What have you done in your home to "go green"
By cbar86
@cbar86 (80)
United States
August 13, 2010 1:10pm CST
We have done several things like changing to an energy-efficient propane water heater, changed our windows to double-paned, changed all of our lightbulbs to energy efficient bulbs, changed our curtains to light-blocking which reduced our energy consumption in both the summer and the winter, and started recycling everything we could. Are there any other ways that you have reduced your energy consumption, or to "go green"?
5 responses
@jumesbond (109)
• Turks And Caicos Islands
13 Aug 10
I don't know if this counts, but I use castille soap for all showering, washing, and cleaning purposes, I use baking soda in place of toothpaste and deodorant, and I don't eat meat. I didn't do all that specifically for the purposes of going green, but it all ultimately helps the environment in some way.
@jumesbond (109)
• Turks And Caicos Islands
23 Sep 10
They both have chemicals which are bad for either humans or the environment. Antibacterials, diethanolamine (DEA), formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, fragrance and parabens are a few chemicals found in cosmetics that are bad for the environment. Here's a good link about all those that goes more in-depth: http://www.thegreenguide.com/personal-care/dirty-dozen.
I initally stopped using deodorant because it contains aluminum which is a toxin to humans that causes DNA mutation. Many brands also contain triclosan which kill algae, which upsets the ocean ecosystem because many animals rely on algae for food. There are other chemicals too -- Here's a great link on deodorants: http://www.good.is/post/what/.
Fluoride is a chemical in all commercial toothpastes. There have been a lot of studies on the toxicity of fluoride. If you want to read about it, these are 2 good links: http://www.fluoridealert.org/50-reasons.htm and http://www.holisticmed.com/fluoride/.
It's hard to know what else is in toothpaste because manufacturers aren't required to reveal their ingredients. All I know is that they're composed of a lot of different chemicals. This is triclosan in many toothpastes. They may also have parabens which are chemicals that disrupt the hormones in animals.
@IsisGreen (554)
•
23 Sep 10
That's really clever. Doesn't it intefere with the mechanism? (I presume not, but I kind of wonder why the tank was designed to be so big in the first place if it didn't need all that space/water).
@savypat (20216)
• United States
13 Aug 10
We just added thermal curtians to several of our large windows. I didn't want to do this because I felt they were ugly but when our air conditioning went out and it was a coulple of weeks before we could get the repairs I gave in and got the curtians. I can tell they really heph keepthe heat out now it will be interesting
to see if they also keep the cold out.
@sunnyp1 (60)
• Ireland
14 Aug 10
Hi. We have also done the energy efficient light bulbs, double-glazing and lots of recycling. But the biggest effort is to cycle or take public transport instead of using the car. But on rainy winter days I just feel I have to drive!
