In 2017, a study conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that women have only 68 percent of the rights, opportunities and access to resources enjoyed by the world’s men. Those differences and the speed of progress in reducing them, vary from country to country. But according to the WEF resRead more
In 2017, a study conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that women have only 68 percent of the rights, opportunities and access to resources enjoyed by the world’s men. Those differences and the speed of progress in reducing them, vary from country to country. But according to the WEF researchers, at our current pace, it will take 100 years to eradicate gender disparities.S
HARE HOUSEHOLD CHORES AND CHILDCARE EQUALLY
Household chores and children’s care are every adult’s responsibility. Ask yourself if there is an equal division of labor in your home. The work of caring for children is still done mainly by women in much of the world. According to studies, the overload of household chores can increase women’s chances of mental illnesses, besides depressing their productivity at work, consequently affecting their salaries.
WATCH FOR SIGNS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Get some help and support if you know a friend or acquaintance is suffering from domestic violence or other abuse. This type of violence is not restricted to physical aggression. Verbal attacks and psychological abuse also affect women. Often, all these things occur together. If you experience domestic violence, be aware that you are not alone. Report it!
REJECT CHAUVINIST AND RACIST ATTITUDES
Do not make comments that ridicule, demean or humiliate women, black people, indigenous people, members of the LGBTQI community or any other historically marginalized groups. And don’t keep quiet if you hear such comments. Talk to your colleagues, friends and family frankly and tell them to stop with the chauvinist, racist, homophobic and transphobic insults.
HIRE DIVERSITY
Value, stimulate and hire diverse teams. A study by the Boston Consulting Group and involving 1,700 companies from eight countries showed that the more diverse the workforce, the better the company’s performance on measures related to innovation. Even small changes yielded results. The survey indicated that an increase of only 2.5 percent of women in a team of managers can increase innovation revenues by 1 percent.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND RACISM: ZERO TOLERANCE
Employees must have a safe channel to report bullying, sexual harassment and racism without being exposed or dismissed. Proven cases should be punished.
Toilets: Don’t Use the Toilet as an Ashtray or Wastebasket. Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue, or other small bit of trash, you’re wasting gallons of water. Put them in the garbage, or better yet, recycle. Put Plastic Bottles or a Float Booster in Your Toilet Tank: To cut down onRead more
Toilets:
Don’t Use the Toilet as an Ashtray or Wastebasket. Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue, or other small bit of trash, you’re wasting gallons of water. Put them in the garbage, or better yet, recycle.
Put Plastic Bottles or a Float Booster in Your Toilet Tank: To cut down on water waste, put an inch or two of sand or pebbles inside each of two plastic bottles. Fill the bottles with water, screw the lids on, and put them in your toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanisms. Or, buy an inexpensive tank bank or float booster. This may save ten or more gallons of water per day.
Buy an Adjustable Toilet Flapper: Installing an adjustable toilet flapper will allow for adjustment of each per flush use; the user can adjust the flush rate to the minimum per flush setting that achieves a single good flush each time.
Install Composting Toilets
Install Low or Dual Flush Models
Shower:
Install Water-Saving Showerheads, Shower Timers, and Low-Flow Faucet Aerators Inexpensive water-saving low-flow showerheads or restrictors are easy for the homeowner to install. Long showers can use five to ten gallons every unneeded minute.
Take Shorter Showers. One way to cut down on water use is to turn off the shower after soaping up, then turn it back on to rinse. A four-minute shower uses approximately 20 to 40 gallons of water.
Leaks:
Check Faucets and Pipes for Leaks
Use Your Water Meter to Check for Hidden Water Leaks. Read the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.
Laundry:
Use a clothes Washer for Only Full Loads. With clothes washers, avoid the permanent press cycle, which uses an added 5 gallons (20 liters) for the extra rinse.
Consider a High Efficiency Washing Machine. The most efficient washing machines use as little as seven gallons per load, compared to a whopping 54 for a traditional washer.
A company of Singtex industries discovers the way to use the coffee ground into wearable textile-like yarn which can further be converted into fabric. Coffee is one of the world's most popular drinks, as a result of this most of the coffee ground is discarded into the environment as waste but SingteRead more
A company of Singtex industries discovers the way to use the coffee ground into wearable textile-like yarn which can further be converted into fabric. Coffee is one of the world’s most popular drinks, as a result of this most of the coffee ground is discarded into the environment as waste but Singtex is now collecting the waste grounds from the drinks giant turns into sportswear.
Singtex successfully invented the S.Cafe eco-friendly coffee yarn in 2008, which was made from plastic bottles and coffee grounds. This green, high-tech yarn is environmentally friendly, deodorising, and fast-drying, UV-resistant and has many different applications.
S.cafe is technical composite fibre mainly manufactured from coffee grounds. Process of making fabric out of coffee grounds is just similar to that used to bamboo into viscose like material.
The manufacturing process of coffee fibre involves the use of chemicals which are non-toxic in nature, hence they do not create harm to the environment.
The manufacturing of a new product does not require high temperature for carbonization, so its manufacturing process is more efficient. More important point is that the process does not use hazardous chemicals as well.
S.cafe fibre comes under the environmentally friendly textile as the fibres are 100 percent biodegradable and do not create an impact on the environment as well.
Upcycling is a great way to reuse materials and reduce our footprint. It is a process that proposes creative reuse with an added value of waste to a higher quality product, such as, for example, the transformation of used wood into furniture, art pieces or architectural elements. The only way to achRead more
Upcycling is a great way to reuse materials and reduce our footprint. It is a process that proposes creative reuse with an added value of waste to a higher quality product, such as, for example, the transformation of used wood into furniture, art pieces or architectural elements. The only way to achieve sustainable and responsible development is to closely examine our lifestyle.
60 years old Varanasi man Sandeep Saran’s hand-carved, Upcycled wooden furniture earns him Rs 15 Lakh/Year. The 60-year-old began using his free time to make wooden frames, pen holders and other items. Eventually, he moved to bigger furniture items like making a rocking chair for himself, a garden bench, a centre table and cabinets. Humans generate massive amounts of carbon emissions, and using wood also amounts to an unsustainable practice. Therefore he started sourcing wood from fallen or dead trees. Sometimes the lightning-caused a tree to fall with dramatic imprints of the damage. He used it creatively to draw unique shapes out of them. He started making furniture from wooden items as a hobby, but it soon evolved into Kaath Kagaz. His home studio offers customised furniture, earning him up to Rs 15 lakh per year.
ChopValue is a Canadian company that collects used chopsticks and turns them into a variety of products like furniture and countertops. It has recycled more than 32m chopsticks – diverting them from landfills and creating employment for 40 people. The startup uses heat, steam and pressure to transfoRead more
ChopValue is a Canadian company that collects used chopsticks and turns them into a variety of products like furniture and countertops. It has recycled more than 32m chopsticks – diverting them from landfills and creating employment for 40 people.
The startup uses heat, steam and pressure to transform the chopsticks into wooden tiles – now also being used in Calgary, Montreal and Los Angeles.
Part of the innovation is the process that transforms the lifecycle of a common utensil such as chopstick, from short and linear to unlimited and circular. This starts by recycling chopsticks from local restaurants in Vancouver. By maintaining a local radius of restaurants, ChopValue is able to minimize its carbon footprint. The recycled chopsticks are delivered to ChopValue every two weeks where they are disinfected and sorted. The Chopsticks are placed in a rolling cylinder that groups and aligns them evenly, and prepares them for the succeeding steps. The following step is to add the adhesive that will allow each chopstick to stick to one another. Each chopstick is dipped into water-based resin that will allow the product to be recycled and gives off no emission during the process. Once the chopsticks are dried, they are transferred to a hydraulic hot press where the resonated raw material is compressed into the new material. After this material is created, they are cut into standard dimensions and later customized depending on the specifications of the new product. Finally, the new products are covered with a food-safe wax that emphasizes the material’s texture.
It is a singularly innovative and scalable idea that is inspiring fresh ways for us to think about the resources we have in our urban environment.
Reusable notebooks are an amazing, eco-friendly innovation designed to look and feel like regular paper notebooks but with the added bonus of being far more sustainable. Reusable notebooks can be erased and used over and over, and most of them can be uploaded to your computer, tablet, or smartphoneRead more
Reusable notebooks are an amazing, eco-friendly innovation designed to look and feel like regular paper notebooks but with the added bonus of being far more sustainable. Reusable notebooks can be erased and used over and over, and most of them can be uploaded to your computer, tablet, or smartphone with just a quick scan.
Reusable notebooks work the same way as conventional notebooks work, except without the paper and ink. Think of it like a digital notepad that you can write on as if you were writing on paper. Many iPads and tablets already have apps or features like this, but reusable notebooks are specifically designed to give you that same pen and paper experience without the hassle of a complete hard drive.
Notes can be written, scanned into your computer, then sent to Google Drive, Evernote, Dropbox, and other online storage applications. After they have been uploaded (and double-checked!) simply erase the page and start again. No more wasted paper, no more stacks of spiral notebooks, and no more flipping through endless pages for a single reference.
Using grey water for many of the water needs in a home or garden that don't require potable water can help reduce stresses on water supplies, lower home water usage and costs, and support a thriving landscape. Greywater is gently used water from your bathroom sinks, showers, tubs, and washing machinRead more
Using grey water for many of the water needs in a home or garden that don’t require potable water can help reduce stresses on water supplies, lower home water usage and costs, and support a thriving landscape.
Greywater is gently used water from your bathroom sinks, showers, tubs, and washing machines. It is not water that has come into contact with feces, either from the toilet or from washing diapers.
Greywater may contain traces of dirt, food, grease, hair, and certain household cleaning products. While greywater may look “dirty,” it is a safe and even beneficial source of irrigation water in a yard. Keep in mind that if greywater is released into rivers, lakes, or estuaries, its nutrients become pollutants, but to plants, they are valuable fertilizer. Aside from the obvious benefits of saving water (and money on your water bill), reusing your greywater keeps it out of the sewer or septic system, thereby reducing the chance that it will pollute local water bodies. Reusing greywater for irrigation reconnects urban residents and our backyard gardens to the natural water cycle.
The easiest way to use greywater is to pipe it directly outside and use it to water ornamental plants or fruit trees. Greywater can also be used to irrigate vegetable plants as long as it doesn’t touch edible parts of the plants. In any greywater system, it is essential to use “plant friendly” products, those without lots of salt, boron, or chlorine bleach. The build-up of salts and boron in the soil can damage plants. While you’re at it, watch out for your own health: “natural” body products often contain substances toxic to humans.
It’s important to remember that the rules and regulations about grey water reuse vary quite a bit, so depending on your location. In addition, improper management of grey water could lead to odor, pest, or pathogen issues, so it’s important to do your homework before putting in any sort of grey water system.
Every year, around 8 lakhs tonnes of flower waste is being dumped in the Indian rivers adding to all the other factors choking them to death. Mostly flower waste is thrown directly into our water bodies, the harmful pesticides and insecticides used to grow the flowers remain as residue on the flowerRead more
Every year, around 8 lakhs tonnes of flower waste is being dumped in the Indian rivers adding to all the other factors choking them to death. Mostly flower waste is thrown directly into our water bodies, the harmful pesticides and insecticides used to grow the flowers remain as residue on the flower and as a result when thrown into the water body it gets mixed with water thereby polluting the water body and hampering the fragile ecosystem.
While there are a number of organisations who are now working towards recycling and reusing flower waste, flower pollution continues to rise. And that’s simply because we as consumers of flowers are not treating the waste effectively. Here are some ways on how we can start treating flower waste at home.
Create a mesmerising potpourri: Take the floral waste and let it dry for a day or two. Mix these dried flowers with your favourite spices – you can choose from cinnamon, star anise, clove, dried citrus peels etc. Put these together in a jar. Add a few drops of essential oils from aromatherapy range or you can add the drops of your favourite perfume too. Seal the mixture and let it mature for over a period of 10 days. Your potpourri will be ready to mesmerise your guests next time!
Convert your rotten flowers into a scent for floor mopping: Take 1/4th cup of dry or rotten flowers and mix it with one cup of baking soda. Add a tablespoon of salt to it and your fragrant floor mopping solution is ready. You would no longer need a room freshner or any other kind of room perfumes.
Redecor Your Home Walls With Floral Art: Pressed flowers create a beautiful home décor piece. Just arranged the flowers in a beautiful pattern and you will be ready to redefine your home space. All you will need is a sheet of colourful paper or white paper along with a cardboard and a design to create this masterpiece. Make sure you dry the art piece completely, once done you can frame it up!
DIY Flower Candles: It is time to take candle making and use it for the purpose of reducing waste from the planet. In case you are not someone who wants to go the whole hog to make candles, simply dry the discarded flowers and just paste it on regular white candles
The cooling industry is important, but it is also incredibly polluting – accounting for around 10% of global CO2 emissions. That is three times the amount produced by aviation and shipping combined. And as temperatures around the world continue to rise due to climate change, the demand for cooling wRead more
The cooling industry is important, but it is also incredibly polluting – accounting for around 10% of global CO2 emissions. That is three times the amount produced by aviation and shipping combined. And as temperatures around the world continue to rise due to climate change, the demand for cooling will increase too.
The most common type of refrigerant used to be CFCs. But after CFCs were found to be depleting the ozone layer, there was a worldwide effort to phased them out. But the effort to get rid of CFCs resulted in many chemical manufacturers choosing to replace them with two groups of chemicals with a different problem – hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). These refrigerants break down ozone molecules far less, but are extremely potent greenhouse gases.
In order to fight climate change we need to shift from these harmful chemicals to more sustainable solutions:
There are ways to cool a home without the need for air conditioning. Traditional approaches use water features such as fountains to help cool the air passing through a building, while others use careful design to encourage natural air circulation. Even simple approaches like placing an earthenware pot of water near a window or drafty spot can help to cool a room by a few degrees.
Part of the problem with refrigerants, however, is that much of the harm they cause is after we as consumers have finished using them. Properly disposing of old refrigerants, rather than letting them leak into the air, would be equivalent to preventing nearly 90 gigatons of carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere. That’s more than 17 years of U.S. CO2 emissions.
For those already looking to replace their fridge or air conditioning unit with something that is better for the planet, there are a growing number of options available. Manufacturers have started turning to climate-friendly chemicals, known as natural refrigerants, which have comparatively low or zero global warming potential.
Every day too many men and women across the globe struggle to feed their children a nutritious meal. There are hundreds of theories on how we can end world hunger. Some have been effective and others not, but one thing is certain, and that is that we must do something in order to achieve a world ofRead more
Every day too many men and women across the globe struggle to feed their children a nutritious meal. There are hundreds of theories on how we can end world hunger. Some have been effective and others not, but one thing is certain, and that is that we must do something in order to achieve a world of Zero Hunger.
Transitioning: Many families dealing with poverty need help transitioning into a state of self-dependance. 15 Feeds Family is an organization that helps with this transition. They start by providing families with food, but then slowly find solutions to empower families to be self-sufficient. This is important, because self-sufficiency allows for a certain food income, when relying on donations does not always guarantee food.
Precision Agriculture: Advancements in precision agriculture, a farming management concept that incorporates internet of things (IoT) technology into farming techniques, offers another way to help feed the planet.
Gene-Edited Crops: Gene editing is essentially a much quicker form of breeding. New companies are being set up to help evolve the nutrition of food with the promise of delivering high quality, trusted ingredients that are traceably produced for complete transparency. The powerful new gene editing technology known as CRISPR allows researchers to correct genetic defects, treat and prevent the spread of diseases and improve crops. The latest advancements could result in healthier food alternatives for consumers with the same great taste that they love.
Urban Farming: Almost one-quarter of undernourished people live in an urban environment. Recently, there has been a big push for urban farming. It empowers families to gain control over their own food source. Moreover, it brings farms closer to where people live, this farming method is expected to be both efficient and cost-effective by reducing transportation expenses.
Food Donations: The impact of donations, both cash and food, have had an immense impact on world hunger. Organizations such as Food for All have customers donate $1-5 when checking out. Last year they raised a whopping $60 million to fight world hunger.
Gender equality is a human right, but our world faces a persistent gap in access to opportunities and decision-making power for women and men. How can we change this and promote gender equality in daily life?
In 2017, a study conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that women have only 68 percent of the rights, opportunities and access to resources enjoyed by the world’s men. Those differences and the speed of progress in reducing them, vary from country to country. But according to the WEF resRead more
In 2017, a study conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that women have only 68 percent of the rights, opportunities and access to resources enjoyed by the world’s men. Those differences and the speed of progress in reducing them, vary from country to country. But according to the WEF researchers, at our current pace, it will take 100 years to eradicate gender disparities.S
Household chores and children’s care are every adult’s responsibility. Ask yourself if there is an equal division of labor in your home. The work of caring for children is still done mainly by women in much of the world. According to studies, the overload of household chores can increase women’s chances of mental illnesses, besides depressing their productivity at work, consequently affecting their salaries.
Get some help and support if you know a friend or acquaintance is suffering from domestic violence or other abuse. This type of violence is not restricted to physical aggression. Verbal attacks and psychological abuse also affect women. Often, all these things occur together. If you experience domestic violence, be aware that you are not alone. Report it!
Do not make comments that ridicule, demean or humiliate women, black people, indigenous people, members of the LGBTQI community or any other historically marginalized groups. And don’t keep quiet if you hear such comments. Talk to your colleagues, friends and family frankly and tell them to stop with the chauvinist, racist, homophobic and transphobic insults.
Value, stimulate and hire diverse teams. A study by the Boston Consulting Group and involving 1,700 companies from eight countries showed that the more diverse the workforce, the better the company’s performance on measures related to innovation. Even small changes yielded results. The survey indicated that an increase of only 2.5 percent of women in a team of managers can increase innovation revenues by 1 percent.
Employees must have a safe channel to report bullying, sexual harassment and racism without being exposed or dismissed. Proven cases should be punished.
See lessWater resources are finite, and they are getting smaller every year. How can we save water in the most effective ways at home?
Toilets: Don’t Use the Toilet as an Ashtray or Wastebasket. Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue, or other small bit of trash, you’re wasting gallons of water. Put them in the garbage, or better yet, recycle. Put Plastic Bottles or a Float Booster in Your Toilet Tank: To cut down onRead more
Toilets:
Don’t Use the Toilet as an Ashtray or Wastebasket. Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue, or other small bit of trash, you’re wasting gallons of water. Put them in the garbage, or better yet, recycle.
Put Plastic Bottles or a Float Booster in Your Toilet Tank: To cut down on water waste, put an inch or two of sand or pebbles inside each of two plastic bottles. Fill the bottles with water, screw the lids on, and put them in your toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanisms. Or, buy an inexpensive tank bank or float booster. This may save ten or more gallons of water per day.
Buy an Adjustable Toilet Flapper: Installing an adjustable toilet flapper will allow for adjustment of each per flush use; the user can adjust the flush rate to the minimum per flush setting that achieves a single good flush each time.
Install Composting Toilets
Install Low or Dual Flush Models
Shower:
Install Water-Saving Showerheads, Shower Timers, and Low-Flow Faucet Aerators Inexpensive water-saving low-flow showerheads or restrictors are easy for the homeowner to install. Long showers can use five to ten gallons every unneeded minute.
Take Shorter Showers. One way to cut down on water use is to turn off the shower after soaping up, then turn it back on to rinse. A four-minute shower uses approximately 20 to 40 gallons of water.
Leaks:
Check Faucets and Pipes for Leaks
Use Your Water Meter to Check for Hidden Water Leaks. Read the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.
Laundry:
Use a clothes Washer for Only Full Loads. With clothes washers, avoid the permanent press cycle, which uses an added 5 gallons (20 liters) for the extra rinse.
Consider a High Efficiency Washing Machine. The most efficient washing machines use as little as seven gallons per load, compared to a whopping 54 for a traditional washer.
Coffee grounds are an unavoidable byproduct of coffee consumption which have a significant impact on the environment after ending in landfill. How can coffee grounds be reused further contributing towards a circular economy?
A company of Singtex industries discovers the way to use the coffee ground into wearable textile-like yarn which can further be converted into fabric. Coffee is one of the world's most popular drinks, as a result of this most of the coffee ground is discarded into the environment as waste but SingteRead more
A company of Singtex industries discovers the way to use the coffee ground into wearable textile-like yarn which can further be converted into fabric. Coffee is one of the world’s most popular drinks, as a result of this most of the coffee ground is discarded into the environment as waste but Singtex is now collecting the waste grounds from the drinks giant turns into sportswear.
Singtex successfully invented the S.Cafe eco-friendly coffee yarn in 2008, which was made from plastic bottles and coffee grounds. This green, high-tech yarn is environmentally friendly, deodorising, and fast-drying, UV-resistant and has many different applications.
S.cafe is technical composite fibre mainly manufactured from coffee grounds. Process of making fabric out of coffee grounds is just similar to that used to bamboo into viscose like material.
The manufacturing process of coffee fibre involves the use of chemicals which are non-toxic in nature, hence they do not create harm to the environment.
The manufacturing of a new product does not require high temperature for carbonization, so its manufacturing process is more efficient. More important point is that the process does not use hazardous chemicals as well.
S.cafe fibre comes under the environmentally friendly textile as the fibres are 100 percent biodegradable and do not create an impact on the environment as well.
See lessRecycling needs a significant energy contribution to transform the waste. What are the alternatives for reusing materials and reducing our footprints?
Upcycling is a great way to reuse materials and reduce our footprint. It is a process that proposes creative reuse with an added value of waste to a higher quality product, such as, for example, the transformation of used wood into furniture, art pieces or architectural elements. The only way to achRead more
Upcycling is a great way to reuse materials and reduce our footprint. It is a process that proposes creative reuse with an added value of waste to a higher quality product, such as, for example, the transformation of used wood into furniture, art pieces or architectural elements. The only way to achieve sustainable and responsible development is to closely examine our lifestyle.
60 years old Varanasi man Sandeep Saran’s hand-carved, Upcycled wooden furniture earns him Rs 15 Lakh/Year. The 60-year-old began using his free time to make wooden frames, pen holders and other items. Eventually, he moved to bigger furniture items like making a rocking chair for himself, a garden bench, a centre table and cabinets. Humans generate massive amounts of carbon emissions, and using wood also amounts to an unsustainable practice. Therefore he started sourcing wood from fallen or dead trees. Sometimes the lightning-caused a tree to fall with dramatic imprints of the damage. He used it creatively to draw unique shapes out of them. He started making furniture from wooden items as a hobby, but it soon evolved into Kaath Kagaz. His home studio offers customised furniture, earning him up to Rs 15 lakh per year.
See lessDisposable chopsticks are nowadays an essential feature of our dining tables. But the wasted resources caused by their overuse is huge, how can we solve this problem?
ChopValue is a Canadian company that collects used chopsticks and turns them into a variety of products like furniture and countertops. It has recycled more than 32m chopsticks – diverting them from landfills and creating employment for 40 people. The startup uses heat, steam and pressure to transfoRead more
ChopValue is a Canadian company that collects used chopsticks and turns them into a variety of products like furniture and countertops. It has recycled more than 32m chopsticks – diverting them from landfills and creating employment for 40 people.
See lessThe startup uses heat, steam and pressure to transform the chopsticks into wooden tiles – now also being used in Calgary, Montreal and Los Angeles.
Part of the innovation is the process that transforms the lifecycle of a common utensil such as chopstick, from short and linear to unlimited and circular. This starts by recycling chopsticks from local restaurants in Vancouver. By maintaining a local radius of restaurants, ChopValue is able to minimize its carbon footprint. The recycled chopsticks are delivered to ChopValue every two weeks where they are disinfected and sorted. The Chopsticks are placed in a rolling cylinder that groups and aligns them evenly, and prepares them for the succeeding steps. The following step is to add the adhesive that will allow each chopstick to stick to one another. Each chopstick is dipped into water-based resin that will allow the product to be recycled and gives off no emission during the process. Once the chopsticks are dried, they are transferred to a hydraulic hot press where the resonated raw material is compressed into the new material. After this material is created, they are cut into standard dimensions and later customized depending on the specifications of the new product. Finally, the new products are covered with a food-safe wax that emphasizes the material’s texture.
It is a singularly innovative and scalable idea that is inspiring fresh ways for us to think about the resources we have in our urban environment.
Traditional one-use notebooks waste paper and kill trees. How can we save trees and keep paper waste out of landfills and oceans?
Reusable notebooks are an amazing, eco-friendly innovation designed to look and feel like regular paper notebooks but with the added bonus of being far more sustainable. Reusable notebooks can be erased and used over and over, and most of them can be uploaded to your computer, tablet, or smartphoneRead more
Reusable notebooks are an amazing, eco-friendly innovation designed to look and feel like regular paper notebooks but with the added bonus of being far more sustainable. Reusable notebooks can be erased and used over and over, and most of them can be uploaded to your computer, tablet, or smartphone with just a quick scan.
Reusable notebooks work the same way as conventional notebooks work, except without the paper and ink. Think of it like a digital notepad that you can write on as if you were writing on paper. Many iPads and tablets already have apps or features like this, but reusable notebooks are specifically designed to give you that same pen and paper experience without the hassle of a complete hard drive.
Notes can be written, scanned into your computer, then sent to Google Drive, Evernote, Dropbox, and other online storage applications. After they have been uploaded (and double-checked!) simply erase the page and start again. No more wasted paper, no more stacks of spiral notebooks, and no more flipping through endless pages for a single reference.
See lessIn India, many cities and villages face water scarcity, owing to poor groundwater levels or weather conditions. So, how can we save water and improve sanitation at the same time?
Using grey water for many of the water needs in a home or garden that don't require potable water can help reduce stresses on water supplies, lower home water usage and costs, and support a thriving landscape. Greywater is gently used water from your bathroom sinks, showers, tubs, and washing machinRead more
Using grey water for many of the water needs in a home or garden that don’t require potable water can help reduce stresses on water supplies, lower home water usage and costs, and support a thriving landscape.
See lessGreywater is gently used water from your bathroom sinks, showers, tubs, and washing machines. It is not water that has come into contact with feces, either from the toilet or from washing diapers.
Greywater may contain traces of dirt, food, grease, hair, and certain household cleaning products. While greywater may look “dirty,” it is a safe and even beneficial source of irrigation water in a yard. Keep in mind that if greywater is released into rivers, lakes, or estuaries, its nutrients become pollutants, but to plants, they are valuable fertilizer. Aside from the obvious benefits of saving water (and money on your water bill), reusing your greywater keeps it out of the sewer or septic system, thereby reducing the chance that it will pollute local water bodies. Reusing greywater for irrigation reconnects urban residents and our backyard gardens to the natural water cycle.
The easiest way to use greywater is to pipe it directly outside and use it to water ornamental plants or fruit trees. Greywater can also be used to irrigate vegetable plants as long as it doesn’t touch edible parts of the plants. In any greywater system, it is essential to use “plant friendly” products, those without lots of salt, boron, or chlorine bleach. The build-up of salts and boron in the soil can damage plants. While you’re at it, watch out for your own health: “natural” body products often contain substances toxic to humans.
It’s important to remember that the rules and regulations about grey water reuse vary quite a bit, so depending on your location. In addition, improper management of grey water could lead to odor, pest, or pathogen issues, so it’s important to do your homework before putting in any sort of grey water system.
Flower pollution is often overlooked, while floral waste reportedly accounts for 16% of the total river pollutant. How can we treat flower waste and turn it into everyday use items?
Every year, around 8 lakhs tonnes of flower waste is being dumped in the Indian rivers adding to all the other factors choking them to death. Mostly flower waste is thrown directly into our water bodies, the harmful pesticides and insecticides used to grow the flowers remain as residue on the flowerRead more
Every year, around 8 lakhs tonnes of flower waste is being dumped in the Indian rivers adding to all the other factors choking them to death. Mostly flower waste is thrown directly into our water bodies, the harmful pesticides and insecticides used to grow the flowers remain as residue on the flower and as a result when thrown into the water body it gets mixed with water thereby polluting the water body and hampering the fragile ecosystem.
While there are a number of organisations who are now working towards recycling and reusing flower waste, flower pollution continues to rise. And that’s simply because we as consumers of flowers are not treating the waste effectively. Here are some ways on how we can start treating flower waste at home.
Create a mesmerising potpourri: Take the floral waste and let it dry for a day or two. Mix these dried flowers with your favourite spices – you can choose from cinnamon, star anise, clove, dried citrus peels etc. Put these together in a jar. Add a few drops of essential oils from aromatherapy range or you can add the drops of your favourite perfume too. Seal the mixture and let it mature for over a period of 10 days. Your potpourri will be ready to mesmerise your guests next time!
Convert your rotten flowers into a scent for floor mopping: Take 1/4th cup of dry or rotten flowers and mix it with one cup of baking soda. Add a tablespoon of salt to it and your fragrant floor mopping solution is ready. You would no longer need a room freshner or any other kind of room perfumes.
Redecor Your Home Walls With Floral Art: Pressed flowers create a beautiful home décor piece. Just arranged the flowers in a beautiful pattern and you will be ready to redefine your home space. All you will need is a sheet of colourful paper or white paper along with a cardboard and a design to create this masterpiece. Make sure you dry the art piece completely, once done you can frame it up!
DIY Flower Candles: It is time to take candle making and use it for the purpose of reducing waste from the planet. In case you are not someone who wants to go the whole hog to make candles, simply dry the discarded flowers and just paste it on regular white candles
CFCs or HCFCs have a global warming impact that is several hundred to several thousand times greater than that of CO2. How can we avoid these gases from reaching the atmosphere?
The cooling industry is important, but it is also incredibly polluting – accounting for around 10% of global CO2 emissions. That is three times the amount produced by aviation and shipping combined. And as temperatures around the world continue to rise due to climate change, the demand for cooling wRead more
The cooling industry is important, but it is also incredibly polluting – accounting for around 10% of global CO2 emissions. That is three times the amount produced by aviation and shipping combined. And as temperatures around the world continue to rise due to climate change, the demand for cooling will increase too.
The most common type of refrigerant used to be CFCs. But after CFCs were found to be depleting the ozone layer, there was a worldwide effort to phased them out. But the effort to get rid of CFCs resulted in many chemical manufacturers choosing to replace them with two groups of chemicals with a different problem – hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). These refrigerants break down ozone molecules far less, but are extremely potent greenhouse gases.
In order to fight climate change we need to shift from these harmful chemicals to more sustainable solutions:
There are ways to cool a home without the need for air conditioning. Traditional approaches use water features such as fountains to help cool the air passing through a building, while others use careful design to encourage natural air circulation. Even simple approaches like placing an earthenware pot of water near a window or drafty spot can help to cool a room by a few degrees.
Part of the problem with refrigerants, however, is that much of the harm they cause is after we as consumers have finished using them. Properly disposing of old refrigerants, rather than letting them leak into the air, would be equivalent to preventing nearly 90 gigatons of carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere. That’s more than 17 years of U.S. CO2 emissions.
For those already looking to replace their fridge or air conditioning unit with something that is better for the planet, there are a growing number of options available. Manufacturers have started turning to climate-friendly chemicals, known as natural refrigerants, which have comparatively low or zero global warming potential.
What are the ways to stop world hunger?
Every day too many men and women across the globe struggle to feed their children a nutritious meal. There are hundreds of theories on how we can end world hunger. Some have been effective and others not, but one thing is certain, and that is that we must do something in order to achieve a world ofRead more
Every day too many men and women across the globe struggle to feed their children a nutritious meal. There are hundreds of theories on how we can end world hunger. Some have been effective and others not, but one thing is certain, and that is that we must do something in order to achieve a world of Zero Hunger.
Transitioning: Many families dealing with poverty need help transitioning into a state of self-dependance. 15 Feeds Family is an organization that helps with this transition. They start by providing families with food, but then slowly find solutions to empower families to be self-sufficient. This is important, because self-sufficiency allows for a certain food income, when relying on donations does not always guarantee food.
Precision Agriculture: Advancements in precision agriculture, a farming management concept that incorporates internet of things (IoT) technology into farming techniques, offers another way to help feed the planet.
Gene-Edited Crops: Gene editing is essentially a much quicker form of breeding. New companies are being set up to help evolve the nutrition of food with the promise of delivering high quality, trusted ingredients that are traceably produced for complete transparency. The powerful new gene editing technology known as CRISPR allows researchers to correct genetic defects, treat and prevent the spread of diseases and improve crops. The latest advancements could result in healthier food alternatives for consumers with the same great taste that they love.
Urban Farming: Almost one-quarter of undernourished people live in an urban environment. Recently, there has been a big push for urban farming. It empowers families to gain control over their own food source. Moreover, it brings farms closer to where people live, this farming method is expected to be both efficient and cost-effective by reducing transportation expenses.
Food Donations: The impact of donations, both cash and food, have had an immense impact on world hunger. Organizations such as Food for All have customers donate $1-5 when checking out. Last year they raised a whopping $60 million to fight world hunger.