Being Green?

[Bantzville]

I've see many times on TV about going green and how it can save our environment. And conservation of the tree's, animals and so on where you live and that it's supposed to make you happy. Our family of 3 has been doing some stuff that we benefit to like the following,

 

-Saving our organic waste

-Keeping the earthworms fat and happy (those that are our pets and those that live in the soil)

-Recycling

-Using Sun panels for electricity

 

Though we aren't "greenies" we do believe in some stuff that saves money.

 

What do you do to be green? Do you believe in it? What ways do you approach greenism?

 

Some info of being green,

 

 

http://www.goinggreen.co.za/ - SA website

http://www.treehugger.com/gogreen.php

http://www.goinggreen.co.za/green-it-yours...uth-africa.html

http://www.worldwatch.org/resources/go_green_save_green

 

 

[lightbird]

I like the idea of recycling and solar panels, but where I live 1) sorting trash is disorganized - even trash that's been divided into different trashbins ends up together in the dump, 2) Latvia isn't exactly the sunniest country in the world. :|

Organic waste still works, though.

Edited August 30, 2010 by lightbird

[Kestra15]

I dress up as an orc.

[RheaZen]

I type in all green text.

[Nectaris]

It is considerably harder to be green in a small town in an area where solar and wind power is considered unviable. In a small town, we lack public transportation, and the town is not set up for foot or bike traffic, though newer areas tend to be better suited for it.

 

I went on vacation once and stayed at a place with solar power. Personally, I was unimpressed, the power could not keep even a little fan going all night long. Granted I do not know how big the battery or the original solar panel(s) were. How does solar power hold up for most people overnight?

Edited August 30, 2010 by Nectaris

[Kythe]

Well my family does a lot of recycling, and we've been doing more of it over the last couple of years since our township decided to start processing all kinds of plastic instead of a couple of types.

 

And speaking of plastic I don't use plastic water bottles anymore. I never used that many of them to begin with, but I would buy a bottle of water and then reuse it until it wore out and then buy another one. Now I have a really nice stainless steel water bottle which is supposed to be healthier for you and the environment, and the water actually tastes better when stored in that than in a plastic bottle.

 

I also try to do other little things, like not leave lights on in rooms that I'm not in.

[Bantzville]

I type in all green text.

Rhea that is sooo green of you!

[War Pig Killer]

When I play StarCraft, I always make sure to play green zerg

[zephyr_123]

Hahaha, interesting ways to take the word "green" literally. I read that being "green" doesn't do enough to stop global warming, though, so it's not very helpful.

[Kythe]

Ehh personally I'm not that concerned with trying to stop global warming. Only a small portion of it is caused by humans anyway. What I am concerned with is having a cleaner healthier environment.

[Kedreeva]

We have started to do some things which may or may not count as being green... I don't know that it particularly saves money, but it certainly has made us happier.

 

We started to grow and can/preserve our own foods. We paid (time and money both) into a farmstead that friends of ours bought. We all planted a garden there with beans, corn, cucumber, squashes, berries, etc, and we have canned the results to over-winter. They began raising chickens for eggs and meat, and next summer we will be getting steers and pigs from local people. We've also planted several fruit trees.

 

Recently we replaced our 25 year old air conditioner with one that runs cleaner, and replaced our water heater and filtration with ones which run cleaner.

 

If we can walk or ride bikes or a motorbike to the store instead of taking a car, we do.

 

We've started a compost bin out back to recycle our food wastes, although admittedly a lot of our food waste goes to the chickens if it's still somewhat edible. If it's moldy, then it goes to the compost instead.

 

I believe that people should do the things which make them happy. I'd like for more people to be a little more self sufficient, but some people just don't have the luxury. I'm sad that it's become a luxury to be a little more self sufficient. Making the switch, in the beginning, is expensive. Once you're up and running as sufficient, then it's not so bad but that starting out.... man it sucks.

[rubyshoes]

I recycle. I also keep my AC set at 84 in the summer and use fans even though I live in Florida. I also keep my water use to a minimum.

[EternalSpring]

I have solar panels, and I will try to stay green if my mind comes to notice it. However, I don't have my mind set on saving the world. I think it's wonderful some people do, but also slightly annoying. >.< I guess I'm more of a go-with-the-flow person?

 

Edit: I suppose I recycle, too.

Edited August 30, 2010 by EternalSpring

[thefaeriesfyre]

I'm blue, if I was green I would die, and I'm in need of a guy, if I was green I would die.

 

Eiffel 65 aside, though, I recycle and such, but my life takes place at minimum seven miles away from where I live, most of it's even further. Other forms of transportation are just not viable for me and my lifestyle.

[shelle58704]

We recycle almost everything.

 

Use cloth napkins, instead of paper.

 

Use cloth diapers.

 

I would love to get a few solar panels. The electricity company here will reimburse you if they 'borrow' some of your solar/wind energy. I'd do almost anything to lower my electric bill.

 

Most of what we do that's considered 'green' is to save money.

[RheaZen]

Rhea that is sooo green of you!

I know, right?

[Tatrina]

+1 Rhea

 

I bike or walk to school usually, but when its raining hard or too cold than I carpool with my parents and friends.

Our cheer squad does bottle drives, does that count?

[Obscure_Trash]

With or without us, no matter what we do, Global Climate Change (Global Warming is misleading, because it's really just switching climates all over the place, not warming everything) is going to happen. The Earth goes through periods of climate change. We are an absolutely minuscule effect of either slowing or speeding that down.

 

That said, I do like to be green. We used to have a compost (with the works and stuff, you know), but it got buried under snow, froze, and all the worms died. My mom hasn't gotten to start it up again yet.

I recycle. It's really hard where I live because they don't collect recycling, I have to drive it into town.

My mom has a garden. I'd like to start one when I can again.

Using reusable bags instead of plastic ones.

I pick up litter. Litter bugs me so much. I can't stand it.

And other general things like making sure lights are turned off, not leaving plugs constantly plugged in for things like chargers, not letting the water run the whole time I'm brushing my teeth, ect.

 

While it may not effect the Global Climate Change it can effect us and it can effect the earth we live on.

 

I mean, if we recycled more and had a better trash system, we wouldn't have an island of trash floating on the ocean.

[Anca]

Our trashcans are organized, but people still throw in all types of garbage in all of them. Even though the president here tried to implement a more thorough system, he failed worse than you can imagine.

 

I once recycled some paper, but that was only because an Eco company came into our school and offered to take all books/notebooks that weren't of any use anymore and recycle for us. Besides that, I never recycled a thing in my life. I like to keep myself clean all the time, so I use a lot of water. And I literally mean a lot. I also wash the dishes more than is necessary and leave the computer running even when I sometimes don't use it, just for the heck of it.

 

I know I don't do anything good for the environment, except for the fact that I never take the bus or a taxi to school; I always walk. Does that count? Hope so. If not, eh.

[Infinis]

I would love for our house to have solar or wind power or even both, but the expense is absolutely hideous. >.< We don't use that much water, seeing as we live in a desert and have no lawn, and we don't drink much water because we've adapted to little water. We don't recycle anymore (we did when I was little) because I don't think we have a recycling program here anymore.

 

We do turn stuff off when we're not using it, because it's a waste of power to us if we just leave it on (I'm not going to play DC in my sleep or when I'm offline, am I?) and we tend to keep our trash to a minimum. I try not to buy plastic water bottles and use plastic trays and stuff either, and whenever my family buys paper plates it bothers me, because our regular ones are just fine. >.>

 

Plastic bags also bother me. I see them everywhere and I keep wondering what's so hard about reusing them rather than tossing them. The same with styrofoam. I HATE styrofoam stuff. It accumulates and never goes away, and i just hate seeing it. And for some stupid reason, our cafeteria at school uses hundreds of foam trays per day instead of buying plastic reusable trays (I guess our lunch ladies don't like doing the dishes or something...). That's one reason I don't go into the cafeteria anymore.

 

My mom wants to make a garden but we haven't gotten a chance yet. And plus, the sun here BURNS everything (poor vine...). We'd have to get some really heat tolerant plants to make a garden with. @_@

 

My family has also gone at least semi-organic. I can no longer stand the taste of regular storebought milk. It has to the five and six dollar gallon organic because the regular stuff tastes watery and nasty. The same with meat-we try to buy it organic or locally. If we could buy this stuff from a farmer's market, we would.

 

In the winter, we use a fireplace and chopped wood partly because the furnace makes my mom and brother sickish (like they get stuffy noses and such).

 

I would never give up a car, though. Whenever I walk to school (like an entire MILE away, up and down hills and across a highway @_@), I get really tired and then I lack decent paying-attention skills. I would carpool if I could, but we have our own car. We try to minimize trips to the store and stuff and condense them all into a single trip to conserve gas and such, too.

 

And I like a clean environment. I don't need to see more plastic bags in trees or plastic bottles on the side of the road.

 

 

[christmawolf]

I do believe in helping the enviornment, but... the ice caps are bigger than they were a hundred years ago. =p I don't believe that this "Global Warming" is caused by humans, if it ever does truly does happen. 8D

 

My neighbors are complete slobs. They have three fridges and five grills scattered around their front yard, plastic bottles laying all around their property, etc. Their property borders my family's. I'll be walking through the woods- we have a ton of trees and forests where I live, as well as a creek- and I'll trip over a glass bottle or run into a tree with a used napkin from WaWa hanging off of the branch. =/ We've also found a bag of condoms down there (after their thirteen-year-old daughter was down there with two teenage boys... -shudder-), used toilet paper, and human excrement. DX But we're taking control now. If they're ever on our property again then they're going in jail. 8D Now our pier is trash-free and are woods are beautiful.~ ^.^

Edited August 30, 2010 by christmawolf

[xFlame990]

I think our family is alright. We don't overly waste energy nor do we buckle down and nearly never use energy.

[Gsea]

i'm not very green myself... every once in a while i get worried about this and that pollution, etc.

 

but most of the time i just shrug and say "eh, whateva."

[R0CKIN_R0BIN]

I'm all for go green! but some stuff is to expencive

[TheDarkCynder]

Hahaha, interesting ways to take the word "green" literally. I read that being "green" doesn't do enough to stop global warming, though, so it's not very helpful.

It saves money, it sure does.

 

We don't really do a lot.

I turn lights off when I leave the room.

We have the energy saving lightbulbs.

 

I recycle myself, but I can't use those public recycle bins, there aren't any near me.

One of the good things about having pet rats is they really enjoy empty toilet paper rolls.