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Trading Your Old Car for an Eco-Friendly One

There are several reasons for trading your old car in for one that is more eco-friendly, from limiting your carbon emissions to conserving oil in times of high petrol prices. However, there are ways to get yourself in a green automobile responsibly both as a consumer and friend of the environment.

For example, consider that hybrid and electrical vehicles are relatively expensive. Therefore, if you choose to buy that type of car, it is important you receive the most money for your old car. Use a company that provides car valuations so you are certain the dealer is giving you the best deal.

When purchasing an eco-friendly car, you want to be sure the km/l figure listed is correct. Most car makers reach that number through highly controlled tests that do not reflect the driving experience in the real world. While the sticker says a truck gets close to 30 km/l, in reality it is likely only 20 km/l. To find the real fuel efficiency of a car, look for independent studies or tests conducted by auto publications or organizations.

And to take the extra step as a green driver, be certain your old car will no longer be on the road by scraping it. Junkyards and recycling plants always accept used vehicles for their various metal and glass parts. Plus, you won’t leave empty-handed. You may not think, “I can get paid to scrap my car” but it’s true. Just find the nearest recycling site near you and ask for an offer.

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Saving Energy At Home

Most people don’t realize the amount of energy they waste in their homes daily. Most consumers could save a bundle on their power bills while benefiting the environment by taking a few, simple steps.

Heating and cooling our homes is the number one use of energy for most people. Adjusting your thermostat just a few degrees can use far less energy. When the weather is mild, open windows and turn off the thermostat. Sometimes it is only necessary to run the central unit during the hottest part of day or the coolest nights.

The clothes dryer is sometimes our next big energy hog. It’s easy to toss everything from the washing machine into the dryer, but hanging some items to dry saves energy and reduces wear and tear on clothes. Hanging jeans, shirts and blouses and using the dryer only for underwear, socks and towels can allow you to reduce heat and drying times, and that saves energy.

Washing clothes in cold water saves energy and is better for most laundry. Be sure to only run your dryer as hot and as long as necessary to dry clothes. Using high heat and the maximum time isn’t always necessary.

Wait to run your dishwasher until it’s completely full. Rinse dishes in cold water before putting them in the dishwasher. Cold water doesn’t use energy in the hot water heater, so any time you can use cold water instead of warm or hot you save energy.  If hand washing dishes, use a sink stopper instead of running hot water the entire time you’re washing.

When watching TV, little or no additional lights may be necessary. Even fluorescent lighting burns some energy. During the day, open curtains and blinds for natural lighting. If privacy is an issue, sheer curtains will let in light and give you some privacy.

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Nature Conservancy And The Environment

Nature conservancy and the environment aren’t just issues for the government to handle.

Your Turn to Help Out

While the government has an arduous task of making up the policies and the laws to help the environment and nature, you aren’t getting out of any work. Though these policies might help to influence the way businesses work and the way energy is created, at the end of the day, they are simply pieces of paper, not actions. Due to the wonders of bureaucracy, those great conservancy policies can stay just words for years as they are funneled though different committees, steering committees, and endless meetings. Instead of waiting for big companies to do their part, you can be a part of the conservancy process.

Putting Your Own Policies Into Place

Becoming politically active may not be on your list of things to do, but being environmentally active will be. You need to make sure that you are contributing your own methods of water conservation and other wildlife conservation ideas.

How to begin? Sitting down with your family and friends, create your own list of policies and what actions you will take to support these policies. Some of the possible policies can include:

  • Using less energy and resources by installing energy efficient appliances and water saving nozzles on everything in your home.
  • Being kind to nature when you’re out in a forest or in a national park.
  • Using fewer resources by purchasing recycled products or by using containers again and again.
  • Converting your home energy supply to something that is more renewable.
  • Using renewable energy and clean energy for transportation.

Nature conservancy can also be as simple as writing a child to the local nature conservancy organization, but that’s just a small step in the right direction. The actions you take at home, no matter how small, will help to change the way the world looks and the number of forests which will be left when the next generation has to think about conservancy.

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Conservation Of Energy Policies

Conservation of energy policies help to conserve energy, even in the middle of a forest.

Renewable Energy Sources

Within the park system, there are a number of new ways in which energy can be conserved. Yes, one of them includes walking instead of taking a car or a bus. But many park systems realize that things are going to be much more tourist friendly if there are ways to get around which don’t involve leg work. Here are some of the ways in which energy is being conserved in parks today through the use of renewable energy sources:

  • Solar energy – Some parks are using solar cells to help store up energy for nighttime use in lights and signs.
  • Natural gas or electric transportation – These vehicles help people get from one side of the forest to the other, but they don’t use up any more energy than is absolutely necessary. And there is little if any pollution which is emitted at the same time.
  • Water energy – By using hydroelectric power, the parks can run completely on the energy of the world.

Stop Using Energy Unless Crucial

The best way for forest stewardship policies to help the conservation of wildlife and energy is to have the forests have limited human contact. By keeping parks open only from dawn until dusk, the natural resources can not be used up as quickly. Lights won’t be necessary at night and other resources aren’t used during these times. Limiting those who are camping in the area is another great way to help cut back on the energy usage.

Many conservation policies are more subtle, using less air conditioning in the warm months or avoiding being open during the winter when transportation is difficult anyway. By conserving energy wherever possible, the parks can maintain their beautiful appearance and the resources within the forests.

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Artificial trees can help save the environment by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere

Carbon dioxide

Image via Wikipedia

British scientists have hit upon an invention that could make humans create nature synthetically. Artificial trees are not real trees, but a technologically-empowered concept device that functions like a tree. It has the capability of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In fact tons of it. This is especially beneficial when tons of carbon is being released to the atmosphere, and there aren’t enough trees to process it.

Now a real tree would not be able to capture such amounts of carbon dioxide. Artificial trees can. That’s a big difference. An artificial tree is also more expensive than a real tree. It will cost around twenty five thousand dollars apiece.

British scientists are planning to plant one hundred trees in an area. This area will be enough to remove more than half of carbon from the atmosphere around the United Kingdom. So, if this was done all around the world, we could expect minimal to no carbon in the atmosphere. The potential for the artificial tree is truly heartening.So how do they work? Artificial trees have a filter that traps carbon dioxide. These are replaceable filters. After capturing to full capacity, filters need to be replaced with new ones. Used filter will not be disposed, but stored in oil reservoirs and oil wells.

The technology of the artificial tree is bracing for a revolution. Still at the design level, very soon a real working model will come up. Then, the pressure of real trees to capture carbon is reduced. We may soon have artificial trees that also have the capacity to produce oxygen. We may never know!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Pollution, Saving Energy · Tagged With: , ,

How to Be an Eco-Conscious Driver

Being environmentally conscious does not mean that you have to turn into a hippie and ride your bicycle all over town even in freezing conditions. While there is nothing wrong with pedaling sometimes, this is just not a realistic way to live for a lot of people. Our society is based on commuting, and for most people’s daily transportation needs a car is just as necessary as having a decent pair of shoes. However, just because you drive a car as a matter of near-necessity does not mean that you have to turn into a Captain Planet villain polluting as much as is humanly possible. Let’s take a look at a few ways on how to reduce personal carbon footprint and become a more environmentally friendly driver..

First off, remember that rolling is the best way to keep your car using its gas more efficiently. While a lot of drivers have gotten into the unfortunate habit of accelerating between stop lights (even if the stop light they are heading toward is a fresh red one), only to stop right before they get to the light. This is bad for several different reasons. For one, you are accelerating just to stop, which wastes gas and puts out more noxious fumes. For another, you are running a greater risk of being unable to stop in time and getting into an accident. Thirdly, you can simply coast, which saves your gas, your brakes, and the environment a little bit of strain.

Another way that you can be an environmentally conscious driver is to avoid idling whenever you can do so. When you idle, your engine is working for essentially nothing. For newer cars, there is no “warming up” period necessary, even in cold weather. And since new cars take only about ten seconds worth of idling to use the same amount of gas as starting, you are not save anything by allowing your car to idle for a long time, such as in heavy (non-moving) traffic. If you can, you might as well just turn off the ignition and sit tight while you wait for what’s happening to just run its course.

One more thing you can do to make sure that your personal carbon footprint is as low as possible behind the wheel is to get your engine tuned up on a regular basis. By the time the “check engine” light comes on in your car, you might already be doing damage to the poor vehicle. While you might not be able to tell what the right sounds are in your car if it is new, by the time you have had it for a year or so you should know when something is “off”; cars are notorious for giving their owners plenty of auditory warnings long before they get to a serious point of damage. If your engine light has gone on, do not wait. Unless you are on the way to the emergency room, take your car to get checked immediately.

These are just a few of the ways you can effectively reduce your negative impact on the environment while keeping access to your preferred mode of transportation.

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