The ENERGY STAR system of factors for energy potency, used both in Canada and the U. S. , has been applied to the design and performance of ceiling fans, just as it has got to appliances and other devices that use electricity.
During the past few years, many enhancements have been made in ceiling fan design, these changes being applied to everything from the way in which the motor is put together to the shape and materials of the blades. Those fans that qualify for the ENERGY STAR rating work smoother, consume less energy, and yet give better performance. In the opinion of some folks, they use up to fifty percent less electricity than the standard fans, but still frequently circulate as much as 25% more air.
If they used only as much electricity as a regular light bulb before, as some have said, think how tiny is utilized by the energy-efficient fans!
And speaking of light bulbs…
Any ceiling fan can come with a light fitting as well as the revolving blades, and even here, enhancements have been made. In the same way that compact fluorescent light bulbs (or CFLs) can replace traditional bulbs in other lamps, they can be employed in ceiling fan lights as well. There are now fan units that are fully ENERGY STAR qualified, from the operation of the motor and blades themselves, all the way down to the attached lighting system. Or if you need to add a light fitting to a fan that doesn’t have one, even some individual light kits are now qualified.
The sole thing you’d need to check is whether your fan uses a dimmer, because not every CFL is intended to be used with one. And if you just substitute a CFL for the prior traditional bulb, you will find the way the light generates from it’s a bit different.
The first bulb coverings were likely built to reflect the more diffused light pattern of incandescents. If you are purchasing a new fan, it would just be better to get one that’s expressly designed to be used with CFLs to start with, and you will not have to make allowances for these differences.
The CFL bulbs will add just that much more energy saving to your use of the fan. Not only do they themselves use less electricity than older-style bulbs, but you will not have to replace them as frequently that will cut back the consumption of stuff like packaging too. It’s tough to imagine, isn’t it, that there may be so much energy saving from only one fan? But as folk in society move toward more efficient solutions and overall do a great deal to improve energy conservation, even something as tiny as a ceiling fan can add to the total effect.
And to top things off, you will get better service from it. It’s a win-win situation. 
Photo credit: Wonderlane
