The French Constitutional Council has rejected a tax on carbon emissions strongly backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy that was to take effect Friday. But his ruling conservative party said the measure would be redrafted so it could be passed into law next year.
Is it always better to drive than fly in terms of global warming? Well, it depends on several factors, such as the car’s mpg, the number of passengers, tire pressure and the driver’s driving habit.
An airplane generates much of its emissions during takeoff and landing. So there is a higher CO2 output per passenger-mile during a short-distance flight than a long-distance flight.
Short-distance airplanes usually use less efficient engines. They experience more drag due to lower altitude flying.
Long-distance flight, on the other hand, may have less average CO2 emission per person than a single-occupant vehicle. So for long trips for a single person, it is better to fly than to drive.
Also, try to avoid red-eye flights. There is evidence that night flights have a bigger impact on global warming.
Source: www.MotherEarthNews.com
When you choose energy efficient washer and dryer, you save money and the environment, help reduce pollution and conserve water.
Front-loading washer
A front-loading, horizontal-axis washer has the best performance. They wash clothes without completely submerge it. This extends the life of your clothes and saves energy and water.
These machines also require less detergent and their high speed spin reduces drying time.
Moisture sensor for dryer
When the clothes are dry enough, moisture sensors shut the dryers without overdrying the clothes. This helps save energy and cut CO2 emission.
Gas dryer
Gas dryer is as efficient as an electric one. It is cheaper to run and emits 60% less CO2 into the environment.
Source: MotherEarthNews.com
E-scooters include a wide variety of machines, from very complicated fancy ones to very simple ones without seats.
When buying an e-scooter, a couple of rules should apply.
First, buy from a reputable manufacturer. You get what you pay for.
Second, buy the most watts and amps as you can afford.
The scooter motors are rated in watts. The higher the wattage, the better. The powerful scooters will have sufficient power to ride both on level ground and hills.
Amp-hours is the measurement of the capacity of a battery to store energy. the more amp-hours, the better.
Make sure that you buy a high quality battery charger. Low quality charger will heat up the battery, which shortens the battery life.
Recharge your battery frequently. Shallower discharges and frequent slow charging will prolong the life of the battery.
Also see Green Riding (1) — E-bikes.
For more information, click here.
Ride an electric bike or scooter, you will never need to buy gas again. Meantime you are saving the environment.
Electric-assist bikes have two types: pedelecs, which you have to pedal to activate the electric assist, and e-bike, which does not require pedaling.
How powerful the motor is determines how much pedaling you have to do. The more powerful, the less pedaling.
There are many makes and models with very different quality when it comes to e-bikes.
When shopping for an electric-assist bike, go for quality, that is, performance, reliability and workmanship. Choose a manufacturer who is standing behind its products and has good track record . It may cost more initially, but will be worth it.
You can also convert your regular bike into an electric one by using a “do-it-yourself” kit. Make sure you get a high quality kit too, which will last you for a long time.
Happy E-biking. Also see Green Riding (2) — E-scooters.
For more information, click here.
Deep tillage of soil causes release of a surge of nutrients due to the death and decomposition of large amount of soil organisms.
This surge of nutrients may give you an initial boost to crop growth. But if not taken immediately by plants, these nutrients will leach into groundwater or outgas to the air.
Meantime, the life cycles of many beneficial soil organisms are disrupted. It will take them quite some time to rebuild their population. If the next tillage happens before they can recover, the health and diversity of the soil is degrading.
Excess tillage also exposes the soil to too much oxygen, which oxidizes carbon content and leads to the loss of soil carbon to the air as carbon dioxide. This not only impairs the fertility of the soil, but also contributes to the increase of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
To reverse carbon dioxide emission and to increase soil fertility with increased carbon content, try to reduce heavy tillage of the soil and add organic matter to it.
Bottled water industry has a huge impact on the environment.
It uses 1.5 million gallons of oil to just make the plastic bottles every year, not counting fuels used to transport them. The burning of oil emits pollutants into the environment and attributes to global warming.
Water at areas near bottling plants is over extracted, which affects nearby residents and farmers. Also it wastes 2 gallons of water to purify 1 gallon of bottled water.
Ninety percent of the plastic bottles are not recycled and end up in the landfill.
You will save both the environment and money if you drink tap water instead of bottled water. The U.S. EPA’s standards for tap water are actually more stringent then the U.S. FDA standards for bottled water.
If you are concerned or don’t like the taste of tap water, consider a filter pitcher or a faucet filter.
While traveling, fill a reusable bottle with tap water and refill it on the way.
Foods from your garden or local farmers market are the freshest, tastiest and most nutritious. But the access to those foods only last for a few weeks or months every year.
The key to extend summer’s bounty of local fresh foods throughout the year is food preservation. While there are several ways to preserve, drying is an outstanding method to maintain the flavor and nutrients.
Although an electric food dehydrator works fine, it does use electricity, makes constant noises and occupies countertop space. A solar food dryer, on the other hand, is quiet and uses free energy from the sun.
If you get two days of sunshine in a row, a solar dryer will work for you. It dries large batches of food in one or two days. It conserves energy and saves you money.
Dried foods are compact and easy to store. They are great to eat straight or to cook with.
You can build an efficient solar dryer easily. The book “The Solar Food Dryer” by Eben Fodor provides information on many designs and building plans for solar dehydrators. Or read his article here.
There are many easy ways to improve your car’s gas mileage, which save you money and reduce your impact on the environment.
Avoid certain driving habits and keep up with your car’s maintenance.
1. Avoid aggressive driving, such as speeding, rapid acceleration and hard braking. These driving habits can lower your car’s mpg by 5-33%.
2. Drive at a lower speed. When driving above 60 mph, wind drag reduces fuel efficiency significantly. A loaded roof rack reduces mpg up to 5%.
3. Avoid storing heavy loads in the car. An extra 100 pounds decreases fuel efficiency by 2%.
4. Use cruise control when possible. Cruise control reduces unnecessary acceleration.
5. Avoid long idling. If you will idle more than one minute, turn the engine off.
6. Turn off air conditioning, or use it at a lower setting. AC reduces fuel economy by 25% when set to high.
7. Keep tires properly inflated. Lower than recommended tire pressure decreases gas mileage.
8. Keep air filter and engine oil clean. Clean filter and oil can increase fuel efficiency by 3-10%.
Still about the carbon footprint we produce, 1000 Green Steps suggest you to go to climatecooler.com the next time you have to shop online. This online retailer offers product for you which are still sustainable and taking environment friendliness as their main consideration.
The name brand vendors vary among Apple, Netflix, The Body Shop, Barnes & Noble, and more. Just keep in mind that every time you buy something, you are helping our planet to reduce green house gas emission with no extra dime.
~Happy Green Living!~
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