Many of us know what we like as soon as we see it, we are drawn and connect with natural products of beauty. We have in our minds eye of places we have visited or seen in pictures of far away places where the backdrop of decoration sets the theme of tranquility and peace with ones surroundings. Also too as many of us know the rigors of coping with allergies, not just from the foods we eat but the products which make up our everyday living space.

But where do we find the resources and know how to reconstruct our own surroundings to fit with these concepts. Firstly we may find natural wall finishes and decoration by looking back in time. Venetian plasters made from lime and marble for a good green alternative, easily sourced it has a highly breathable quality allowing for moisture to pass in and out. These finishes are tough too as they posses similar properties of strength as limestone and marble. They may be combine too with other easily sourced or recycled products. Decorative enhancements such as crushed shells and mother of pearl give a ever changing and intriguing appearance. Black sand too or the traditional terracotta, itself made from clay is collected from the waste of the roof tile industry.

So before looking for the furnishings and detail to finish a room, start with a new canvas. Deconstruct and then create a beautiful living space using natural organic elements and design from around the globe.

If you are interested knowing more about Polished Plaster or Venetian Plaster please look at our site.

Find more about the author John Holmes on http://www.polished-plaster.co.uk

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

Focusing on its economical advantages – environment friendly products can be easily promoted as low-priced solutions yet with same effectiveness. For instance power saving lighting fixtures and water saving faucets should be seriously implemented through national housing projects and will save a great deal of energy and a vital natural resource such as water. Solutions concerning window treatments will prevent heat exchange between interior and exterior environments thus indirectly saving energy consumption required for warming up or cooling surroundings.

Environmentally Certified products including electrical fixtures, window treatments, paints, plumbing valves, flush valves and water piping systems should be strictly applied through local building codes.

The adoption of the recycling concept can barely be seen due to a missing recycling industry. The product cycle and the benefits are not clearly apparent among ordinary individuals and daily consumers; again because of absent media material.

Ecological awareness has to be presented to our kids in schools at early ages in form of solutions and personally-affecting benefits. Media should focus on economical advantages simply touching everyday consumer in case of using eco-certified labeled products. Also introducing a green product as a healthier and more hygienic solution could be another aspect. Finally governments have to add on environmentally certified fixtures as essentials within building codes.

Mohamed M. Khalifa: an interior designer and founder of Flair Egypt; an interior design, decor and planning practice. Flair provides innovative design solutions and fine contracting services for residential, commercial, office and hospitality projects. More info and free consultation available at http://www.flair-egypt.com or send an email to m.khalifa@flair-egypt.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mohamed_M._Khalifa

Some resources, such as solar energy, fresh air, winds, fresh surface water, fertile soil, and wild edible plants, are directly available for use by us and other organisms. Other resources, such a petroleum, iron, groundwater, and modern crops, aren’t directly available. They become useful to us only with some effort and technological ingenuity. Petroleum, for example, was a mysterious fluid until we learned how to find, extract, and convert it into gasoline, heating oil, and other products that could be sold at affordable prices.

Solar energy is called renewable or perpetual resource because on a human time scale this solar capital is essentially inexhaustible. It is expected to last at least 6 billion years as the sum completes its life cycle.
A potentially renewable resource can be replenished fairly rapidly through natural process. Examples of such resources are forest tress, grassland grasses, wind animals, fresh lake and stream water, ground water, fresh air, and fertile soil. One important potentially renewable resource for us and other species is biological diversity, or biodiversity, which consists of the different life forms that can best survive the variety of conditions currently found on the earth.

However potentially renewable resource can be depleted. The highest rate at which a potentially renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply is called sustainable yield.

To learn more about Free Alternative Energy, just Click Here.

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

There is a high consumer demand for green products that are environmentally friendly, durable, affordable and attractive. When given the choice of using high quality, ecologically friendly building materials over traditional products, consumers are overwhelmingly choosing products of a sustainable and environmentally conscious variety.

In general, the public is becoming more and more aware of the rapid decrease and reduction of hardwood forests and the threat that deforestation can pose to a delicate ecosystem. Bamboo flooring is a great choice for those who wish to not contribute to destruction of such an integral part of our global ecology. It is termite, rot and moisture resistant and functions as a top-notch flooring material.

There are many types of bamboo flooring available for to suit each homeowner’s unique style. Distressed bamboo floors have an antique look. Strand woven bamboo has a hybrid grain between wood and bamboo and is extra resilient. Laminate bamboo flooring is ideal for rooms with varying humidity, like a basement.

A bamboo field can produce up to 30% more oxygen than a hardwood forest of similar size, while removing toxins from the soil and preventing erosion. It also helps reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Because bamboo is a type of grass, it can regenerate itself without replanting after harvesting. Since it is the fastest growing plant on earth, bamboo is quickly becoming a popular source for efficient and sustainable building materials.

Bamboo has a wide root system, making it a natural water control blockade. It reduces rain runoff, thereby preventing erosion. Bamboo can store water within its shoots and, because of its nitrogen consumption, can prevent water pollution. Often times, bamboo will be grown near wastewater from livestock farms and sewage treatment facilities because of its cleansing and detoxifying properties.

Traditional hardwood forest lumber such as maple, birch and oak take almost 50 years to be renewed. That, in turn, causes less oxygen to be produced, less greenhouse gases to be consumed, and more erosion and runoff in the cleared land. Instead of depleting our natural resources and contributing to a failing ecosystem, choose bamboo. It is the logical and environmentally friendly choice for flooring in a modern home.

Mr. Oliver is a marketing agent of Better Green Technologies. The energy efficient builder provides quality eco-friendly building materials and supplies to customers throughout the United States. For more information on their Energy Efficient Building Products please visit their website.

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

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

But it is not just about saving money. We all have been too reckless about using nature’s resources. We have to consider several factors here. We cannot take from nature without a limit. Unfortunately, the natural resources are not bottomless – the oil and coal will come to an end some time in the future.

Much have been done during the recent years to tackle the problems, new technologies are being developed, ecological heating systems devised, alternative transportation solutions found. Nothing of it will prove worthwhile unless the consumer shows a motivation to go out and start using the new technology.

Grow your Own Fuel

Let’s see what ecological heating options are available in the current market? The most obvious choice is pellets and other types of biomass. Here we talk about corn stoves, wood pellet burners and straw burners. With wood pellets it depends on how are the pellets produced – if the factory specializes in just producing them, you cannot call it ecological heating. The only way pellets worked for environment would be that they were made from by-products (saw-dust) at a joinery. Dedicated factories just produce extra CO2 making it even worse for environment.

Corn stoves are the most affordable way to ecological heating. They burn shelled corn which is nothing more than maize seeds. In the process of growth corn plants consume CO2 from the air and when burnt they release less CO2 than they’ve consumed, thus making environment cleaner. Corn stoves are usually priced from $800 to $2000 and pay off within the first or second year of using (compared with fossil fuel burners).

Living in a Cave?

Sod houses is another way to cut consumption big time. Sod is not meant as an insult, it means a house which has the majority of its body (including the roof) covered in soil. Some people achieve similar result by building their houses into a hill side. Soil provides perfect insulation during winter and great cooling during summer. Coupled with solar panels on the roof, a sod house can make you almost independent from energy suppliers.

Heat from Down Below

Another popular yet expensive way to heat your house is to use heat pumps, scientifically known as ground source heat pumps. It uses an idea that the earth accumulates loads of ambient energy (from the sun and from its hot core). It works almost like a refrigerator by accumulating the scarce heat that there is down the earth under your house. Using a series of pressure cycles, it can put up to 60 degrees Celsius into your heating system. It is expensive to install but saves you up to 70% off your fuel bill. It means that you still need an alternative source of heating but you can offset the installation costs in 10 years time.

Although some eco-designs are expensive, the truth is that sooner or later they do pay off. So, calling green energy “too expensive to be afforded” is actually wrong. You can save money in the long run and save the planet for the next generations.

Have you considered saving money by installing a green heating system? The easiest way to get your foot on the eco-ladder is to choose one of the Corn Stoves available. It will provide heat for your house and put a stop on being dependent on fossil fuel supply. Are you ready to take that step?

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