The good news is, there are lots of great ways to make your pool ‘green’.

• Check For Leaks.  

This may seem obvious but it’s a great first step.  Swimming pools can develop leaks over the years from general wear and tear.  These leaks slowly drain your pool of precious water and can go unnoticed for long periods of time.

Visually inspect your pool and fix any weak spots. Measure the water depth regularly.  A difference of even a quarter to half an inch could indicate a leak.  Check the surrounding area for any damp or soft spots that could indicate excess water leaking from your pool.

• Install Pool Covers

Evaporation is a huge source of water loss for a swimming pool.  It is estimated that approximately 7,000 gallons of water is lost from a medium sized swimming pool annually.  Wow!

A swimming pool cover is a relatively small investment when you consider the water you’ll save.  It will also help keep debrie from collecting in the pool.  A swimming pool cover is also a good idea if you have small children around the house – it can act as a safety net of sorts (although nothing can replace a watchful eye.)

• Lower The Pool Temperature

Turn the heat down…or off completely.  Not only will you save money on heating costs but you will reduce your carbon footprint at the same time.  A swimming pool is all about cooling off on a hot summer day, right?  So isn’t it more refreshing to dive into a nice cool swimming pool than a warm one?  Besides cool water is better for your hot skin.

If heat is absolutely necessary then consider a swimming pool cover that collects heat from the sun and transfers it to the water.

• Avoid Pool Chemicals

I realize you can’t get ride of the chemicals completely but you can reduce them or change your sanitizing methods.  Chlorine is hard on the environment and well as bad for the respiratory health of small children.  Consider using salt, copper ionization or ultraviolet sanitization systems as a greener alternative. 

If you are one of the lucky people that own a swimming pool I sincerely hope you enjoy it.  The important thing is to remember to include your swimming pool in your overall family,  green plan.

If  you are just thinking about installing a swimming pool consider all your options.  You could step away from the traditional swimming pool and install a unique, natural swimming pool.  A natural pool would use rocks and water plants as a natural filtration system.  Think outside the box – it’s an option.

Here is a link to a great, affordable ebook called Swimming Pool Maintenance Secrets  that can help you better manage your swimming pool.

I’ll bet you never gave much thought to the environment when you wash your car.  In fact washing your car can be very harmful to the environment especially if you run through the standard automated car wash. 

We use a lot of water washing our vehicle.  This water is left to flow into our sewage systems.  While excess water is simply wasteful when you add the dirt, grime, oil, soap and the other residuals that wash off your vehicle you have a rather nasty soup.  Now considering most people will wash their car several times a month that’s a lot of soup running into our sewage system.

There is a green solution to the traditional car wash.  Consider applying some or all of the following ideas and start your own personal green revolution.

1. Wash your vehicle at home.  Drive your car up onto the lawn (it won’t hurt for an hour or so) or onto a well gravelled area and wash it there.  The idea here is that the water will be filtered through the soil before it reaches our natural water systems again.  As a bonus if you are on the grass it should cut back on the lawn watering.
2. Use biodegradable and phosphate-free soap.  There are some out there.  Read the soap labels carefully and make sure you’re getting what you want.  Be aware that some soaps have chemicals in them that can be harmful to your lawn while others are beneficial.  As a truly green alternative try washing your car without soap.
3. Control the water.  Use an adjustable spray nozzle or even better a cloth and bucket, to control the amount of water you use.  There is really no reason to have the water running while you scrub.  Use the hose just to rinse your vehicle off when you are done and you will find you use half the water to do the same job.
4. Consider the time of day.  This may seem a moot point but every little bit helps.  Plan to wash your car in the morning or evening when the sun is not so hot.  The thought here is that the metal on your vehicle can get really hot in the sun causing the water to evaporate before it can effectively rinse away the soap and dirt from the car.  So by washing your vehicle when its cooler, or at least in the shade, you will get a better wash as well as save some water.

Vehicles mean different things to different people.  For some they are a luxury, for others a convenience or a status symbol.  What ever it means to you remember vehicles have a direct effect on our environment in more ways than one.

These are just a few easy ways to make one aspect of owning a vehicle a little greener.  You could take it a step further and cut back on the number of times you wash your car.  After all, how dirty does a vehicle get driving around on pavement?  My general rule of thumb is: if you can still see out the windows and the license plate is visible then I’m good for another week.

Click here for a great ebook with recipies for natural soaps, cleaners and other natural products you can make at home.

For many people they don’t have enough room to plant even one tree.  Our plant a tree program offers individuals an opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint by purchasing trees from our list.  We will then plant and care for the trees and send you a certificate proclaiming you a ‘friend of the environment’ stating when, where and what kind of trees purchased.

Did you know there’s a more ecologically and health-friendly way to deal with mold in your home?  Most of us run right to the chemicals to get rid of mold before it spreads.  However, these chemicals are bad for us and they’re bad for the world around us.  You may find that after you’ve used a heavy dose of mold killers you feel sick or “off” for a few hours to a few days.

Commercial mold killers contain sodium hydroxide – lye, and sodium hypochlorite – bleach.  These are chemicals that can be very useful and not terribly environmentally damaging in small amounts when used correctly but extremely damaging in large amounts or when used wrongly. 

These chemical based cleaners are highly corrosive, which is another reason to use cleaners of this strength only when you have to.  In most cases mold killing in the bathroom is not one of those times.  Here are some of the other friendlier options you can use to kill mold.

Borax and Dishwashing Detergent

Use a gentle, environmentally friendly dishwashing liquid – one teaspoon mixed with one teaspoon of borax and a quart of warm water can be used to soak moldy areas.  Rinse them off and air dry.  Just do not overdo it with borax as it still has some health effects in large doses.

Eucalyptus

Combine a tablespoon of methylated spirits, a tablespoon of eucalyptus oil and two cups of water.  Spray the problem area then allow the surface to dry.

Grapefruit Seed Extract

Twenty drops of grapefruit seed extract or other citrus seed extract can also be mixed with two cups of water.  Spray and allow to dry just like eucalyptus.

Tea Tree Oil

Another great oil for attacking mold is tea tree oil – a great natural antimicrobial.  Mix a teaspoon of it with two cups of water, then spray on and let dry.

Vinegar

Once again vinegar is the king of household cleaning liquids.  Mix it one part vinegar to four parts water, spray, and allow to dry to rid yourself of many molds.

Baking Soda

Baking soda works well, too.  Mix two parts baking soda with a one to one solution of vinegar and water to create a thick paste.  Let this dry on the surface then scrub off.  This process can be repeated for really stubborn mold.

Of course there are times when these substances won’t work and a more aggressive approach becomes necessary.  However, you can reduce the chances of that happening by cleaning more frequently instead of letting problems build up.  If you’re in a situation where even tea tree oil is not able to fix things, you can still make using commercial cleaners a lot safer. 

Try damming off the affected area with cloths or towels to keep cleaners from running down the drain and use them sparingly.  Wipe off runs then treat with tea tree oil after the area has been cleaned.  Allow cleaner saturated fabric to sit for a while and dry in a well ventilated area before washing – that will encourage some of the problem materials to become inert.

Cleaning in general can be hard on our bodies and the environment but tackling aggressive mold can be particularly hard.  The ideal solution would be to take care of the small problems before they become big problems.  Set up a cleaning schedule and keep your favourite mold cleaning ingredients handy so you can attack any problem areas as soon as you see them.

 Here is a link to an ebook that you may find useful.  Going Green & Saving Green

Just a few decades ago, almost no one would have thought that simple carbon dioxide would be considered a major pollutant.  After all, it’s important to nearly all life in some way.  However, this extremely common gas is also thought to be a major contributor to global warming.  It’s not alone in the possible contaminants of our air, too.  All kinds of air pollution keep occurring, and some of these pollutants are showing up more often.

Clean air is extremely important, with air pollution acting as a major threat to everyone and everything.  Air pollution in some areas kills more people yearly than automobile accidents.  In China, over sixty-five thousand people die each year due to air pollution, and there’s actually a visible brown cloud in the atmosphere above parts of Asia.  Air pollution is a real problem, and it’s affecting plants, animals, humans, agriculture, and even the weather.  Let’s take a look at some of the major types and sources of air pollution and the problems they cause.

Nitrogen Dioxide – One of the most common pollutants in the air, this is a reddish brown gas with a sharp smell and toxic by inhalation.  It’s produced primarily by vehicles, and can have a negative effect on respiratory functioning.  It can contribute to acid rain, as well, causing serious environmental effects.

Sulphur Dioxide – This is a substance produced in nature by volcanoes and other catastrophic events, but also by petroleum products and coal burning.  Mixtures of sulphur dioxide and water produce acid rain, which has a slow, detrimental effect on architecture and acidifies waterways, killing all kinds of plants and animals.  Even organisms in the soil can be destroyed by acid rain, disrupting entire ecosystems.

Carbon Monoxide – This toxic, invisible, odourless gas is also produced by motor vehicles, as well as coal, wood, and other combustion.  Natural sources of the gas include volcanoes.  Carbon monoxide elevates methane levels and can contribute to low level ozone formation.

VOCS – Volatile organic compounds are a common indoor air pollutant, and include many different chemicals.  Some common VOCs, all of which are known carcinogens, include formaldehyde, toluene, benzene and xylene.  Formaldehyde is particularly common, as it’s a frequent ingredient in solvents and adhesives.  Paints with an oil base may also contain VOCs, and any product containing these chemicals may offgas for years to come.

Heavy Metals – Heavy metals, despite the name, can still be present in the air.  The worst of these is probably mercury, produced by coal plants producing electricity.  All coal burning puts mercury into the air, even so-called “clean coal”.  The problem with this pollutant is that it eventually ends up in the water and soil, becoming one of the most toxic compounds around.  It’s absorbed by animals, and builds up over time.  Predators have the highest mercury concentrations.

Particulates – Dust and other particulates are a real problem.  Even dust storms can be attributed to us, too.  Deforestation and bad agricultural practices lead to choking storms and strip topsoil from the land.  Soot from heating, industry, and vehicles, also enter the air and has been linked with lung cancer and even heart disease.

Air pollution is a real problem that has to be dealt with immediately.  We could sit back say its to big of a problem for the individual person or we could get active.  Lobby the government to implement laws controlling emissions from industrial plants, vehicles, etc.  On a more personal level we can look for alternative means of transportation – carpool, public transportation, walk, ride a bike or telecommute.  Trade that old vehicle in for something newer and more environmentally friendly – an electric car maybe.

These are a few ways to reduce the pollution we personally put into the air.  In order to remove the pollution already in the air we turn to trees.  Trees naturally filter the air of pollutants, especially carbon dioxide.  So as part of your plan to clean up our atmosphere you should be considering planting trees.  We offer a plant a tree program through this site or look for local programs to participate in.

Lots of people dream of working from home, and for many, the dream is coming true.  So many of our jobs are now computer related, so telecommuting is getting a lot more popular.  After all, it saves everyone time and money, and it reduces our demand for oil.  It also reduces traffic problems and damaging emissions from the daily commute.  There are plenty of great things about telecommuting.

If you have only a fifteen mile daily commute, you’re among the people with a shorter drive to work.  However, over the course of a year, you’ll end up driving more than five thousand, five hundred miles.  That takes a lot of fuel, even if you use more efficient methods, such as taking the bus or train.  Plus, most of us don’t like the time we have to spend on the commute.  That’s a lot of hours you’ll never get back.

Telecommuting isn’t all fun and relaxation, of course.  There’s a lot of work to be done, and some real challenges to conquer.  However, staying at home and sending work in instead of commuting every day saves a lot of money, time, and resources.  If you save just a gallon of fuel per week, that’s more than fifty gallons at the end of the year. 

If a million people work from home, they’ll save fifty two million gallons of gasoline every year.  They’ll be saving over a billion pounds of carbon emissions each year, and a lot of wear and tear on their vehicles, too.  Since most people use more than a gallon of fuel to commute each week, the real savings would be even bigger.

While some people simply can’t work at home, due to the need to deal with customers face to face, use specialized equipment, or perform other location based jobs, the many people who spend their days in cubicles often have.  After all, work in a lot of offices requires little to no face to face contact these days.  In some cases, it’s not even necessary to live in the same state as your office is located in, as long as your work and all communication could be delivered electronically.

Not everyone is suited for a telecommuting job, either.  Some of us have trouble staying on task when working from home, or we feel lonely.  It’s important to take that into account when deciding whether telecommuting is for you.  However, working from home for part of the week could have a big environmental and resource impact for both you and your employer.  That’s why more companies need to look into allowing their staff to do their jobs virtually. 

Many companies are afraid that allowing employees to work from their homes will result in nothing getting done.  However, many people are a lot more efficient when they telecommute.  It’s important to make sure that the employee has an adequate home office, and that everything they need is available.  However, the results can be astonishing.  Employees working from home will often produce more efficiently, instead of just clocking in and out, then being done with it.

If you’re interested in the prospect of telecommuting, but there’s no program at your place of employment, you can still ask.  Do a little bit of research on your own and submit a proposal.  You’ll be surprised at how readily some members of management will accept it.  You’ll have a chance to save time, money, and the environment!

Should you find yourself in the situation where telecommuting is not an option then consider doing something to off-set your impact on the environment.  Either individually or as an office consider planting some trees every year – one or two per employee would be a good start.  Look into the plant a tree program offered by this site or look for something locally.

Save On Home Energy is a great site featuring a DIY (do it yourself) manual for building your own energy generation system as well as alternative energy generation.

Geothermal Heat Pumps.  An excellent resource for geothermal information at an affordable price.

Environmental Living!  International experts teach how to save cash and save the planet! An excellent collection of writing on the most popular trend in ‘Green’ Living.

Natural Soap Making Ebook.  Natural Soap Making Is About Making Truly Natural Soap With Vegetable Oils, Essential Oils And Botanicals. Includes Bonus Sections On How To Make Natural Lotions And Perfumes! Soaps, Lotions And Perfumes, So Easy, You Could Start Tomorrow!

Save on Home Energy.  Now You Can Retro-fit Your Current Home With Super Conservation Methods. Cut Energy Waste To The Bone, Go Green, And Lower Your Utility Bills By Up To 50%. Makes Solar, Wind, And Other Renewable Energy Systems Cost Half As Much!

Swimming Pool Maintenance Secrets.  A great, affordable ebook that tells you exactly how to manage and maintain your swimming pool in the most effecient manner.

‘Reduce your carbon footprint’.  We hear this constantly from scientists, environmental activists and regular people.  It’s been the topic of various government policies and world wide concern but what is it and how do we factor into the problem and more importantly the solution?

Definitions: I’m sure the ‘reduce your carbon footprint’ is not a new concept to anyone but just to recap:

  Carbon Footprint: is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment as it pertains to climate change.

  Reduce your carbon footprint: simply means to take measures to lessen your impact on the environment.

Why Trees?

All plants, through the process of photosynthesis absorb and store carbon dioxide (CO2). Trees are especially good at this because of their size and longevity. Their size allows them to absorb more CO2 and their longevity means they are working for a long time.  By pulling this CO2 out of the air trees are preventing it from reaching the high atmosphere where it collects and becomes a factor in global warming.

Different types of trees will absorb different amounts of CO2.  The age of the tree, because that is directly related to the size of the tree, will also affect the amount of CO2 it is able to absorb.  For example, according to one web site I visited it suggested that one 25 year old maple tree absorbs 2.52 pounds of CO2 per year while one 25 year old pine tree absorbs 15 pounds of CO2 per year.  It also suggests that a 50 year old tree will absorb more CO2 than a younger tree.

What Should You Do?

The first thing you need to do is realize that planting a tree is not the cure to global warming. It is simply a way to offset our impact on the environment.  We still need to reduce our carbon footprint by following a ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ program.  Planting a tree is simply one way to give back to the environment. 

One article I read suggested you should plant one tree for every 2000 miles you travel to help offset the emissions produced from traveling.  For the average person that would be about 10 trees per year. Wow!  Don’t panic just yet.  Nothing says you have to plant them in your back yard.

Where To Get Help

If planting and caring for trees seems overwhelming you can get help.  There are several sites on the internet where you send them money and they will plant a tree for you as part of some program.  You could approach your local ‘parks’ department for your city or town and see if they have a tree planting program that you could participate in. 

Another option would be to approach a farmer.  Farmers, generally, are wonderful stewards of the land and every farm has some land that can’t be farmed (a fence line, low land, watershed, etc.)  Get to know a local farmer and chances are he will let you plant and maintain some trees on his land.

If you still can’t find someone to plant and maintain a tree for you then feel free to join our ‘plant a tree’ program.

We need to do our part – so lets get involved.

There is an environmental crisis happening this very moment and it’s getting worse everyday. Scientists keep telling us that unless we act fast the Earth and life as we know it will suffer. What is this super destructive force – Global Warming! – And we caused it.

The Problem

Don’t look so surprised, we’ve been hearing about this for years now. The good news is we know what has to be done to fix the problem. The hard part is everyone has to do his part.

This is the point where people throw up their hands and say “it’s hopeless”, “I can’t make a difference”, “I don’t know how”. These are excuses and this article is not about excuses. This article is about why you “must”!

Get Involved

Global warming is one of those things that if you’re not part of the solution then you’re part of the problem. I’m not suggesting you become an activist and start chaining yourself to heavy equipment or hugging trees (unless that’s your thing )

I do think everyone could become an environmentalist though. Don’t panic! In this case an environmentalist is simply someone who considers his accumulating effect on the environment and makes small lifestyle changes to lessen this effect.

The “G” Word!

The term for something environmentally friendly is “GREEN”. So when someone speaks about ‘going green’ they simply mean they are doing something environmentally friendly. It may be something as simple as taking your own bags to the store or as big as building a windmill to power your home.

There are so many reasons why you should ‘go green’ but perhaps the best reason is – for you! A polluted environment affects all of us. From a smog filled city that chokes out natural light and fills the air with harmful chemicals to waste filled harbours and oceans killing marine life. We are all affected.

We need to fight back. Our children watch and learn from us. Let’s lead by example. While we can never get back what we’ve already lost perhaps if we all work together we can keep what we still have. Click here to see a great book to help you start your own green revolution.