Green Living Q & A

The Expert answers:

I know it sounds good, but I’m still proud to live in the America.

The Expert answers:

There is no money in environmentalism. But now, they are trying to block the only real chance we have to avoid a depression (drilling in anwar and off florida coast).
I am a republican, but this is both parties faults.

The Expert answers:

Well what do you expect liberals to do? You can’t prevent that amount of people from crossing the border. Not only that, but who cares and their birth rate, Mexicans aren’t infected or dangerous why should we be alarmed. So their stealing our jobs and not paying taxes, but we’d pay taxes and be hired before any Mexican regardless. Preventing enviornmental damage is important because there is no known way to reverse some of the damage being done. Certain enviornmental issues are more of a priority than the issue of illegal immigrants.

The Expert answers:

I know nothing about the topic but it seems obvious..

If they’re in an economic crisis, they have no money to support the enviornment.

The Expert answers:

Sounds like something a collaboration between Robert A. Heinlein and Philip K. Dick would come up with.

I’d like to read it!

The Expert answers:

Few cultural changes happen voluntarily or peacefully but one can only hope we learn from history
some would say capitalism has sustained us why would it not continue to do so…well I would say because it is too reactionary and not sufficiently focused on long term social needs that may not be profitable such as health care, infrastructure or other isolated but important needs. Socialism has never really had a chance and tho it is being hybridized rather well with capitalism in europe we still see many class inequities

The Expert answers:

There were a lot of good answers given, especially regarding the film for the windows and the thermostat issues. Another suggestion I would like to add is one that I’ve done.

We bought solar outdoor lights and used them inside. We had the solar panel in the window and the sun charged it great, the lights were positioned around the room, and used for light at night. Buy rechargeable LED lanterns and use them in different rooms (my kids have these in their rooms, as oil lanterns are too dangerous for youngsters).

You can make a solar cooker if you have good sun exposure from a balcony or patio at your apartment. We have a variety of ways to cook (grill, propane grill, propane camp stove). I also re-charge batteries while driving in the car, plus charge the laptop when necessary. This I use for the kids to watch DVDs, and we have recently begun watching movies and such on Hulu. This would save on electricity for TV and save satellite costs.

The Expert answers:

By living in the country at the edge of a forrested area. I get to see the impact on wildlife first hand and also get to watch and learn the wildlifes’ behavior, and see also how the city dwellers are so miss informed about wildlife. I see Californian’s and other city dwellers who move to the country and think how they are going to make a differance in the wildlife by feeding them food that is not heathy for them and not allowing hunting to keep the population of wildlife in check and allowing disease to run rappant in the wildlife.
By living in the country I get to smell fresh air everyday and not hear sirens and people arguing. You will know more about wildlife by being where they are and watching them for yourself and understand how they can adapt to people, and you yourself not being a miss informed brainless believer of the media or uniformed politicians. So as I sit on my deck of my loghome watching the wildlife and learning by watching and not listening, I hope I cleared the clouds for you

The Expert answers:

Not sure how much control you would have over your electricity bill (and if not, become an activist and get access), but if you can get a previous bill you could:

1. Change out all light bulbs for low energy ones;
2. Ensure your computer is off when you are not using it;
3. Don’t turn on the TV for a few weeks;
4. Go through the house and turn off everything that draws ‘phantom energy’ (chargers that aren’t charging anything, coffee makers with clocks, Sound video components in standby mode – you TV will be off etc.);
5. Wash dishes by hand, or ensure a dishwasher is full before running it (if you own one);
6. Air dry as much laundry as possible;
7. And turn off anything else with pretty lights you are not using (no straigting hair or haridryers either!).

Do that for two weeks, and either wait for your bill or contact the utility company directly to find out usage (if you can go outside and read the meter yourself before you start and when you are done you can even do the math yourself).

Once all that is said and done, you will have a profile of your energy use. Some changes can be permanent, others you can budget yourself for (such as TV – I am addicted to a few shows myself!) and make yourself sustainable for the long term.

There are some other things you can do too to minimize energy use, but I’m getting a pinky cramp writting…. Good luck and would love to see your results!

The Expert answers:

Territorial Seeds ~ they will send you a catalog.

Also, there are some on ebay… Best Wishes!

The Expert answers:

McCain flip-flops whenever it becomes politically expedient to change his mind. For such an environmentalist and maverick in he’s party he’s really turned out to be a hypocrite and a coward. It’s not going to have huge longterm effects except on the environment. Even if the US drilled all over the country we’d only have 2-3% of the needed national supply.

McCain needs to stop pretending to be an environmentalist. McCain has a 0 rating while Obama has a 96 from The Conservation Society. If he was a such an environmentalist he wouldn’t support offshore drilling and the gas tax holiday which would increase carbon emissions.

Drilling will only cause prices to go down about a nickel over the next decade at the best. It’s not going to have huge longterm effects except on he environment. Even if the US drilled all over the country we’d only have 2-3% of the needed national supply. We can’t depend on oil. We have to find alternative sources of energy.

The Expert answers:

There are many careers that are necessary to the production of alternative sources of energy. Of course there are the engineers who build windmills, solar cells, and other physical structures. There are physicists, chemists, and other scientists that tell the engineers what to do and how to build something. There are politicians who mandate the use of alternative energy and provide funding for research. Then there are a few unusual ones, like an agronomist (someone who studies crops and plants). They study how to get the highest yield per acre and what crops are best for the given climate and soil conditions. You also have the farmers that produce the organic products necessary for the production of ethanol, biodiesel, and other organic renewables.

The Expert answers:

Very true.

Oil companies and people who make a living on oil future market don’t want alternative energy become popular. There is no wind futures and solar futures to trade.

The Expert answers:

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The Expert answers:

The conservatives have been creating new jobs – in China.
RED CHINA…
By outsourcing middle-class jobs, they feel they are saving on labor costs and don’t give a second thought about how this affects their own country.

The Expert answers:

Lucky Brand Jeans has a really nice selection of eco-friendly clothing.

The Expert answers:

Try 100% cotten clothing regardless of brand.

The Expert answers:

I never went there before. I havent even heard of it
but i never wear animal skin

The Expert answers:

Because they are made of organic, which is more expensive (and rarer) and grow and make clothing into.

The Expert answers:

No way! Cotton is organic, what’s wrong with them?

What is the difference in cotton and organic cotton? Cotton is cotton and it comes from a plant

The Expert answers:

Several problems can arise such as;
If the whole world was to switch to biomass there would be no natural environment as we know it because we would consume more than the world could produce and that would not be socially acceptable. Poor resource management such as where more biomass is used then can be grown could lead to our destruction (Easter island)
Ecologically speaking it could destroy an ecosystem and possibly cause a chain reaction of collapsing ecosystem. With advances in biogas production and using algea to produce oils there is a possibility that our energy needs could be met with large scale biomass farming and biogass collection/processing but only with good planning by scientists.

The Expert answers:

There is a growing concern regarding the collaboration between fossil fuels and environmental pollution. Debates regarding this contamination have become commonplace in today’s effort to sustain the earth’s health. Fossil fuels are not considered a renewable energy source and aside from the environmental impact, the cost of retrieving and converting them is beginning to demand notice. Seemingly this issue has many different angles that need to be addressed in order to ensure future generations a sustainable living

What is Renewable Energy? Renewable energy is that source of energy that does not diminish and gets their replenishment of energies from other natural sources like wind, sun, flowing water, geothermal flows of heat and biological processes.

With the depletion in resources of fossil fuel there seems to be a growing demand for solutions that can generate the same output but will not die out at the same time. Using energy resources also is environmentally friendly as we are only taking what nature has to offer, and generating energy from it.

Almost 18 % of energy consumption globally was from energy sources in the year 2006. The Geysers in United States, California is one of the world’s largest geothermal installations. The leader in Ethanol fuel is Brazil, this fuel drawn out of sugarcane, is used to drive vehicles. The highest ownership in household solar is Kenya, where most of the households draw their energy from solar power stations.

With so much happening globally in terms of renewable resources, several countries now have passed legislations that will help increase its use. This has seen a trend in increase in market demand for newer technologies in the energy resource industry.
Therefiore, converting fossil fuels may also result in the accumulation of solid waste. This type of accumulation has a devastating impact on the environment.

The Expert answers:

For commuting use Bicycle, For Cooking and Lighting Use Solar Energy. If you are forced to Use Motor Transport then UsePublic Transport system. If not atleast join a car pool.

The Expert answers:

It is definitely possible however if governments don’t invest in it it is unlikely to happen.

Here is the proof

This is a report by scientists which shows it is possible to generate all our energy from renewable sources by 2020 if we wanted to.

Http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=a-path-to-sustainable-energy-by-2030

Also “blue-green” algae can produce electricity or Diesel simply from air, water and sunlight. Although not fully developed yet they provide great opurtunities.

Http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article477049.ece

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria#Biotechnology_and_applications

Seriously look at these links if we really wanted to we could produce plenty of energy.

The Expert answers:

Problem is with people like you who like to cry and whine about renewable energy this and that but are not even directly associated in the discoveries of those new green technologies you want everyone else to get involved with. You mentioned in one answer that you are an econ graduate. Why economics and not Environmental Studies? Because you too are just out to make money for yourself so you can enjoy your life exactly like the politicians and economists and bankers and business that you say exploit the poor. And it’s much easier to pin the blame on someone else and make them responsible for something you could have easily done something about you try isn’t it? You drive a car, you use electricity, you even eat processed factory made foods. All use non green renewable energy. Where is your indignation against the non environmentally friendly resources that you use? Ah, there lies the hypocrisy doesn’t it?

And please stop saying “we” when you talk about the US because you are not American and you don’t live here. You said so yourself. Or are you a liar too?

The Expert answers:

I think we need to value our manufacturing sector more. With the jobs flowing overseas for cheap labor, America is losing a lot of ground.

The Expert answers:

There are alot of answers out there, but most of them misses the bulleye.

I will put it in simple terms for you.

1) China gives you all the rights you want, BUT if you commit a crime or voices against the communist party. Everything will be stripped from you including your rights. NO one will even know you disappeared, because China controls the media! Simple as that.

2) The industrial accidents, quality control etc you mentioned? That has nothing to do with human life. Its called they don’t give a crap. BECAUSE they are only concerned about themselves.
You should know the standard of education in China is low.

Simple things like don’t throw cigs out the balcony once u are done with them, sort out the trashes and of course respect others.

These are things the older generations in china don’t know.

3) The difference between Chinese cultural and western culture would NOT generate misjudgement for negotiations. Top negotiators would have a fairly good idea about the people they are dealing with including their culture.

Negotiations don’t workout because its matter of who gets the most benefit.

Take the Value of yuan for example. Chinese say of course their yuan is not artificially undervalued because they gives them an edge in selling their products because they are sooo dam cheap!
They are stealing everyones jobs in every country.

They know it, but they deny it because they want to maintain the competitive advantages.

4) Yes it is unreasonble for western countries to expect China to do anything about human rights, because IF all the people in china has freedom of speech and critize everything then the Communist party will cripple.

You underestand is not China doesn’t want to go in that direction, its because Human rights and environmental issues are BARRIERS for the Government to take full control and rise to super power.

Look at China now.. If they agree to tackle the environmental issue, that will pose more of a problem for everone to adapt rather than help with the businesses in china to push out the product.

They know how to play politics and maintance TWO FACED, Say one thing, do another.

If international MEDIA critize them, they will always say ” You are accusing us on groundless means, without any evidence, therefore you are hurting US- China relationship”

How many times have u heard them say that. They don’t admit that they are wrong, when they do the wrong things like HACKING GOGGLE.

Because that makes them Loose FACE.

The Expert answers:

If I can be honest, none of it makes sense to me. Why? Because of the number given right off the bat. Let’s round off and say there’s 1 billion people. If 65% of the population is farmers or farm laborers (assuming they don’t have hunger problems), that would mean there are 650 million people in the daily industry of growing (possibly ‘making’) food for the rest of the 350 million people. I doubt there is a need for food over there, they seem to be doing just fine.

Therefore, the answer I would choose is
C.) To provide background for the discussion for the Green Revolution

The Expert answers:

YES! And let us add the dangerous products they sent to America. Now they are producing electronics that are infected with viruses that steal you passwords and allows others to control your computers. We need a total band on all Items made in China.

The Expert answers:

The plain, and simple truth is that it is cheaper to have these products made over sea’s. $4.00 a day vs. $5.20 an hour.

The Expert answers:

Wind, solar and tidal (or wave) power.

They are considered renewable because no matter how much wind or sunlight or how many waves you use, you’ll never consume it all. Petroleum products like oil and natural gas are not renewable because there is a finite amount of it in the ground. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

It may not be windy, sunny or wavy every day, but there’ll always be more.

The Expert answers:

Jindal is an idiot. He’s just another Sarah Palin. I loved his volcano comment. We should take his advice to use the money some states use in monitoring their volcanoes like Hawaii, Washinton, and Alaska, and use it on something else. So when those volcanoes actually erupt without warning, we can blame it all on Apu. Thank you, come again

The Expert answers:

There are different types of alternative energy, and each has its own purposes.

Bio-desiel is used primarily for operating vehicles.

There are a number of methane gas sources and uses. King County, WA is harnessing methane from a land fill to power its land fill operations and also for sales income. Mesa, Az is using methane from a sewage treatment plant to power the plant and several area residences. There are some farms/feed lots out there capturing and using methane for their own and surrounding purposes. In some cases, methane is burned for heating, steam engine/motor operation, or combustion engine operation. In other cases, it is converted into electricity; I would guess that it is through a burning process.

Wind, wave, and river energy tends to be turned into electricity.

Solar panels and wind turbines make electricity. But, passive solar often involves the pre-heating of water in outdoor bladders/container using the sun and then using it indoors. Often the indoor uses include radiant heating, pre-heated water for house hold heat or house hold hot water.

Is this the type of things you are asking for? Finding more information on these topics and/or specifics is easy by plugging them into a search engine.

The Expert answers:

Out of idle curiosity, what are you going to make roads, plastics, rubber materials…etc out of if we no longer can use oil?

The Expert answers:

I think the best alternative we have right now is Bio diesel from algaee.

The Expert answers:

1) We should rethink allowing the UN through their Agenda 21 programme http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_21
implementing power over local governments, http://www.jbs.org/news/stop-the-un-s-agenda-21-sustainable-development
and thus strengthening global governance (government). Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_governance
Chapter 14 http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.Print.asp?DocumentID=52&ArticleID=62
deals with what Agenda 21 wants to do to agriculture. As might be expected, the wording is vague, and the implementation is not.
– Programme area (a) seems to be about implementing central planning in order to insure food security. Such government efforts have been disastrous in the past in that they separated the incentive to feed people from the profit motive causing famine. Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chinese_Famine
– Programme area (b) is more specifically about bringing agriculture under government control as explained in section 14.14. The implementation in the USA has been the Food Safety and Modernization Act, http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/01/fda-food-safety-modernization-act-out-of-the-box/
which has more to do with eliminating the small farmer (collectivization) than the almost nothing it has to do with food safety. This has also mostly resulted in famine whenever it has been tried before. Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_farming
None of this should be surprising given the wording in section 14.9:
“Implement policies to influence land tenure and property rights positively with due recognition of the minimum size of land-holding required to maintain production and check further fragmentation”
Indeed, property rights are being transferred from land owners to the federal government.

The Expert answers:

I would just like to add that I took a fisheries class last semester, and wow. There really ARE no sustainable fisheries!

Fish caught in the wild are usually over-harvested. If the number of fish caught starts going down, fisheries will use more boats and more nets so they get the same yield each year, until suddenly there are no more fish of that kind. And no matter what method you use to catch fish, you always get by-catch. So, you list a fish as endangered, and then when they’re trawling for flounder, they accidentally catch the endangered fish! Well, they can’t sell it, because its illegal to sell an endangered fish, so they toss it back. Too bad it’s already dead, because its gas bladder ruptured, or they had it out of the water too long!

Farm-raised fisheries don’t impact wild populations, but they pollute the water, and they need to feed the farm-raised fish other fish! So you end up over harvesting bait-fish instead of the target fish, but the wild ones end up suffering anyway because they have no prey!

It was one depressing class, let me tell you what.

I don’t know what is the most sustainable, but the WORST fish is probably shrimp. Shrimp trawlers tear up the bottom of the ocean, destroying habitat, and are 90% by-catch (meaning for every 100 fish they catch, only 10 of them are shrimp. The other 90 fish, which are killed in the process, get tossed back into the sea.) Up until recently shrimp trawlers killed hundreds of endangered sea turtles each year, but they started using “turtle guards” on the trawls, so turtles don’t get caught as often.

The Expert answers:

We need this cuz it is a huge part of our econemy. We get tons of money from people coming to see, the grand canyon, niagara falls, etc etc

The Expert answers:

The main thing to look for is country of origin. If you can get it from Mexico it will be much more sustainable than if it came from Asia. It is very hard to get very large shrimp that are not farmed raised. Wild caught shrimp has more flavor if you can find it. Mexican shrimp does not destroy as much mangroves or coral. I avoid shrimp from Thailand myself.

The Expert answers:

If a ‘forest product’ are trees and you just down more then can grow or are re planted you will have nothing left for the next generations. Clear cutting or logging is a good example for that. Put these two words into a search engine and you get much more than would fit here.
We all have heard of cutting down the jungles of Madagascar, teak and mahogany in the far east and so forth.
Animals that maybe would be hunted for food by the surrounding communities will also become scares or there will be nothing left to hunt, might that be wild deer, wild pigs or whatever there is.

If you are talking about other forest products like berries or mushrooms, pine cones or tree nuts, well there might be a good harvest for 2 or 3 season, and then not much left for the next few years, if anything will re grow that fast. (there should be a story on the net about harvesting pine nuts in Siberia). Or if you tap the maple trees in canada for instance, to much, for maple juice, the trees just will die, there is a story also somewhere.

The Expert answers:

I have a good one, trash power because there is so much trash we could finally get rid of it

The Expert answers:

It’s got to come from Nuclear energy. So called ‘Green’ renewable energies are useless because they don’t take into consideration basic facts and numbers.

Look at it this way: In order for the UK to meet it’s requirements for the % of energy production created by green energy (I think it’s 35% by 2020) as ratified by the EU, the Government would have to cover the UK in twice the number of wind turbines that are currently in the WORLD, let alone the UK. This means they would have to build 3 per day every day until 2020 to reach the target. And the current rate for building and installing a windmill? 1 per week. And the wind production at full speed and capacity would only be the same as 5 small coal-fired power stations.

So that means with natural fossil fuel production running out, we would have either harness methane production from livestock farms, or use nuclear energy. But those take 10 years to build (I don’t know why, but surely they shouldn’t take that long), so I do believe that we could suffer another winter of discontent.

The Expert answers:

As most companies, there are various positions needed for it’s operations. They need someone to do the paper workd, they need someone to work out their finances, they need lawyer to take care the the legal aspects. They also need salesmen, engineer in various fields and a lot dozen more positions..

The Expert answers:

Do a google search for “green jobs” “environmental jobs” “renewable energy jobs” and other such combinations there are companies which deal solely in environmental jobs. You could also search for companies which manufacture these products many have an employment section on their website.

The Expert answers:

Civil engineering for building structures (like towers, water wheels/dams, whatnot). Since you’re specifically interested in renewable energy, you might also look into electrical engineering. That will teach you how electricity can be generated and, more importantly, stored.

Making a wind turbine, for instance, is all about generating electromagnetic energy.

Good luck!

The Expert answers:

Darling…..you are certainly using the almost complete arsenal of green cleaners for whitening and brightening. All thats left to add is either borax or perhaps a half mixture of bleach with half of your usual dose of cleaning detergent. While not the greenest solution, it is better than the full dose of bleach you might use. Also, if your water is hard, you may be suffering the “hard water dingys” and need to soften the water more. A friend of mine who used to repair appliances said that most people use entirely TOO MUCH detergent to clean their clothes and actually make their clothes dingier by continuing to add too much. He advised me to use less detergent and when possible, to let clothes soak for a bit, even as little as 15 minutes can make a TREMENDOUS difference. My Mom taught me to NEVER, EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, to mix whites with ANY colors AT ALL. And her whites are the whitest. Once I took that into my arsenal of cleaning, I noticed a distinct difference in the white of my whites. Also, you might try finding a little product my Grams used to use, don’t know how green it is, but I have it in my cleaning kit and use it when I need an item whiter that white, called Blueing. Its hard to come by these days, and any time I see it, I clear the shelf. I am down to my last bottle, and its half full. Add a few drops to a glass of water and add to your front loader, or if you have the standard top loader, a bit more to a glass of water and add AFTER the water has been added to your last rinse. Its a bit of effort to catch that last rinse, or you can try adding it instead of softener, oh oh….which also can make your clothes dingy too. Try giving that up for a bit and see if the clothes brighten up. Okay, I have emptied my cleaning tips for white on you! Good luck!

The Expert answers:

Recycle recycle recycle! Reusable shopping bags can be bought or you can bring your old ones. If people give you any grief on this, simply counter with “have you been to England lately?” If I buy one big object, I usually forgo any bags. Look out for biodegradable ingredients in cleaners, food, paper. Recycle your receipts on the way out (remember to tear up first if you have your credit card # on it). Try to eat organic if you can afford it, because organic means less spraying and artificial ingredients. But don’t be misled. The amount of effort it takes to ship organic foods to your location will invariably tax the ozone layer. A lot of liquid cleaners now offer small refillable bottles that are super-concentrated, so you just add to your old big bottle and add water and shake. Good Luck, and THANK YOU for caring about our environment!

The Expert answers:

Many high school and college students are already into the green/eco friendly concept (or at least they like to think they are) so that’s obviously a very important aspect of the product. If it looks cheesy (uncool in the world of the high school student) no one will by it. All aspects of advertising the product should really focus on balancing eco friendly with the latest trends. If advertising through the radio or television, for example, you’ll probably want the more popular recent music rather than old classics. For whatever reason, listing to the same music as our parents did and attaching that to a product can (sometimes) turn us off. Anyways, lots of music, color (maybe even green?) and a cool look will have us all hocked in for sure.
Good luck : )

The Expert answers:

I love Method’s detergent and softener! Currently, I’m using water lily & aloe detergent products for my washes and they smell great and work well (haven’t tested it on heavy stains yet though). They’re also really affordable – the HE detergent is only $8 and the softener is only $6, both for I think 32 fl oz.

Method’s products are all biodegradable and made with natural ingredients.

The Expert answers:

There are 2 types of solar panels, photovoltaic – that create electricity to use for any purpose (like heating water) and solar thermal – used for collecting heat which is typically used to heat your home, your hot water, or even your pool. The former are typically expensive, the latter can vary a lot in price depending on technology. I wouldn’t dismiss solar thermal collection before exploring it. It is likely more expensive, and certainly more complicated than a standard (and probably tankless) hot water heater too, but remember the difference is paying for the higher cost up front, then getting essentially free energy for years. The cost of energy will likely keep rising over time too, so saving 50% now might cost you a whole lot more over the lifespan of the product you buy.

Depending on your location, a geothermal heat pump system can be much more efficient for heating and cooling your whole house, as well as heating water. Its not worth it for just hot water, but if you are looking at larger solutions these systems get rave reviews. Cost is high, but again you are paying up front and saving in the long run.