Your Greeness

Whales use songs an certain noises to find their mates and to make their way across the oceans. Unfortunately, their sounds are being drowned out by human made noises according to a U.N. report.

The sounds made by ships, boats, seismic surveys and sonars by the military all contribute to the noise pollution. These make whales lose touch with each other, and in the process threaten the survival of their species.

The climate change also has its effects on the whales, with rising temperatures affecting the speed and distance sound travels in the water.

Whales supposedly try to speak louder and louder until no one can really hear anyone anymore.

As if there isn’t enough to worry about, here are more air pollutants to watch out for!

1.Secondhand smoke- From fumes made by smokers, secondhand smoke is made up of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and other harmful chemicals. Secondary smoke can cause infections, severe asthma and lung cancer.

2.VOCs- Also known as volatile organic compounds, sources of these may include clothes which have been dry-cleaned, synthetic carpets, paints and varnish. Effects of VOC’s include eye irritation, nose irritation, nausea, tiredness, and headaches,

3.Pesticides- from insect sprays and mothballs and are known causes of dizziness, headache, nausea, weakness, nervous system damage and even cancer!

Know what you’re up against! Here’s a basic list of common air pollutants that dirty up the air in your home!

1. Carbon monoxide- Comes from car exhaust, malfunctioning fireplaces and other fuel powered appliances. This can make you very ill or even kill!

2.Mold spores and dust mites- These make asthma and allergies even worse!

3.Formaldehyde- found in paint, permanent press fabrics and glue that holds together plywood, this can cause irritation in the nose and lungs, dizziness, headaches and nausea.

4.Radon- This is produced by soils and rocks underneath homes. It is an invisible gas and is the second known cause of lung cancer.

There are many pollutants found in the air inside our homes. These can make us sick, and cause allergies. Getting rid of them is actually a green step to make us all healthier!

1. Dust and vacuum regularly to get rid of dust, mold and mites.
2. Make sure your pets don’t go to the bathroom inside the house. If they do, make sure it is cleaned asap and very well.
3. Get a smoking visitor or relative to kick the habit. Express that you don’t feel comfortable with them smoking inside the house.
4. Use natural paints when repainting a room. Paint fumes can be toxic!
5. Stick to natural cleaning products that don’t give off irritating and harmful fumes.

Do you know why cleaning products available in the market are so effective? More often than not, they contain very very strong chemicals that just instantly kills off the microorganisms. These strong chemicals can harm us too, that why it is vital to dispose of them properly.

Just how do we do that? Well, it is important to dispose of cleaning products in their original packaging if possible. This is an easy way to identify their chemical components. If it is possible, cleaning products can be use din different ways around the house so nothing needs to be disposed at all! Another way is to dispose them in a community center or recycling center who will know what to do with them!

Disposing of cleaning materials properly is a simple way to live green!

Many people, in the effort of saving money, are actually choosing to fill up their cars with E85 ethanol. Why not right? E85 is cheaper than normal gasoline. But is E85 good for our environment?

Unfortunately E85 isn’t very good for Mother Earth at all. It doesn’t burn cleanly, and produces toxins when burned. Also, E85 is made from corn. It seems to be unethical to destroy perfectly good food to produce cheap fuel when in fact many people don’t even have enough to eat! Thirdly, E85 just looks cheaper but actually, it contains a good percentage of less energy compared to gasoline, so you actually get less mileage!

It is important to consider all the aspects of something before using it. Sometimes, things are cheaper for a reason. Hopefully, this article will make you stop and think before sing E85!

The election is fast approaching and one of the key issues for deciding on who to vote for is the candidates’ stand on the environment.

Among the two running for president, Obama has proven to be the greener candidate in his speeches. It is a delight to know that his running mate Joe Biden has a good track record with the environment as well.

Joe Biden supports the 80% carbon emission deduction by the year 2008. He also wants to give the tax break from oil companies and use the money to pay for wind farms. Joe Biden has also always opposed offshore drilling for oil.

Other plans of Biden include the country using 20% of renewable energy sources by the year 2020. He also believes that the US should be firmer in the stand to stop commercial whaling.

These and many more reasons make Joe Biden an ideal candidate to select. So if you want to help your environment, take care in selecting lawmakers that care for it too!

Are you one of those people who go nuts over those commemorative plates, or coin sets? Well, if you want to be green, you have to stop!

Collectibles aren’t exactly green! Why? Things are created to be used. So if you produce a plate, you’re supposed to use it. However, collectibles aren’t made to be used. They’re made to be hung or just looked at, and the point of a good collection is to accumulate more and more of the same item. So producers will continue to make them and use up materials and collectors will keep snapping it up.

Do you see why its not green to collect? It’s better think twice before snapping up a collectible. If you really want to collect something, make sure you use it too, that way it serves a purpose!

Why should we recycle? These fun facts ought to answer that burning question!

1. The average American manages to consume and use up around 650 lbs of paper in a year! That’s a lot of trees cut if we don’t reuse!
2. If all paper we used would actually be put back into recycling, a hundred tons of wood would be saved in over a years time!
3. When aluminum is recycled, it manages to save 95% of energy to make aluminum!
4. Every aluminum can recycled can save up enough energy to make a tv run for 3 hours!
5. Americans manage to consume and go through 2.5 million plastic bottles in an hours time!

Biking is certainly an enjoyable activity, not to mention green and fitness friendly to boot! It is a cost-effective solution to beating traffic as well. However, so many people do not even consider biking to get to short distances.

Why? Because of the absence of bike lanes. Many communities and neighborhoods across the country do not have bike lines. This reason prevents them to consider getting a bike to get them to school or work. A street without bike lanes can be very dangerous to bikers! We do not want them to get into road accidents.

You can make a difference to bring bike lanes back! Get your friends together, and write letters to your local officials. You can even start a petition. These little steps will eventually bring back bike lanes into our community!