As obvious as that statement is, people still treat Earth like there is another one on the back burner. The ocean levels are rising, the ice caps are melting and our ozone layer is disintegrating; we’ve left more of a carbon footprint in the last hundred years than the rest of history combined! The good news, however, is that the word “green” is becoming more ingrained in our social consciousness.

Thanks to environmental activists and supporters, the word “green” has taken on a whole new definition. Any attitude concerning “global environmental protection, bioregionalism, social responsibility” is considered green. The term has become a buzzword of sorts; restaurants, business, and manufacturers brandish the label to appeal to our ever-concerned society.

Every day, people are finding new ways to become environmentally-friendly, even investing in green furniture. Decorating your house furniture made from recycled materials is not only fashionable, but it reduces our carbon footprint and preserves our planet for future generations.

Bamboo is a very good material for green furniture. Technically a grass, bamboo grows quickly, it’s sturdy and it looks good in almost every interior. Plus, furniture made from bamboo doesn’t require any deforestation. Because you can lay it flat for flooring, mold it into furniture, or even cut it up to make blinds and window shades, bamboo has become the go-to material for environmentalists. Plus, there are very few pesticides involved during its production.

Trees make our planet livable. By absorbing carbon dioxide and converting into oxygen, they produce breathable air, which is why deforestation causes such an outcry. However, there are tree farms dedicated to the sole purpose of producing wood products; these trees are certified sustainable. The Rainforest Alliance, one of the largest certifier of sustainable wood, uses the industry-standard Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, which makes it easy determine safe wood. Some staunch environmentalists forget that no matter what something is made out of, there are earth-friendly options, even wood. It is very easy to find wood furniture made from sustainable trees, just look for the FSC label or inquire at your local furniture store.

The Rainforest Alliance also certifies any type of furniture made from recycled material: The Rediscovered Wood Certification. Sustainable forests are good sources of lumber, but wood lasts a long time, especially if it’s taken care of. Reclaiming wood from old furniture makes more sense than using precious land to grow sustainable wood. Using old furniture, houses, and even drift wood are good examples of how innovative people have been in creating green furniture.

Green furniture also releases fewer toxins than synthetics. Many people don’t even consider this, but nothing in your house just sits there; everything produces airborne substances. Toxins released from furniture have been traced to birth defects and other health problems. Make sure that any new furniture you purchase has the Greenguard certification, which ensures the product has low toxicity.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for Web sites on solar energy, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background also includes teaching, gardening, and health and fitness. For more of her useful articles on ecologically friendly furniture, please visit Green Furniture.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anne_Clarke

Here are some high-impact environmentally friendly kitchen design ideas:

o Kitchen Recycling Centre

Look for sets of kitchen bins that allow you to easily separate rubbish – paper, food, bottles, plastics, etc.

o Waste Disposal machines

These are ideal for reducing the physical amount of food waste down to small pieces. Then start a wormery where worms can compost down the food waste more efficiently. Use the compost on your garden.

o Energy-Efficient Kitchen Appliances

When considering your refrigerator, dishwasher or washing machine purchases for the kitchen remodeling project, each appliance will have an Energy Rating. Advanced technology now means that appliances can use 10 to 50 percent less energy and water than standard models

o Induction Hobs

Induction cooking uses electricity to produce a magnetic field that reacts with the ferric content in stainless steel, cast iron, and enameled steel cookware. This excites the molecules and produces heat. The cookware (and therefore the food) gets hot, but the stove-top doesn’t. Less heat is wasted and the food heats faster, saving time and energy. Induction cooking is about 90 percent energy efficient as compared to gas and electric radiant, which are 50 to 60 percent efficient.

o Dishwashers and Washing Machines

Use a full load in your dishwasher and washing machine. If you are thinking of buying a new machine, make sure you buy a water efficient model. Have a look at our website where we have collated more information on water efficient appliances.

o Stained Concrete or Indigenous Stone Kitchen Counter-tops.

Your kitchen design should include materials that are durable and water-resistant for both counter tops and splash-backs. Stained concrete uses non-toxic, natural pigments rather than surface-applied stains. Many types of indigenous stone are available and can come from salvage sources. Make sure they are adequately sealed to prevent staining.

o Energy-Efficient Task Lighting and Lighting Controls

Kitchen designs often include two or three light settings such as general, task lighting, and mood lighting. Maximize natural light wherever possible and low voltage systems for task and mood lighting.

o Eco-Friendly Kitchen Flooring

Products manufactured from renewable forests can provide you with a beautiful, affordable and durable floor – and an environmentally responsible choice. Bamboo, cork, and eucalyptus mature in roughly half the time (or less) that it takes hardwoods, grown in colder climates, to reach market size.

o Wall Insulation

Nothing improves the comfort and energy efficiency of a kitchen more than plenty of insulation in the exterior walls. To add insulation to existing kitchen walls, blow fibrous insulation material – fiberglass or natural materials like cellulose and mineral wool – into enclosed wall, floor and roof cavities. “Dense packing” the insulation inhibits air circulation within the cavities, thereby eliminating a major cause of condensation, moisture problems and air leakage.

o Kitchen Windows, Doors and Skylights

Well-designed windows and skylights can lighten the feel of a kitchen and save on fuel bills as well. Ensure the products used have low heat emission glass with solar shading, which increases the room’s comfort, protects items from sun damage and reduces condensation on windows.

Ian D Ludlow helps sales and customer service people and organisations in the business-to-business, direct sales and retail environments to improve their current performance.

As a Master Practitioner of NLP and Accredited LVT Practitioner, he uses fun and creative techniques to change unproductive behaviours and to help individuals and teams THINK FASTER and REACT QUICKER to ever changing market conditions.

He states, “If you carry on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” Ian’s specialism is knowing what to change and how to change it with minimum effort and maximum return.

Ian helped improve the average sales value for a retail business by 14% which added £34M in sales revenue over one year from 320 stores. He also helped increase the sales conversion ratio by 7% through quality sales training and lead generation programmes for a kitchen and bathroom installer; increasing sales by £24M over one year.

Ian D Ludlow can be contacted on +44 (0)1795 55 56 83 whilst his website is under construction.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Ludlow

Another factor, especially these days, is the ecology. People want to have as little impact on the ecology as possible, thereby reducing their carbon footprint, as they say. The manufacture of plastic involves polluting the environment with more CFC’s and disposal can cause problems too. Plastic can take decades and decades to bio-degrade.

Metal patio garden furniture also has its problems. It has to be mined and fabricated and people are starting to worry about robbing Mother Earth of her minerals, but at least old metal can be recycled. That leaves us with timber and in particular hardwood. Before, there was a great deal of concern in almost every country about logging, but a lot of countries have the problem under control now after sustained pressure from the West.

Most people understand these days how important it is to look after our planet. There is even a special day to help people remember the Earth’s dire state called ‘Earth Day’. Using hardwood from sustainable sources is the best way to save our forests.

Garden furniture made from hardwood from a guaranteed sustainable source is the most ecological way out. If you maintain your hardwood furniture according to the manufacturer’s recommendations for the type of wood you have, it will last for a decade or more. Far longer than any plastic or metal furniture, which you might well have to replace every two years or so.

Acacia hardwood offers a hard wearing and comfortable alternative to teak. In fact, this type of wood is much like teak, as if you leave it untreated it will transform to a silvery grey color. However, it is best to treat all hardwood once or twice a year with suitable oil in order to maintain the warm tones of the timber.

Most people will have a garden patio furniture set of up-right chairs, loungers and a table or two or a nest of small tables. However, there are a few other pieces of furniture that will help you get more pleasure from your garden. It is nice to be able to sit in the garden after it gets dark or when it is a bit chilly too. This can be achieved easily with a few accessories.

I suggest a patio heater, an electric mosquito killer and suitable lighting. Patio heaters are not dear any longer and a single upright propane heater will keep up to eight people warm, depending on their seating pattern. An electric mosquito killer will usually keep a whole garden clear. In fact, some will keep a quarter of an acre or more clear of flying insects. These two items may provide enough light for you, but is best to have a few spots to highlight a plant in bloom or to read by.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with commercial patio heaters. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Owen_Jones

In practical terms our goal should be to move away from designs that depend on an extensive use of energy, without asking people to give up their lawns entirely. There are a number of options:

* Buffer zones and open space requirements in subdivisions allow for wildlife corridors and bird habitats.

* Leaving a portion of each lot in a natural state will invite birds and beneficial insects into the yard, while reducing the amount of grass to water and mow.

* The use of native plants in the design will greatly reduce the amount of care needed for the plants to thrive.

We should stop worrying about whether our lawns looks like the eighteenth fairway of the local country club. Many of the “weeds” that appear in our lawns are considered to be medicinal, by herbalists, and others attract beneficial insects.

We should stop over watering our lawns. Don’t worry about your grass dying. Grass will turn green when it rains. Trust me.

If you must have an all grass lawn, there are organic methods that claim to do as well as chemicals will. It’s probably a good idea to test any remedy before applying it to your entire yard. Spot treating problem areas will often be all that is needed.

Ecological Landscaping Considerations

The first and most important thing to consider in an ecological landscape design is an environmental assessment of the site. Is it more like a sunny meadow or shady woodland? Is it wet and marshy or dry and well drained?

Secondly, find out which native plants thrive in your particular environment. This can be easily done by taking a closer look at what is growing in undeveloped areas around you. Look at areas that most closely resemble your site. Species that are flourishing in the wild in similar ecosystems nearby are more likely to do well, with little or no care, than species growing in different ecosystems, not to mention different regions of the country or world.

Some purists would argue that only native species be considered, but I personally feel that non-invasive species from other parts of the world are acceptable if used in the proper environmental setting. Whenever possible choose species that are propagated locally and select varieties that are disease, pest and drought resistant. This will preclude the need for intensive care and excessive watering.

Many native plants are often found growing as part of a larger community of plants. For reasons we don’t thoroughly understand, plants appear to form symbiotic relationships with each other. This may be for shade, nutrient contribution or protection from pests to name a few. When studying the local landscape, pay attention to plant relationships. In the wild, vegetation occurs in layers from groundcovers to taller plants and shrubs and often to a tree canopy above. These layers provide a diverse habitat for a variety of wildlife. Recreating these conditions in even a small part of your site will help to enhance the overall health of the environment around you.

In many instances homeowners will wish to deter certain wildlife species, while attracting others. While it may be possible to discern which plants attract different species in the wild, it may not be as easy to determine which plants will deter them. Local landscapers and plant nurseries will often be able to advise you about this.

Wherever you live and whatever your landscape consists of, a little thought about working with the natural environment and a commitment to organic lawn care practices, will save on maintenance cost and benefit the larger community landscape.

Chip Phelan, a contributing editor for Organic Gardening Review, is an organic gardener living in Rhode Island. He has been gardening organically for 30 years while working as a sculptor and photo imager. He has recently created a research garden to experiment with organic and small scale sustainable gardening techniques.

Organic Gardening Review is a resource center for organic gardening enthusiasts and features his efforts and interests in all aspects of organic gardening. Find us on the web: http://www.organicgardening-review.com [http://organicgardening-review.com]

Looking for a place to share organic gardening info? Visit our Organic Gardening Discussion Forum at: Organic Gardening Forum

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chip_Phelan