Tips

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3 Everyday Eco-Friendly Products

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It wasn’t long ago that striving to live in the most ecologically friendly way possible made someone something of an outsider. We used to refer to these people, with more than a little hint of derision, as eco-warriors. Now, however, being ecologically conscious is completely normal, and a good thing that is too!

Royalty Free Photo

The effects of climate change are now very much present around us, they are no longer abstract dangers that may or may not appear in the future. We now understand the underlying science behind climate change, and not only has this made everyone more aware of the danger, it has also made many people more aware of just how easy it is to live in a more ecologically friendly way.

The products on this list are ecologically friendly and allow the environmentally conscious to easily live a greener life. There are nearly always greener alternatives to the products that we use everyday, all we have to do is look!

Cloth Napkins

Most homes have a stash of napkins somewhere, and millions of them are disposed of every day. These are single use items, meaning that they are constantly being disposed of and then having to be repurchased. As with most single use items, users of napkins can reduce their environmental impact by switching to a reusable alternative. Cloth napkins serve the same purpose as their tissue counterparts, however they can be washed and then reused afterwards rather than being sent to landfill.

Reusable Bags

We all need something to carry our groceries and other shopping in. While grocery stores will often offer paper bags, which are less harmful to the environment than their plastic counterparts, most of our shopping is carried home in a plastic bag. Worst of all, these bags aren’t very durable, meaning that after a few uses they need to be discarded, that’s if they are reused at all! A very simple yet very effective step that you can take in order to reduce your ecological footprint is to invest in a reusable bag (and to make sure that you remember to take it out with you of course!). Check out these custom printed reusable bags for a stylish and functional solution.

Rechargeable Batteries

Batteries aren’t going away anytime soon, we will always need these fuel cells to power various items around the home. Even though our main electronics, laptops, smartphones, and tablets, all have built-in rechargeable batteries, most other appliances are powered by AA or AAA batteries which cannot be recharged. Disposable items are a no-no for the eco-warrior and this is a perfect example of a product which isn’t just greener when it is reusable, it is far more useful to the owner. You will also save money by not having to buy new batteries constantly.

Living a more ecologically friendly lifestyle is nowhere near as difficult or as expensive as many people think. By making a few minor changes to your lifestyle and habits, and investing in a few simple greener alternatives to everyday products that you use, you can easily reduce your carbon footprint almost overnight.

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10 Ways to Travel Sustainably in Los Cabos

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Los Cabos is a popular getaway that’s only a short flight from California. More and more tourists are visiting every year and hotels and vacation rentals in Los Cabos are filling up faster than ever before. You can go down to this part of Mexico to experience some of the natural beauty and participate in the ecotourism or simply enjoy a few days of surfing. Whatever you’re here for and decide to do, travelling sustainably has never been more important. Here are 10 ways that you can make your trip to Los Cabos as sustainable as possible.

1# Choose the Right Tour Company:

Some of the tour companies in Los Cabos are only out there to make as much money as they possibly can. This means that they may not care as much about leaving their print behind afterwards. An example of this is that some of the tour guides throw litter and their cigarette ends into the mountains or desert on a tour. This shows that they aren’t really bothered about the environment. Research the tour companies before you book one to make sure you join and give money to the ones that care.

2# Respect the Local Communities:

You’re a guest in their country and should behave like one. Some may want to go out and party all night and do the things that they probably shouldn’t. Unfortunately, this happens quite a lot when arrogant tourists fail to show any respect to the locals. If you do venture out of the touristy areas, don’t cause damage or do anything inappropriate.

3# Don’t Disrupt the Ecology:

Ecotourism is growing in popularity in Los Cabos. You can kayak and snorkel in and around the bay where you can see hundreds of tropical fish and marine life. It’s also possible to reach some of the more protected islands. If you do, enjoy what you see, but make sure that you don’t leave any litter behind or disrupt the local wildlife.

4#Release a New Born Turtle into the Ocean:

At certain times of the year, turtles come and lay their eggs on some of the beaches. When they hatch, only a small proportion of them actually make it to the water. The others either go in the wrong direction or are attacked by wildlife. It’s possible to join a tour or group in Los Cabos where you can release the newborn turtles into the water. You should always make sure you join a reputable group to do this and never attempt it on your own.

5# Stay at Smaller, Greener Hotels:

Over the last few decades, the region has had a lot of development and construction. While this may seem to be good on the surface and to help boost the local economy, it’s also damaging to nature. Larger hotels and resorts consume too much power and waste many resources. If you want to reduce your impact, consider staying in some of the smaller hotels. Or even better, find a place to stay that’s green.

6# You Don’t Have to Feel Like You’re in the Arctic:

This is related to the point above. You don’t have to sit inside your room with the air conditioner on full at all times. This consumes a lot of energy and larger hotels are bigger culprits. An alternative is to raise the temperature to reduce power consumption or simply open the window whenever you can.

7# Eat Fish from Local Fishermen:

One of the legacies of growing tourism is that the bigger corporations are making a lot of money from selling fish to the restaurants. The fish are caught after dragging large nets across the water and a significant percentage of the fish aren’t even consumed. This disrupts the ecology of the area and is highly wasteful. The methods that they use also damage the seabed and increase pollution. Local fishermen, on the other hand, are more sustainable. And, buying from them (or places that source from them) has the double bonus of reducing the environmental impact and putting money back into the local economy.

Image from Pixabay

8# Rent a Bicycle:

It’s easy to get around Los Cabos and you’re not too far away from nature. A greener and cheaper option than catching a taxi or relying on the bus is to rent a bike. You can cycle around the town and get the bonus of the extra exercise as well.

9# Clean Up Your Mess:

If you smoke, don’t throw the butt onto the floor. And if you have any litter make sure you carry it and throw it in the garbage. Too many tourists come here and are more relaxed about littering or leaving a mess behind. You should set an example and treat the place in the same way as you would back home.

10# Learn About the Environment:

The more that you know about a place, the better equipped you are at doing your best to protect it. It’s a good idea to read about the environmental issues that Los Cabos and the Baja Peninsular, in general, are faced with. When you know what the problems are, you can find it easier to protect them.

The Takeaway Message:

Los Cabos is a beautiful destination with lots of amazing things to do and see. However, there’s also a darker, environmental legacy of the tourism. Educate yourself and do the best you can for the environment to make sure your trip to this destination is as sustainable as possible.

 

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Changes You Can Make to your Lifestyle That Benefit the Environment Part 2

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In my last blog post, I set the stage for some of the changes you can make, that are simple to do, and also have a real impact on the environment for the better.

But I merely scratched the surface in that post, and thought it would be a great idea to continue on in that same vein for this post also. So let’s dive straight in.

Create a Compost Pile: 

I detailed in a previous blog post about how this can be done. This is a great way of using up food waste that would otherwise be tossed in the trash, maybe for the benefit of the refuse collection companies.

Check that post out for more details!

Use Your Own Cup at the Water Cooler:

How often do you visit the water cooler in work each day? Do you use a new cup each time? That is a serious amount of plastic, when you think about it, even in terms of a month.

Using your own cup means you will never need to use a disposable plastic cup again!

Love Hot Tea? Ditch the Tea Bags:

You will have 2 main benefits achieved here, by ditching tea bags. Firstly, the flavor is greater, as tea leaves are far fresher than those found in tea bags.

Secondly, there is far less packing material used, so you are benefiting the environment.

Imagine all the tea you drink over a year, and the amount of paper that goes into making those tea bags. It’s a lot, huh?

Choose Farmer’s Markets for Produce:

Choosing your local Farmer’s Market over big name shopping chains has many benefits. The produce you get is fresher and not genetically modified.

You are benefiting your local economy by buying there, rather than paying to a nameless, faceless brand. And you will benefit from having food that has not been sprayed from seed to harvest in harsh chemicals.

Why not get a bunch of friends together, and for best effect, carpool over to your nearest Farmer’s Market?

Start Your Own Gardening Routine:

If you don’t already, why not throw your hand at some gardening? You can grow your own veg, and even your own herbs, meaning you are getting the ultimate in freshness.

Gardening is good for the soul, and is a very rewarding and healthy past time, to boot.

BYOB:

No – Not beer! Bring your own bag to the store with you when you go shopping. Plastic bags are extremely durable, and can be re-used over and over.

So why not use them again, instead of getting a new bag each time. Better yet, look out for “Bags for life” that you can purchase, ideally made from plant fibers.

There we have it. All small steps that can make a huge difference. Why not examine your routines, and see what changes you can make?

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Changes You Can Make to your Lifestyle That Benefit the Environment

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My friends sometimes poke fun at me (non blatantly!) with regard to the changes I have elected to make to my lifestyle, that make me and my actions more friendly to the environment.

But when the fun has died down, they will often call me aside, and ask for advice on how they, themselves, can take steps to lessen their carbon footprint, or how to be friendlier to the environment. I guess my passion is infectious enough that it runs off on them a little.

But it is amazing what difference, even tiny changes, can make in the overall scheme of things. We only have one planet folks, there’s no second chance or place to go if we mess this one up!

Here are just a few things you can try to do your little bit.

Cycle More – Or At Least Choose Public Transport:

We could all do with a little more exercise, and cycling is among the best methods of getting this tick marked off your daily “to do” list.

But, if for whatever reason, you don’t want to cycle, at least choose public transport as a way of getting to and fro. This way, you are not firing up the car for smaller journeys that could be taken on public transport.

Get a Kindle:

I know this might seem like a funny one, but if you love to read, imagine all the books you read in a year.

Then imagine the process that book has gone through, to get from the forest of trees to your coffee table. There’s a huge amount of steps that raw material has to get through to become the paperback in front of you.

Kindle (or alternative e-reader) displays virtual characters in front of you, in e-ink, so it’s almost like reading a real book. Plus, a Kindle device is extremely power friendly, only needing to be charged very occasionally.

Reduce Your Food Waste:

This one is easy. Make a shopping list, don’t forget to bring it to the store with you, and stick to it. When cooking dinner, make realistic portions.

I think a lot of us are guilty of making portions that are too big.

It’s amazing to see the difference in portion sizes from the 1950s and 1960s to today. Seriously, our side plates today were dinner plates back in those times!

Make Use of Leftovers:

If you do happen to make too much food for a sitting, use up the leftovers.

You could bring them with you for a handy lunch to reheat in work, or create an entirely new dish – look around online, there are hundreds of sites offering ideas up for what to make with leftover food items.

This is only scratching the surface guys – look out for part 2 of this series, coming up real soon.

light bulb

Why Swapping Your Light Bulbs Can Make Serious Savings (And Help The Environment Too)

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If you are anything like me, your house is plagued with those horrible GU10 spotlights.

When I bought my house, I thought that the spotlight look in the kitchen areas was fantastic – the area was flooded with light, and the downlights really seemed to make the place look great.

However, I wasn’t long discovering the horrors of GU10 bulbs!

LED is the Best:

Seriously, have you ever tried to change one of these guys? They are absolutely impossible.

I tried just about every method to get these out of their holders set into the ceiling, and the pain would start all over again when it was time to install the new bulb.

And then I discovered that these halogen lights lasted no length at all.

That’s when a friend of mine, who happened to be training as an Electrician, advised me to swap the halogen for LED bulbs – and what a difference it made!

Abundant Savings:

Ok, I don’t know why this happened, but for whatever reason, the GU10 LED bulbs were much easier to install than the old halogen models. Things were looking up already!

My friend also advised me that LED bulbs last longer than the old halogen ones, much longer in fact.So, because they don’t need to be replaced nearly as often, you can accumulate significant savings over time.

And once upon a time, LED bulbs were pretty pricey. These days, they can be obtained for prices that are on a par with their halogen counterparts.

Better Energy Rating:

LED bulbs actually consume far less electricity than those old halogen bulbs.So, you are not only saving money on your bill each month, but you are being helpful to the environment also by swapping them out entirely.

And another thing is, the LED bulbs produce light under much cooler conditions. Those old halogen things literally baked in the ceiling – producing significant heat.

It is for this reason, my friend told me, that they blew so often. They were literally cooking themselves in the ceiling overhead!

Think about it – halogen bulbs are used in certain types of ovens and “air fryers” to cook food, at quicker cooking times than conventional ovens.

Do you really want that going on in your ceiling?

More Control:

LED tech has moved far greater along than halogen ever will. You can choose to have a range of different lighting types, from soft and warm to almost daylight like.

You can choose different colors, should you choose to.

You can even choose to get WiFi enabled bulbs that you can control with your smart device, enabling you to dim lights, turn them on remotely, change their colors and many other fantastic things.

If you are thinking of one simple way to improve your home, that is also environmentally friendly, you couldn’t go far wrong by swapping to LED!

travel responsible

Tips for responsible travel and how to experience it

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Responsible travel is all about experiencing the culture and nature of one state and trying to understand it socially, politically and culturally. If you want to become a conscious traveler, you need to impact positively on the local community and to preserve the natural resources. You shouldn’t be selfish and only think about your needs, but, by doing something right, you are giving your contribution to the world.

How can you become a responsible traveler?

This should become your personal choice and not something you have to do. You just need to let go, forget and unwind. By traveling with a conscience, you realize the impact people have on nature and environment. When you visit each country, you should try to act according to nature and its laws. You should experience that adventurous side of you and try to do something different, ways from the commercial world and its rules.

How to research ways to travel consciously?

One of the best ways is to read about the history of the place you are visiting. It will help you determine the limits and discover the potential problems that may happen in the future. You will be able to find out any misconceptions about a certain destination, things you can change and investigate and apply that knowledge to your local community. You need to research where you travel and use that knowledge to improve the environment and natural resources.

How do you accept the local culture?

culture

Over the world, one of the traditional ways of accommodation is home – stays and local guesthouses. This is one of the favorite ways to experience the local culture and get to know the locals. Local people are one of the best sources of knowledge, if you have enough luck to meet them, you will gain a great experience. By buying the domestic products, you will be participating in the local economy. Of course, there are some parts of the world where you can’t just barge in because their culture is strict and people aren’t too friendly. When visiting these places, you need a particular organization and try to find the ways to overcome cultural differences.

How can travel change you?

You will become more self-aware and confident, by meeting different cultures and various people you will broaden your knowledge about them. When you are traveling to other countries, you will have a chance to see how other people live. By experiencing their lifestyle, you can discover the ways they are doing to preserve their environment. The traveling can change you in unimaginable ways; you will start thinking differently and think more about nature. You will see the most beautiful things which people try to destroy each day.