4 Useful Eco-Friendly Gadgets for the Home
This article is a guest post by Dan Harrison, who writes about eco-friendly gadgets and energy efficient computers for a living.
I love technology and gadgets, but its easy to forget the planet when you have a home full of gizmos. So here’s a collection of my favourite eco gadgets that save energy and therefore save you money too!
If you love your toast, you probably have toast pretty much every day. Well, even if you don’t, I do! The Morphy Richards Eco Toaster uses 35% less energy compared to other toasts thanks to a specially designed lid that closes automatically when you put your toast in. By stopping the heat being lost through the top of the toaster, you consequently need less energy to cook the toast. A simple idea, but very effective for reducing energy consumption.
If you enjoy watching movies and TV programmes, you probably have anything between 2 and 5 remote controls? Perhaps a DVD player, TV, Satellite, PVR, Cable, Surround Sound unit, etc? Having lots of remote controls can get annoying, particularly as you need batteries for all of them. The Wind Up Universal Remote Control allows you to control up to 6 different devices with a single remote control. What’s even better, is that the remote control doesn’t need batteries, since you just charge it up by turning the dial. No more having to scrounge some batteries from other gadgets when your TV programme is about to start!
A central heating system is pretty effective for heating a home, but there are a number of inefficiencies. One of those inefficiencies are radiators, which sink a large about of heat into the wall at the back of the radiator. The radiator booster is designed to vent hot air from behind the radiator back into the room. By increasing the air circulation your rooms will heat up more quickly. This means you don’t need your heating to be switched on for as long. The best bit is that the running cost of the radiator booster is only 30 pence a year (less than $1), meaning you’ll be saving money very quickly.
Using central heating is all well and good, but if the room is losing heat, you’ll be wasting energy anyway. The Thermal Leak Detector from Black & Decker is essentially a remote thermometer that helps you find cold spots in a room. The detector shines a beam of light on to the part of the wall you’re checking. The colour of the light changes from red to blue when a cold spot is detected, with the temperature being shown on the LCD display on the detector. By finding the cold spots, you can then patch them up and save more energy.
Are there any eco-gadgets that you love?
Make Your Car Washing More Environmentally Friendly
Many do not realize that washing your car, especially at our homes, can have major environmental impacts whether it’s excess water use, dangerous car products or improper drainage. This makes it essential that we take the appropriate precautions before clean our vehicles.
Curb Water Use
The average water hose in homes use anywhere from 5-10 gallons of water per minute depending on the pressure of the water. If you decide to use the hose for 10 minutes of the washing, you can use as many as 100 gallons of water or more just to rinse a car. This means that we have to ensure we are not allowing our hoses to run while not rinsing our cars off. When your not directly rinsing off your car, make sure turn off the water hose. An automatic shutoff nozzles can also be used to ensure water is not being wasted. If you have a pressure washer, you will get the maximum water savings because they only use a fraction of the water of hoses as well as provide higher pressure.
Eco-Friendly Car Products
Before you buying any products to clean your vehicle, make sure that they are non-toxic, contains low or no phosphates and are biodegradable. Some of these products may be slightly more expensive, but will ensure your safety as well as the environments. If you car is not that dirty, you can always just scrub with no soap and still get your car clean.
Proper Drainage
Just because you decide to go with a safe cleaning product, does not mean that there are still not dangerous chemicals entering into the ground. The variety of chemicals that can end up on our vehicles are not safe to directly enter our grounds. If possible, try washing your vehicle on the grass or a surface that will allow the water to be filtered (i.e. gravel) before entering into the ground.
Home vs. Commercial Car Washing
Commercial car washing services may not always seem like the best option, but may be much more environmentally friendly than you might think. On average, a commercial car washing service only uses as little as 15 gallons of water per person for self-service. Conveyor services can use considerably more water, so be sure to use self-service. Many car washing businesses also recycle as much as 80% of their water and properly discharge of water to ensure that is treated before reentering our water systems. Not all car washing businesses are created equal so ask the appropriate questions to make sure that they are providing environmentally friendly services.
Wherever you decide to wash your car, hopefully these tips can ensure that your car washing experience can reduce our impact on the environment.
Cash for Clunkers Program Gets Second Life
Late last Thursday, an announcement that the $1 Billion budget of the Cash for Clunkers program had been expended sent shock waves through the auto industry. However, Congress quickly acted to help keep the incentive program running.
In a bill voted on last night by the Senate, an additional $2 Billion has been allocated to the Cash for Clunkers Program. Today, this bill is expected to be signed into law by President Obama.
The Cash for Clunkers Program provides an incentive for Americans to trade in their older vehicle for a new more fuel efficient model. Those that upgrade to a vehicle that has a 4mpg increase in fuel efficiency will receive $3,500, while a 10mpg increase receives $4,500.
Originally $1 Billion was allocated for the Cash for Clunkers Program and tens of thousands of car dealers all over the country quickly signed up for the program. By last week, it was estimated that around 250,000 new cars had been purchased as part of the Cash for Clunkers program, expending the $1 Billion budget.
With its renewed budget, the Cash for Clunkers Program has been revived and will continue to offer an incentive for new car purchases.
Cash for Clunkers: Short Term vs Long Term Effects
The short term effect of the Cash for Clunkers program is that it increases the number of new car sales at a time when the auto industry is on very shaky ground.
The program also offers a benefit to those purchasing a new car, who can receive a big discount on their new vehicle purchase, while also helping scrap yards who recycle the traded in vehicles.
However, this incentive program could also have some very significant long term effects on our overall fuel consumption. Since each new car purchased must be more fuel efficient and the trade in “destroyed,” each new vehicle is replacing a vehicle that has a lower mpg. This means the number of vehicles on the road stays the same, but their fuel efficiency is effectively increased.
As a result, each car purchased as part of the Cash for Clunkers program represents at least a 4mpg increase in fuel efficiency, with some representing 10mpg increases. Over time, this translates to a very significant decrease in fuel consumption.
Only 4mpg, Whats the Big Deal?
A 4mpg increase might not sound like a lot, but it is actually fairly significant increase, especially for those who are driving cars that get low gas mileage.
To help illustrate this point, consider the following example:
Lets say we have two vehicles, one that gets 20mpg and one that gets 50mpg. If each of these vehicles were driven 15,000 miles, the vehicle that gets 20mpg will use 750 gallons of gasoline, while the other vehicle uses 300 gallons.
Now, lets assume that both of these vehicles have a 4mpg increase.
At 24mpg, 625 gallons of gas would be used, which represents 125 fewer gallons of gas and a 15% decrease in fuel consumption.
At 54mpg, 278 gallons of gas would be used, which represents 28 fewer gallons of gas used and a 7% decrease in fuel consumption.
While the lower millage vehicle uses more gas, a 4mpg increase accounts for almost 5 times less gas used in the 24mpg vehicle. This means that replacing the cars and trucks that get only 15mpg or 20mpg will have a huge impact impact on fuel use, much more so than replacing cars that get higher mpg.
Since most people don’t drive a Prius that gets 50mpg, each car purchased as part of the Cash for Clunkers program will have a significant impact on gasoline consumption, even if it only has the minimum 4mpg increase instead of the full 10mpg.
About the Author
Tiger is a writer who writes about a number of health and financial topics. The Cash for Clunkers program is not the only incentive program currently offered by the government. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $237 Billion has been set aside for individual tax relief. This includes Obamas First Time Homebuyers tax credit, which provides up to $8,000 towards the purchase of a home.
Study Finds Organic Foods Not More Nutritous
If you were to ask the a random person on the streets, “Are organically grown foods more nutritious than conventionally grown ones?”, what would you expect the answer to be? I would imagine the majority of people would say that organic foods are in fact more nutritious. A recent study found quite the contrary, organically grown foods are not more nutritious over foods that were conventionally grown. The study was done by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to determine the exact question I proposed.
This study that was funded by the U.K Food Standards Agency, was conducted on foods grown over the last 50 years. It concluded that produce grown organically and conventionally have comparable contents of many major vitamins and minerals include nitrogen, vitamin c, magnesium, potassium and more. In meats, there was no difference in any nutritional content. This is another blow for organic products because of the bad press already receive in America for allowing non-organic ingredients to be used in something labeled organic.
Many US food organizations think that the studies our outdated and newer studies show that there is in fact a difference between the two. Regardless of the nutritional content, I think that many people buy organic foods because they were not treated with pesticides or dangerous chemicals like conventionally grown foods usually are. It gives people a feeling that they are putting foods into their body that they know are safe to eat.
I decided to do a quick poll to determine how you feel about this study.
Loading ...Bring Your Own Eco-Friendly Drinking Bottle
Next time you get ready to go for a trip, don’t forget to bring along an eco-friendly drinking bottle. Whether it’s to go shopping, grab a bite to eat or for vacation you can save big by simply bring along a drinking bottle.
It makes me mad whenever I go out somewhere and see what they are charging to buy a bottle of water. Here is just a sample of what it could cost you if you buy a bottle of water at various locations:
| Location | Price |
|---|---|
| Airport | $4.00 |
| Movie Theater | $3.50 |
| Amusement Park | $3.00 |
| Mall | $2.00 |
| Restaurant | $1.50 |
| Vending Machine | $1.25 |
There is no reason that we need to continue to buy expensive plastic water bottles, when we can bring our own bottles that are much more eco-friendly. My favorite variety of environmentally friendly water bottles are stainless steel ones. They are much safer than others like aluminum and plastic and last for a long time. With an initial investment of $10-$20, you can end up recouping the cost within a short period of time. On top of just the financial savings, bringing along a drinking bottle can allow you to bring a healthier beverage like water or juices. You can even buy one for your young ones to make sure they are properly hydrated at all times.
Some of the places I listed may not allow you to bring water bottles in, so be sure to check their policies before going. If you are not allowed to bring in your bottle, you can always ask vendors or restaurants for a free cup of water. You will never see a free cup of water advertised, but it’s a much more cost effective than buying other types of refreshments.
EcoSmart Natural Organic Pesticide Contest Part 2 – CLOSED
A few months ago, I did a contest on a natural organic insecticide and pesticide called EcoSmart. They were nice enough to provide my readers with a bundle containing a variety of their great natural insecticide and pesticide products.
About EcoSmart
EcoSMART’s technology is based on the natural defenses that plants and trees use for their self-protection against insects and pathogens. Unlike other botanical pesticides, EcoSMART’s formulas are composed of the most effective combinations of organic plant oils. EcoSMART’s patented technology combines plant oils that target and block a key neurotransmitter receptor site found only in insects and other invertebrates.
Bundles
- Safe Home Value Bundle
- Safe Plant & Garden Value Bundle
- Safe Picnic Value Bundle
- Safe Personal Care Value Bundle
- Safe Lawn and Outdoor Value Bundle
- Safe Patio Value Bundle
Check out EcoSmart’s store for full details on each of the bundles I listed above.
With mosquito’s so rampid during the hot summer months, trying to keep them from biting your can be a hassle. What’s great about all of these bundles is that they each contain at least one bottle of their mosquito repellent that contains all natural and organic ingredients just like the rest of their products.
The winner of this contest will get to choose one of the bundles I listed above with values ranging from $31-$38.
How to Win
There are many opportunities to win this contest. You must leave a separate comment for each entry. Here’s how you can increase your chances to win:
- Comment ( 1 entry ): Visit EcoSMART and tell us which produce you would like to use the most.
- Subscribe to my email subscription ( up to 2 entries ): Follow my daily articles by simply subscribing to to my email subscription service and/or RSS feed. This will give you a great chance to win and give you all the latest updates to my blog. A win-win situation.
- Spread the Word ( 2 entries ): You can get a better advantage by publicizing this giveaway on your blog. All you have to do is give a brief description of this contest and a link to it. Be sure to include a link to the post in a comment.
In total, you can receive up to 5 entries into this contest.
When is it over?
This giveaway will end August 19th, 2009 at midnight. I will randomly select an winner from the list of all entries and announce the winner on August 20th, 2009. This contest is only to U.S. residents 18 years or older.
Recovery In Fish Populations Possible
A study conducted over the last two years concluded that 63% of fish stocks that they assessed worldwide need measures taken to allow them to rebuild. Back in 2006, a paper was published by marine biologist Boris Worm out of Dalhousie University said that on our current track 90% of the world’s edible fish species would be destroyed by the year 2048. With massive amounts of overfishing an no real regulations in many parts of the world, this paper had a dreadful view on the state of our fisheries. From this original paper, this study began with the help over 21 scientists traveling to over 166 different areas throughout the world.
The results of this new study were more hopeful than Boris Worm’s original prediction, but action still needs to be done. Things like restrictions on nets being used for fishing, restrictions on the amount of fish that can be caught and providing fish areas where they can breed and will not be fished. On the flip side of this debate, fisheries make their livings off of this. By reducing the amount of fish they can catch may seem like it’s reducing their profits, but it will allow the fish stocks to rise and make their fisheries more sustainable.
This study stated a fairly known fact about the fishing industry. Maximum fishing limits need to be placed on fisheries to ensure that fish populations are maintained. Even adding more sustainable fish farms could help reduce the amount of fishing in wild waters. Farming fish can be dangerous for us and the environment, especially with species like salmon. As long as the farm is regulated properly, the fish are feed a diet of nature foods similar to their diets in the wild and are not overly concentrated, I am all for farmed fish.
Also be sure to check out FishPhone to find out sustainable information for most types of fish we buy.
