Thursday, July 12, 2007

some ideas......

The Live Earth concert took place on the 7Th day of the 7Th month in the seventh year.....to put it simply on the 7Th of July 2007.

Great singers came together to perform and spread the word....SOS, save the planet.

It was a great show. Lots of celebs who have been driving hybrid cars and living in Eco friendly homes made their appearance. There were loads of new ads telling us to watch our planet and make it a better place to live in for our children.

A great effort, but I wonder out of all the spectators, how many really went back enlightened? I mean after a few beers at a rock concert, who would remember about "going green" ......

I feel its a problem of excess.....huge portion sizes served up in restaurants,(we don't even tend to finish all that food). Old furniture landing up in dumpsters. Attractive and wasteful packaging.

It is quite obvious that if one has a lot, one would tend to waste it and not value it. We as a human race are growing fast, as a result our needs are increasing, there is a huge demand for having better and comfortable lives.
But can all our demands be met? what is the guarantee that gas stations wont run dry some day? what is the guarantee that we will have no rains at all, for months together? what is the guarantee that weather conditions wont worsen in the future? well i would say "none".


It is already evident around us. Endangered species, rising fuel prices, rising population, new and unheard forms of diseases........its all there, and its all happening.


We don't need to buy hybrid cars to start living green, we don't need solar panelled roofs in our homes.......all we need to do is get conscious. Become aware of our surroundings. Of what is close to us. Of what is effecting us the most. Of the park near the house where the kids go to play. Of our neighbourhood dumpsters, of the way we dispose off our things.........


Small steps, are all that is required. One doesn't have to freak out about recycling, but one can at least start to think.

I don't know how many of you'll will agree to this, but that is what I feel. We all have to think of ways we can conserve, recycle and reuse.


These are a few things I try to do as far as possible:

  1. Clean all the glass windows, mirrors etc with old newspaper. streak free.
  2. After reading a lot, i am trying to make my own compost pit. though a little messy cause i don't have a backyard. all the vegetable waste, tea leaves etc go into the pit. own recycled compost for my plants. will save a few bucks.
  3. Using diluted vinegar with water, for cleaning.(glass, taps, sink, windows)
  4. Collect old clothes, old shoes, utensils and donate it to salvation army. There is always someone more needy you can help.
  5. Water the plants in the evening. They absorb more and there is less evaporation.
  6. Turn the dishwasher at night around ten or so. There is less load at that time.
  7. Use old shoe boxes to store stuff. Label them, tool box, craft box, picture box. A pretty neat way to get all the clutter organised.

There are drop off sites where we can disposs off our milk cans, newspaper, cardborad boxes etc. I found it out on http://www.earth911.org/

We can still do a lot more. Be creative, be innovative. Invent new ways of using old things. There are a lot of us out there who already do it. Why not share those ideas....



lets all make the box bigger, and think outside it..............

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

lets get green



Conserve, Recycle, Reuse.......one keeps hearing these words many times now a days. From TV commercials to newspaper ads, to off course the Internet, one can find a lot on how to conserve the environment and save our earth. The colour green seems to be the next big thing.

But how much exactly is this message getting to the everyday public? and how much are we incorporating it in our daily lives?

There are talks about conserving energy and yet all the shops in the malls are lit up right through the night. (at least here in San Diego). Isn't that wastage of energy?

Every Sunday morning when I open the door to get my newspaper, its a big bundle of supplements, coupons, inserts.......imagine the amount of resources that goes into printing all that stuff? half of the supplements go unread, and the coupons right into the trash.

Go shopping and each brand hands you over with their attractive "polythene" bag. (off course there are few that do use paper bags..).

I use to throw away empty milk cans,but now I use them to store water. That too will soon become a problem, cause I will run out of space to store all the cans. (mine is a rented apartment.) empty cardboard boxes, empty glass bottles, packaging stuff, how much can one store, and to what extent recycle?

Through this blog I would want to share ways by which we can reduce wastage in our homes and daily lives. There are lots of people out there who have several ways to recycle. It would be great if we can all share our ideas. In fact it would be challenging to come with exciting ways to conserve, reuse and recycle.

who knows we can start a green revolution right here.

I am hoping and looking forward to seeing lots of "green thinking"