Your Questions About Green Living

The Expert answers:

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a total advocate for being environmentally conscious. In fact, I ride my bicycle to work to cut down on carbon emissions, dependency of foreign oil and the need for war to defend that type of energy – but I don’t think that any country should sacrifice their economy for ecology and I agree whole-heartedly with your explanation.

First of all, it’s not an either or issue. You do not either have an environmentally friendly country or a successful economy. You can have both. Holland has used wind energy for a long time. Recently Germany became the solar capital of the world (yes Germany, the place without a bunch of sun). I recently needed new light bulbs for my bedroom, and opted for the eco-florescent ones, because it doesn’t cost a lot more, and they make a lot of sense. Walmart enclosed their refrigerators and used skylights better to reduce their energy usage by 20% or more. Shanghai is even building “green” complexes with commercial and residential together so residents use less fuel to get to the store and back.

When I look at the problem, it’s not an issue of killing an economy, it’s an issue of adopting best practices. Best practices include designing better buildings that are multifuncional and more energy efficient. Best practices includes placing retail and commercial space near residents who will shop and work there. Best practices include producing wind, solar, wave, and geothermal energy close to where it will be used. Best practices include not eating a 3000 mile salad.

Being environmentally concious is not something that you do by going about big projects. It’s about living life a little bit smarter than we used to.

On a side note, I think that there are better ways to invest the world’s money than to combat global warming. Check out this link for a nice 19 minute discussion of the topic. Very intelligent.

The Expert answers:

Yes, I am aware this question has 10 points for best answer. This is a basic rule of Yahoo Answers, and you don’t need to tell us again.

The Expert answers:

Environmental Issues:-

Humans are responsible for many of the Earth’s environmental issues.Toxic chemicals are released daily into the land, air and water creating hazardous health conditions for people and destroying animal habitats and ecosystems at an ever-increasing rate. Pollution occurs when a contaminant is introduced into the environment, according to Green Student University. Human beings are responsible for the environmental issues caused by industrial and commercial waste and modes of transportation.

1.Air Pollution
Factories and power plants introduce toxic chemicals into the air.Vehicle emissions pollute the air in towns and cities across the globe, and smoke released from factories and power plants contains harmful chemicals and contributes to air pollution. The thick layer of smog that hangs over major cities like Los Angeles, New York, Moscow, Shanghai and Beijing causes major health concerns for residents. The hole in the ozone layer is in part a result of air pollutants.

2.Water Pollution
Spills from large oil tankers pollute oceans and seas.Humans also are polluting the world’s water sources. Factories and plants create chemical contaminant runoff into waterways. Energy companies are responsible for oil spills that harm marine life and damage ecosystems. Toxic waste is dumped into lakes, rivers and streams, killing fish and other forms of wildlife. The quality of drinking water is also reduced as a result of pollution.

3.Land Pollution
Sewage can contaminate land and seep into water sources.Chemical and nuclear plants, construction debris, oil refineries and human waste are among the many human factors that contribute to land pollution. Commercial and industrial waste contribute to ever-expanding landfills. Green Student University claims that each year a typical American produces more than 3,000 pounds of hazardous waste.

4.Deforestation
Deforestation can damage the quality of the land and water.Deforestation, the massive removal and clearing of the forests, occurs to fulfill human desires for an increase in agriculture and for construction. Rain forests are shrinking at a rapid rate, resulting in the loss of habitat for hundreds of thousands of animal and insect species. Deforestation greatly increases the number of animals either threatened or endangered. The extensive removal of trees, which when alive absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, contributes to climate change. The water cycle is also affected by deforestation because trees return water vapor into the atmosphere

The Expert answers:

Good advertisement for Avalon Rare Metals and high expectations for the share holders in return! That’s pretty much what I understand from it.

I am not too sure how much a person needs an iPhone and yet they accumulate garbage after a while each time a new technology is introduced.
On the other hand wind tribunes are needed for clean environment providing energy from the wind.

So, depends on what purpose these rare minerals and earth elements are aimed to use for.

The Expert answers:

Why not do the search yourself!?