Solar power installation has benefited homeowners by cutting their power bills and saving money. But do the savings that you get from using solar power outweigh the initial cost of installing a system?

Solar power installation fees also depend on whether you opt to use a ready-made solar panel or use a DIY one. Pre-made solar panels could cost you about $12 per watt which could add up up to $900 per panel. With this kind up front expense, the cost of powering a small or energy efficient home could reach to $25, 000 for a medium sized system. While large houses that uses solar power would require a budget of up to $50,000 for the installation of solar panels.  With government subsidies, however,  installation of small-scale sustainable electricity alternatives like the solar, hydro and wind electricity systems become much more affordable. A list of current schemes supporting the installation of solar power for homes and business is available from the website for The Office of Renewable Energy Regulator.

Alternatively you may consider making your very own solar panel! Many people think that a DIY solar panel is difficult to construct but actually it isn’t. Building one on your own would only need a few common tools and a bit of effort. Knowledge and step-by-step guides on how to build a solar panel can be found almost everywhere and there are a number of video tutorials available online as well as books and other resource materials s that will make your project easier.

Usually, people go for solar power thinking that it is more energy efficient than commercial electricity. While that may be correct, the reality is that moving to a renewable power source is only part of the solution: you still need to make your home as energy efficient as possible in order to reduce the amount of energy that you need. In this way not only is the initial cost of solar power installation reduced, but, if your home is energy efficient, it will require less electricity and therefore a smaller solar power system. Generally speaking, saving electricity is cheaper than generating it so invest in making your home energy efficient and install solar power system for you to maximise the benefits of saving energy.

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It was during the 2^nd World War when religious organizations across Europe began to advocate Fair Trade as a form of charity. As time went by the movement radically transformed its approach, principles and perspectives. Today the proponents, products and distribution markets for fair trade have been widely revolutionised and diversified.

Alternative Trading Organizations (ATOs) emerged after World War II took its toll in the world. The ATOs are composed of morally-driven businesses that patronise the rules and principles set by Fair Trade. Through them, farmers can directly transact their products for a just price and in this manner local and small scale farmers are given opportunities to improve their lives.

Apart from the ATOs, the first organisations that developed fair trade supply chains in developing countries were the Mennoite Central Committee (1946) and the SERRV International (1949). The fair trade products sold by volunteers in “charity stores” were mostly handicrafts like jut goods and cross-stitches. The goods were merely considered as a donation and nothing more. But during the late 1980s, novelty products certified as fair trade slowly declined in popularity and so the ATOs began  to reconstruct their business strategies. It was then that fair trade supporters noticed the impact of the plummeting agricultural prices to the poor farmers and growers.

The movement saw its responsibility in addressing and remedying this crisis which in turn would contribute to the growth of the ATO and farmers. After the unsuccessful International coffee agreement, the growth of the fair trade coffee industry significantly increased. Coffee and tea became one of the first fair trade agricultural products in the market and the fuel to development of fair trade. Other products like cocoa, sugar, fruit juices, spices, nuts, rice and fruits eventually followed to become certified fair trade products.

At present, many governments have seen how the movement can make a huge difference and so they have added their support to the fair trade industry. Annually a World Fair Trade day is celebrated every second week in May to increase awareness and educate the public of the options and benefits that fair trade offers. Although this movement may have not been successful to some people, it has nonetheless contributed significantly to the welfare of primary producers in developing nations across the world. It has truly made a positive impact in the lives of the impoverished farmers making them more competitive and dignified in the market in which they participate.

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Plastic bags are popular with retailers and consumers because they are lightweight, cheap, tough and functional. However, there convenience is outweighed by the devastating effects plastic bags have on the environment.
The reduction of plastic bag use began in Bangladesh in March 2002. Its government banned the use of polyethylene plastic bags in the capital city, Dhaka, after discovering that it was the primary cause of the floods that immerse 2/3 of the country in 1988 and 1998. Sustainable and biodegradable alternatives were created and the jute bag industry was revived. Months and years later, European countries, Africa, China, USA, India and New Zealand followed. Most of the countries simply banned the use of plastic bags while New Zealand implemented a more sustainable and feasible approach.
In March 2009, New Zealand introduced the concept of retailer levy to reduce the annual use of one billion supermarket plastic bags. This was widely accepted by retailers like The Warehouse, Bunnings and Borders. They even set a goal of reducing it by 25% by mid 2009. 10cents of levy was introduced to retailers and within a year, some reported an 80% reduction in plastic bag use. Through time, people continue to advocate and abide by this program. New Zealand’s major supermarkets like Foodstuffs and Progressive Enterprises were encouraged to lead in this plastic bag campaign. It’s not only the environment who benefited through this project. The money collected from the levies was donated to community groups.

These anti-plastic bag use policies have persuaded consumers and retailers alike to eliminate the use of plastic bags and utilize the alternatives. Practically speaking, this action has brought humanity more benefit than loss. Through it, we are taught how to recycle, to save money and resources, to be resourceful and creative and most importantly to protect and value our environment.

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Man was made to rule over and take care of His creations. But religion is not the only aspect in our life that calls us to be concerned of the welfare of the environment. Our health, happiness and the future generations likewise depend on how we use and manage the Earth at present.

Caring for the environment begins from the basic unit of society, the family. It is through the awareness of the responsibility of each member of the household to protect and nurture the planet that you are able to globally participate towards the achievement of a better life. It doesn’t require much labor for you to be earth-friendly. There are so many simple ways that when done consistently the right way, can make a significant and huge difference. Here are some suggestions on easy ways to make a greener home and living:

1.       Replace appliances to energy-efficient models. Check for the “Energy Star” logo when you use or purchase appliances and gadgets because they consume up to 10%-50% lesser energy and water compared to typical ones. Use energy-efficient lights. Standard incandescent light bulbs consume more energy compare to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL). The latter can last 10x longer and consumes about 66% lesser than the former.

2.       Water conservation. It doesn’t require products for you to implement the wise use of water rather it only needs some behavioral change on your part. Simply turning off the faucet every time that it’s not used can make a great difference. Installing a low-flow toilet or adjusting its float bulb can greatly minimize 2 liters of water used to flush the toilet. Save up to 80 liters of water when you use the broom instead of using the garden hose every time you clean the driveway. .

3.       Use less paper. Paper comes from trees. Whenever we recycle or use a post-consumer paper, we save money, trees and the environment.

4.       Minimize plastic use. Polyethylene plastic is usually found in grocery, trash and sandwich bags. Throwing plastics away to the landfill increases greenhouse gasses which in turn contribute to the occurrence of global warning. Additionally, burning and processing plastics is a major contributor to global warming since they are made from petroleum.

5.       Organic gardening. Instead of using fertilizers and other chemicals to grow plants at home, use compost. Not only does it contain the right amount of nutrients, but also a good degree of soil organism is present to keep the soil fertile and healthy for plant growth.

It’s a cliché but as a matter of fact, recycling and cutting down on what you consume are the basic means for living a green and earth friendly life.

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While cultivating soil can be a tedious and messy job it gives you the opportunity to transform your yard into a prolific home garden. Aside from the nutritional benefits you get from eating fresh and naturally grown fruits and vegetables from your own backyard, maintaining a vegetable garden at home can also be a good physical activity to help you stay in shape. Calories are burned when you plant the garden, sow seeds, water the plants, remove weeds, mow the lawn and, of course, it also saves you money that would otherwise be spent buying fruit, vegetables and even flowers from stores and markets.

Beginning a home garden requires a lot of planning. First, you have to decide what plants you would like to grow in your home or backyard. The next thing to do is to prepare the soil which is an essential factor to the survival of outdoor and container plants. To determine a healthy and safe soil, have it checked for water, nitrogen and phosphorus content as well as its alkalinity and acidity. In addition to that, you need to have an excellent mixture of clay, sand and silt. You can test its quality by compressing it and assessing if it can hold its shape or whether it falls apart easily when an external force is applied to it. You can then be certain that you’re close to the standards of a good soil composition. But if you think it lacks one ingredient or another you can remedy that. Peat moss or compost is used for soil that contains too much silk or sand. For too much clay, a mix of peat moss and sand should do the trick.

If your soil is deficient in nutrients you can add fertilizers one to two weeks prior to planting your seeds. Continue adding the same amount of fertilizer a week after the seeds have been sown to be certain that there is an adequate supply of the nutrients that are essential for the plants’ growth.

Garden pests can be your number one enemy in home gardening. Eliminating them totally will be close to impossible but there are ways of controlling their existence in the garden. Planting herbs like chives, coriander, basil and mint can help you with pest control. Insects are deterred by eliminating weeds, leaves and decaying matter where they could possibly reside.

There are so many things that a gardener should consider in home gardening. Spare some time and effort in learning about it and you’ll see that even without a green thumb, you can grow a garden of abundance and freshness.

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Hybrid cars show promise as a solution to the problem of fuel scarcity and environmental destruction. Although this kind of car is quite similar with petrol-powered cars, they differ by having two or more power sources. Petrol is generally one of the power sources used while others (although not commercially available as yet) are solar energy, LPG, pressurized air, fuel cells, electric batteries, hydrogen, liquefied nitrogen, wind energy, biofuels and even manpower (and we may never see that last one in the showroom!).

Car companies have been working through different combinations of power sources to come up with the most efficient, cost-effective and environment friendly hybrid car. The technicalities of how to come up with such a vehicle can be mind boggling but we are certain of the environmental benefits we can get from this pursuing this  technology.

In comparison to petrol-powered cars, hybrid cars help preserve the environment in several ways:

1. Burning gasoline emits plenty of harmful chemicals, pollutants and byproducts that destroy the Earth’s atmosphere and adversely affect our health. By comparison, hybrid cars produce less and cleaner emissions and thus minimal environmental pollution.
2. Aside from reducing air pollution, hybrid cars run silently. Even when operating on electric power mode, there is significantly less noise pollution and hence less impact.
3. Fuel efficiency is another advantage in using hybrid cars. The mileage of hybrid cars exceeds that of petrol-powered cars by up to 30-40%. Other features include reusing energy used for braking, and improved economy through the use of better tyres and advanced aerodynamics.

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Even things as simple as washing your clothes can create a huge impact on our environment. The power that washing machines and dryers use produce carbon dioxide that we know is harmful to the environment. On top of this detergents used when washing clothes contain chemicals which may remain behind within waste water as it is washed through our water system. But, even if it sounds like the negative effects of washing clothes outweigh the positive ones, it doesn’t entirely mean that we have have to have limited access to clean and fresh clothes!

Here are some sustainable and environmentally friendly things that you can do when washing your clothes.

1. Lower your washing temperature! Many detergents nowadays work well with lower temperature settings. You can save about 40% on your electricity use  if you switch from 40 to 30 degrees and you still get the same results!
2. Wash in bulk! Don’t do small loads of washing but wait until you get a full load of laundry before washing it. Although it may sound like a huge job, it can save you a lot of power, detergent and water. If you can’t wait for it to be full, hand wash smaller washes.
3. Never leave the machine on standby. This does not only apply to washing machines but to every appliance you own. Even on standby appliances continues to draw power so turn it off and unplug your washing machine and other appliances when not in use.
4. Use a washing machine that has an energy saver feature. Look for the energy saving labels and do some research to identify recommended models. Energy efficiency not only lowers your energy consumption, but it also emits less carbon dioxide making them more eco-friendly.
5. Replace chlorine bleach. Choose environment friendly detergents. As an alternative to bleach, you can use ½ cup of baking soda as an ordinary or eco-friendly detergent. It produces similar whitening and cleaning effects to your clothes. You can also try soaking your clothes overnight in a mixture of 1 part white vinegar and 6 parts warm water. The sour odor of the vinegar will just evaporate and leave unnoticed. Another alternative is oxygen bleach. Although it works slower than chlorine bleach, it has gentler effects on your clothes and environment as well.

As much as we want to keep our clothes clean and fresh, we should not forget to protect our environment too. Utilise these environmentally friendly washing tips and see how far they go in saving you money and the environment.

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One concern that we have to address when managing our homes is how we can save and use energy efficiently. As technology advances and the population continues to grow, total energy consumption will continue to increase.  Although there are many new cost-effective and energy-efficient appliances available our dependence on technology will continue to put pressure on our energy use, especially at home.

Aside from the fact that home electricity bills have risen dramatically over the last two years, there is the unavoidable impact of our rising energy consumption on climate change since carbon dioxide emitted by the process of energy production is the cause global warming.  While reducing energy consumption at home won’t reverse global warming we can employ some tips and techniques to reduce the impact on the environment and save some money at the same time.

1. Install energy saving improvements at home. Using your central heating controls wisely can get your bills down as well as reduce wasted energy. Install thermostats and timers to manage your heating energy use.
2. Use renewable energy sources where possible. Natural energy sources such as solar power produces environmental friendly and sustainable energy for your home through the process of microgeneration. With the use of solar panels or even wind turbines to create energy, heat or electricity, carbon dioxide emissions are  can be reduced dramatically.
3. Buy energy efficient appliances. These appliances require less energy and need not be any more expensive or offer less quality and functionality. Look for the energy saving labels to ensure that your appliance is one of the top 20 percent most energy efficient products in the market.

Although the above tips are applicable for today, the traditional energy saving techniques (such as turning off appliances when not in use, maintaining an accurate electric meter, covering pans and pots when cooking, drying clothes outdoors, replacing light bulbs at home with energy saving ones, etc.) remain  effective means of saving energy. Being conscious and mindful of your energy consumption will not only create a big impact on your budget and will benefit the environment as well.

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Protecting the environment and saving money at the same time through recycling non-biodegradable materials is a fun and easy task to do. You can get the your friends and family involved in this project and become advocates for living green. Exercise your creativity and resourcefulness by turning garbage into something functional!

Here are some simple recycling tips that you can do to start reducing your “carbon footprint”:

1. Look for areas where you commonly find recyclable items. The kitchen and garage are the usual places where you can find them. Pick a certain area where you can use it as your recycling center.

2. Sort out and classify the recyclable materials. Get your storage bins and baskets out and label them according to the items that it will contain like newspapers, plastic, aluminum, bottles, etc. Avoid using glass jars or empty carton boxes since they can easily get broken.

3. Do not throw away plastic bags used from the stores. You can reuse it for your next trip to the shops to reduce the use of plastic bags. Ultimately, the use of plastic bags can be eliminated by using wooden baskets, paper bags, cloth bags (available from both Coles and Woolworths if you shop there) or biodegradable plastic bags.

4. Determine which type of plastic can be recycled. Look at the bottom of plastic containers and see if you find numbers that identify the kind of plastic they are:

• Number 1 contains polyethylene terephthalate which can be recycled into fiberfill for bean bags, winter coats, tennis ball felt and other plastic bottles.
• Number 2 indicates high density polyethylene which is usually the type of plastic used in shampoo bottles, bleach and milk jugs. These number 2 plastics can be recycled to make piping and toys.
• Number 3 means Poly vinyl chloride and can be usually found in plastics used for baby bottle nipples, meat wraps, linoleum, cooking oil containers, vinyl siding in the house and vinyl dashboards and seat covers. They are difficult to recycle and are hazardous to the environment.
• Sandwich and grocery bags have a low density polyethylene type which is classified as number 4 and they are not usually recyclable.
• Number 5 stands for polypropylene and it has a low recyclability rate, examples of plastics with number 5 are diapers, syrup bottles, Tupperware, and some baby bottles, plastic cups and plates.
• Styrofoam is under number 6 and other types are classified under number 7. The latter is usually compose of polycarbonate like 10 litre water bottles and are the most difficult to recycle.

5. Junk mail and bond papers can be recycled by using it as a scratch paper or note pad.

6. Recycle and reuse electronics. Some manufacturers of mobile phones, televisions, computers and electronic retailers sponsor recycling events and provide a take back program.

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Statistics issued to The Age show the 907,851 new cars, utes, vans and four-wheel-drives sold last year had average emissions of 218.5 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre driven.

That was a fall of 1.8 per cent from the 222.4 grams per kilometre emitted by vehicles sold in 2008, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries reports.

The statistics show the biggest improvement was among luxury four-wheel-drives, where average emissions fell by 5.8 per cent. Other significant improvements were recorded by medium-sized four-wheel-drives and ”upper large” passenger vehicles which are increasingly using cylinder deactivation technology in their eight-cylinder engines.

But the environmental performance of the popular people-mover category was not as good, with average carbon emissions rising 1 per cent to 246.2 grams.

Vehicles contribute about one-tenth of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and the federal government is considering introducing mandatory carbon emission standards for new cars.

- with Fairfax Newspapers

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