Artificial
Pros: Durable, affordable, easy to set up and maintain and continues to look good.
Cons: PVC, phthalates, huge carbon footprint and no natural tree scent

Real
Pros: environmentally friendly, local, renewable and recyclable and they smell good
Cons: grown with pesticides, difficult to set up and maintain, pricey

Solution? I already have an artificial so I am going with “reuse” despite the PVC and phthalates concerns. Plus I like a white tree and that is tough to find at the tree farm. Still can’t decide? You could always go with a Festivus pole.

Holiday Gifts With a Donation Twist
If you would like to make a donation to a worthy cause and go holiday shopping in the process, then check out greenlagirls Give to get: Picking an eco-gift bag.

Her useful review actually compares the contents of two different eco gift bags to determine if the bag is truly eco-useful or just fluff. One bag is from Environmental Working Group for a $135 donation and the other is from Jump Start to Green for an $89.99 donation. Either bag is a great way to get an “eco-interested” friend or relative started on the right foot.

Green Holiday Gift Guide (for Him)
Are you looking for greener gifts for the man in your life? Look no further than Inhabitat’s Green Gifts For Men. Most items are pricey but you will come out with unique, sustainable and eco conscious gifts crafted from recycled materials and that make a green statement to the world.

As you may already know, the first step to obtaining a feng shui life is to rid your home and yourself of all the stale and dead energy around you by getting rid of all the clutter. One really good way to do that is by having a yard sale.

There are many great reasons for having a yard sale. Some people have yard sales before they move so they don’t have to pack and ship belongings they aren’t using. Sometimes they are updating the look of their home and sell their old belongings to make money and room for the new ones. Sometimes your children just grow like weeds and rapidly outgrow both their clothes and their toys. It could also simply be the desire to purge all those items you’ve held onto for so long, thinking you’d find a use for them but never did.

No matter what your reason, having a yard sale is a relatively easy goal to achieve and requires just a few hours of preparation and a few more hours actually selling your wares. You’ll reap both financial and emotional rewards from it. Getting rid of the clutter is your first step towards attaining a feng shui life.

Decide on a date for your yard sale. Visit your local liquor store for boxes or use heavy duty garbage bags to put the items for your sale into. Start by surveying the items you have. When you are going through your house, you will need to be brutally honest with yourself. If you haven’t used it, don’t like it, don’t see yourself using it or don’t know of anyone personally who could benefit from it, then it’s a yard sale item. Sort through every dresser and kitchen drawer, every clothes and linen closet, every cupboard and toy box you have in your house. Don’t forget your basement, attic, pantry, entertainment center, buffet and outdoor tool shed as well. Get your family involved so that if an item belongs to one of them you won’t be making the decision for them. Get their input before placing an item in your yard sale box. Regardless of the time it takes to sort through all your items, make the commitment to stick with it and remind yourself on a continual basis the monetary profit and emotional relief you’ll feel once your clutter has been cleared from your home.

Once the sale is over, make another commitment to yourself not to bring the unsold items back into your home. Make arrangements with your local charity thrift store to donate the items. Most will be happy to make arrangements to pick up large donations. If you don’t have a local charity who will pick up the items just use my method and put a big “FREE” sign out at the end of the day. You will not believe how fast those items will disappear and it will save you a trip to the second hand store or from being tempted to bring the items back into the house.

Once it’s all said and done, you’ll have a few extra dollars in your pocket, and can breathe an emotional sigh of relief that the clutter that’s been weighing you down for so long has been purged from your home. Renew your commitment to remain organized and to combat the clutter on a continual basis.

About the Author:

Visit my Alternative Medicine website featuring Feng Shui life and Herbal Remedy Medicines, Chinese Herbal Medicine and much more: http://www.AlternativeMedicineBasics.com Sign up for my newsletter at altmedbasics@ getresponse.com

Buy the Book: Yard Sale
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Solar energy can be used for electricity, central heating, hot water, cooking, for producing salt and even for desalination. Solar energy comes from the sun’s rays. Solar energy is very environmentally friendly. However, when the sun rays enter the earth’s atmosphere it is quite dilute.

While solar energy is considered to be a very environmentally friendly energy source, it still comes with some disadvantages. Let’s discuss some advantages and disadvantages of solar energy. Let’s start with the main advantage of solar energy. Solar energy is clean. To produce electricity or heat with solar energy you only need the sun rays. There is no need to use fossil fuel in combination with sun rays to produce electricity or heat. You just need a solar energy collector or solar power panels in order to collect solar energy.

Solar energy is less expensive than electric heating. That is another big advantage of solar energy. By just using solar energy you can save a lot of money on heaters. In return you will get lower electric bills and it also means that you don’t have to maintain heaters.

If you live in a remote area where there are no power-lines solar energy can be the solution. There are remote areas where power companies have no means to access your home. Solar energy is a great alternative because it provides you with anything from heating water, electricity, and even cooking.

Another great use of solar energy is for desalination in areas where fresh, drinkable water is scarce. Solar energy evaporates brine and leaves the salt crystals in the bottom of the basin. The water in turn condenses back in another basin where it is now drinkable.

Although all of the above is very useful solar energy also has some disadvantages. These disadvantages also need to be discussed to paint a better overall picture. The main disadvantage of solar energy is that it’s dilute. This means you have to have a lot of solar collectors installed around your house. Solar energy may be very cheap but the solar collectors are relatively expensive and require maintenance in order to work properly and efficiently. If you decide to use solar energy you need to calculate the return on investment in order to know if the investment will be worth it.

One big disadvantage is that you need the rays to make use of solar energy. If you are situated in a part of this beautiful planet where there is not much sun light then this could be a problem. In other areas, the sun’s rays are almost always covered in clouds making solar energy collectors useless. You should first know if the sunshine in your area is abundant for the majority of the year. Of course if you live in desert areas like in Arizona or Mexico produces a lot of sunshine for the most part of the year and is ideal for solar energy collecting.

Lastly, the sun only shines during the day. Therefore is you need electricity or hot water during the night, like many of us do, it can be a problem. You will need a backup system like the ‘old’ utility grid or you will need to store the electricity for later use. There are battery systems that can store solar energy for later use.

Solar energy is very clean and an alternative to conventional heating and electrical systems. Although this is true it is also good to mention the disadvantages of solar energy. If you are considering using solar energy you must read this first to make a balanced decision….

About the Author:
Bryan Wong is the owner of the solar information website www.GetEasyInfo.com/solarpower - A great website that shares quality Info, News and tips on solar energy.

Buy the book: Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook
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A green home is one that is eco-friendly and is at harmony with the environment. You can help the environment by making your home greener. Here is how you can do so by adopting a more energy-efficient and earth-friendly lifestyle.

Read the following top ways to green your home.

1. Upgrade to greener appliances.
Make your home energy efficient by upgrading to greener appliances. Replace old appliances with energy-efficient models that are Energy Star rated to scale down your energy bill. According to the Energy Star site, use of energy-efficient appliances in just one in 10 homes is equal to planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.

2. Temperature control.
More than 50% of a home’s energy bill is from heating and cooling appliances. Moderating the thermostat according to the weather goes a long way in reducing energy consumption. Other energy saving methods include using a modern furnace, cleaning its air filter every month and the use of ceiling fans instead of air conditioners.

3. Saving water.
There are hundreds of ways one can save water and reduce energy consumption. A few include fitting faucets with aerators and installing water efficient low-flow toilets.

4. Clean with green products.
Buy green household cleaners that are made of natural, non-toxic substances instead of toxic ones. Carpet and window cleaners containing grain alcohol, detergents made of coconut or other plant oils etc. are bio-friendly.

5. Energy-efficient lighting.
Replace incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs). CFL bulbs use 66% less energy and last 10 times longer.

6. Use recycled paper.
Whenever you buy paper, get 100 % post-consumer recycled paper. These consume less virgin pulp and keep waste paper from ending up in landfills. You can also save more trees by opting out of junk mail lists. Using unbleached paper is more eco-friendly as the bleached paper process results in the creation of harmful byproducts. Also, eschew paper and plastic bags and carry your own cloth bags for shopping.

7. Bamboo floors.
Bamboo floors are more environmental friendly than hardwood floors. Bamboo matures in four to six years while it takes 50 to 100 years for typical hardwoods.

8. Shun plastics.
Plastics are not bio-degradable. They produce harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming when processed, burned or dumped into landfills. The best way is to avoid plastics, the next best thing is to reuse and recycle them.

9. Eco-paint.
Use environmentally safe paints that are organic and solvent-free to paint your home.

10. Green your garden.
Avoid synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides. Instead use organic manure such as compost and non-chemical pest control methods.

by Real Estate Advisor
About the Author:

Poway Real Estate San Diego Condos Carmel Valley Real Estate

Buy the book: Green This!

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For some, figuring out where you can start composting can be a bit of a challenge. After all, there are a few things you should keep in mind, like how far the compost heap should be from your home, how to keep it hidden away from nosy neighbors and prying eyes, and how to keep rodents and wildlife from digging around in the compost. And while there are a couple options like keeping your compost under wraps in a compost tumbler or bin, there are consumers out there who look for other aesthetically attractive options. One such option is a bench that doubles as a composting bin.

Dual functional furniture is always a plus, and owning a bench that offers a composting bin option is a terrific way to hide your compost in plain sight. You may want to consider this alternative versus a normal compost bin or compost tumbler if you feel that composting out in the open may ruin or distract from your natural landscape. With a composting bench, you can fearlessly hide your compost out in the middle of your garden without it taking away from the landscape.

Some companies offer dual functional composting benches, but it you’re the do it yourself type, you can make a building project out of it. Just be sure to keep about 20 inches of height from the seat to the ground for a good sized composting bin. Another good design feature to keep in mind is to add hinges to the seat so that you can lift it up whenever you need to add water or turn the pile. It’s also important to keep in mind that your compost needs ventilation in order for it to decompose properly, so make sure that there’s plenty of slits all around the bottom bin. Be sure however, to make them small enough so that small animals can’t get in. And don’t worry about any smells coming out from beneath the bench; as long as you’re following the proper carbon to nitrogen ration (green parts to brown parts), and you’re regularly turning and adding water to your compost, it should smell earthy, not icky.

Composting is a fun process for everyone, and keeping it underneath an attractive bench is perfect for even the most discerning gardener. Literally, you can sit back and relax and let the compost do its thing!

by Duong Vicki
About the Author: For a wide selection in compost bins and rain barrels be sure to stop by Composters.com.

Buy the Book: Composting, A Step by Step Guide

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Under the said campaign, Google.org earmarked $1 million for grants to institutions which are undertaking developmental experiments on the practical use of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Aside from that, the institution also announced that they are planning to provide $10 million to fund the actual development, adoption and commercialization of plug-in hybrid vehicles as well as electric cars. According to the institution, they are willing to fund any development of vehicle-to-grid technologies.

The Brookings Institution received a $200,000 grant from Google.org which will be spent in its hosting of a conference next year. The said conference which will be held on the spring is aimed to promote the use of plug-in hybrid technology.

CalCars also received a $200,000 grant from Google.org to support its effort in educating the public on the advantages of using plug-in hybrids. The Electrical Power Research Institute also received a $200,000 grant which will be used in the development of plug-in technologies.

Google.org also awarded a $100,000 grant to Plug-in America which will be used to support the group’s public awareness in the use of plug-in hybrids. The Rocky Mountain Institute also received a grant worth $200,000. The said grant will be used by the RMI in the development of a practical plug-in hybrid vehicle which hopefully will be adopted by car manufacturers.

Dr. Larry Brilliant, the Executive Director of Google.org, has this to say at the launching of the initiative: “Clean energy technology can dramatically shift how we make and use energy for our cars and homes by charging cars through an electric grid powered by solar or other renewable energy sources, and selling power back to the electric grid when it’s needed most. This approach can quadruple the fuel efficiency of cars on the road today and improve grid stability.”

Plug-in hybrid cars are more environment-friendly than hybrid cars since its battery pack can be recharged via a common household outlet. For hybrid vehicles, the only way that the battery pack can be charged is by the use of the alternator or when the brakes are activated.

Aside from providing grants which will promote the development of environment-friendly vehicles, Google has also taken a step to make their company headquarters more environment-friendly. The company announced that they are now using solar electricity on their Mountain View, California headquarters. Google’s solar panel installation can produce as much as 1.6 megawatts - this is estimated to be the equivalent of the power needs of 1,000 average California households.

According to the company, their solar panel installation is the largest of its kind in any corporate campus in the United States.

“Google is committed to using its resources to help solve the global climate challenge,” says Dr. Brilliant. “Google.org is a hybrid philanthropy, bringing together the active engagement of the broader Google corporation, as well as investments in for-profits, traditional grants, policy work, and public information. RechargeIT brings together all of these elements to help accelerate progress on plug-ins,” he concluded.

by Anthony Fontanelle
About the Author: Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop

Buy the book: The Electric Car
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If you’re remodeling your home, or building your dream home from scratch (lucky you!), installing a brand new floor might be on your list. There are many flooring materials to choose from, each with different pros, cons, and looks. If you are trying to live green (make environmentally friendly remodeling choices), you may want to consider an eco-friendly flooring material. There are quite a few options out there, so let’s take a look:

Cork Flooring
You’re probably familiar with the cork you find stopping up wine bottles, of course, but you may never have walked on a cork floor. It’s the same material, just formed into tiles or planks and stuck down on the sub-floor. Since it is lightweight, installation is fairly painless.

Cork is considered eco-friendly because it’s harvested from sustainable resources. It comes from the bark of the cork oak tree (which can be collected without harming the tree itself).

Cork’s unique look makes it a fun floor choice, but there are practical reasons for choosing it as well. It acts as an insulator, absorbing sound and softening impacts (for instance, if you lay cork in the kitchen, a dropped dish probably won’t break). It’s also an easier material to stand on for long periods than floors made from ceramic tiles, stone, etc.

Reclaimed Hardwood Floors
If you love the look of hardwoods (who doesn’t?) but can’t reconcile yourself to having trees cut down just so you can get a new living room floor, there may still be a way for you to get the floor of your dreams. Think reclaimed wood.

Reclaimed hardwood floors are made with timbers recycled from old structures, such as dilapidated barns, schoolhouses, libraries, etc. There are a number of companies who buy the wood that would otherwise end up in a junkyard and refinish it to create planks suitable for residential floors. So basically you can a new hardwood floor without any new trees being cut down.

If you’re wondering if these reused boards are structurally sound, they are. In fact, many people tout them as superior to the planks made from today’s trees. The wood used in these older buildings came from old-growth forests, from older first generation trees; on the other hand, today’s hardwood floors are made from wood harvested from tree farms, where the trees never truly reach maturity before being cut down.

Have a floor made from reclaimed wood and you’ll be getting quality, character, and history in one swoop.

Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo is another flooring material that is catching on in popularity. It is considered eco-friendly because bamboo is a fast-growing grass, rather than a tree, and farms can grow a shoot to maturity in just a few years.

Though bamboo is somewhat similar to hardwood floors, it has a distinct look, and some people prefer that uniqueness to hardwoods. It is a sturdy, durable material and will last just as long as wood. Though there aren’t as many varieties as there are species of wood, different finishes can create different looks for you to choose from.

The three flooring materials we have discussed–bamboo, hardwoods, and cork–are all considered eco-friendly. As an added bonus, they are all relatively easy to maintain. No vacuum cleaner required here! They are also good choices for allergy sufferers. With bamboo, hardwoods, and cork, there is no place for pet dander, pollens, mold, mildew, dust, etc. to hide. Compare this to the nooks and crannies you get with carpets, and you’ll see why more and more people are choosing these other materials.

by Ivan Cuxeva Jr
About the Author: TC Thorn writes on many home improvement topics, such as wood flooring, bamboo floor cleaning, and kitchen floor ideas.

Buy The New Flooring Idea Book
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Red worms or red wiggler worms, which are different from earthworms, are the best worms to use for your composting process. You want to stay away from using earthworms because they weren’t made to be composting worms; red worms will take your food scraps, eat and digest them, making worm castings full of nutrients for your soil. Earthworms on the other hand, are burrowing worms; they’ll aerate the soil and take everything on the surface down with it. Therefore, they’ll be absolutely useless for what you want to do, which is compost!

In order to have a successful vermicomposting experience, always remember to feed your worms! Worms need food too, and they love food scraps, another reason why vermicomposting is so easy. Readily available, food scraps like wilted vegetables, fruit rinds, bread and coffee grounds are great sources of food for your worms. Just be sure to never, ever add scraps like meats, fats, oils, or dairy products because the worms will not be able to eat and digest these items properly. Another reason you do not want to put animal products in your compost is because they smell bad and attract rodents and other animals to your compost bin or heap.

Be sure to bury your food scraps in the dirt about a few inches deep underneath the dirt. This will keep the annoying fruit flies away, not to mention leaving some wiggle room for your little worms. It’s always a good idea to bury your food scraps in different areas of your worm bin so that the worms don’t get too used to convening in the same spot and so that all areas of the bin receives its fair share amount of worm castings.

After a few months you’ll notice that in place of the dirt bedding you laid out for the worms earlier, you have what we composters like to call black gold, rich fine worm castings that are ready to go into your garden. After that you’re ready to start over! A fun process that students, young children and adults will surely enjoy, vermicomposting is a terrific and acceptable way to get down and dirty with worms!

Author: Duong Vicki
About the author: For a wide selection in chipper shredders and lawn sweepers, be sure to stop by Composters.com

Buy the Book: Worms Eat My Garbage
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It is no wonder when you consider that most homes contain toxin soaked carpeting, formaldehyde soaked particleboard, toxic household cleaning supplies, PVC, offgassing, dry cleaning, plastics and much more. If it was manufactured in a lab, odds are it is not good for you or your family. The short and long term dangers are compounded if you have children or pets.

The good news is that it is not terribly difficult or expensive to start greening your home. Gaiam has a nice article called 5 Easy and Cheap Ways to Green Your Home and the list includes:

1. Take your shoes off at the door to avoid tracking in lead, pesticides and other contaminants. The good news is, your home will stay much cleaner too.

2. Get rid of vinyl (PVC) which is commonly found in shower curtains, kids toys and backpacks. Look for the #3 or letters PVC. Why get rid of it?

“PVC frequently contains notorious phthalates to make it soft. According to the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition, these phthalates are known to cause liver and kidney damage, endocrine disruption, reproductive system damage and, possibly, cancer, and they can easily leach out of PVC. And finally, harder PVC often contains lead and cadmium, two heavy metals that have also been linked to a host of health issues, including cancers.” Gaiam.com

3. Switch to green cleaners because traditional household cleaners turn your indoor air and surfaces into toxic hazards. There are many green cleaners on the market today and they are a step in the right direction but making your own cleaners with vinegar, baking soda and salt is the most healthy, inexpensive, non-toxic and earth friendly way to clean your home.

4. Use indoor plants. They look great, are positive feng shui and yes they absorb toxins from the air. The best plants for toxic absorption are ficus, spider plants and English ivy.

5. Open your windows even if it is for a few minutes a day and yes, even in the winter. Even adding a little fresh air to the mix will help dilute the toxins in your household air.

For those who are not familiar with the meaning of “feng shui“, it literally translates to mean “wind and water.”

Feng Shui is about how the “chi”, or the energy of the life force, flows around us and influences our lives. The main aspect of this energy is that it should be in balance.

There are five Feng Shui elements. There are no good or bad elements but each one has its own influence on the other. The five basic elements are metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The Chinese believe that these are the basic elements of the universe and everything in our world is an amalgam of the five elements.

There are colors associated with each element. They are:

Element and Associated Color

Metal - White, Aqua blue
Wood - Green, hunter green
Water - Black, navy blue
Fire - Red, light purple
Earth - Yellow, light brown

Here are Ten Top Tips to Feng Shui your kitchen for better health and prosperity.

1. The kitchen should not be the first room you want to see when you enter your house.

2. The kitchen should not be located below a toilet or adjacent to it.

3. The kitchen should have several levels of lighting, creating an airy and spacious, clean, bright and welcoming environment

4. Keep the kitchen simple and do not overload it with gadgets.

5. De-clutter worktops and cabinets alike.

6. Fresh flowers bring uplifting energy to the kitchen. Place a bowl of fruit, a vase of flowers, or a living plant in your kitchen.

7. Always use bright Yang colors like oranges, greens, browns and bright yellows as this is the Yang sector of your home. Yellow (any shade) is very good for digestion.

8. The oven should not face the front door under any circumstances.

9. Fire and water should not be aligned side by side or directly opposite the each other. Separate the two with a partition made of wood if you don’t have a choice.

10. The kitchen is a perfect place to grow herbs and vegetables. Any green growing plant will vitalize your space; growing food increases your ability to generate wealth exponentially. Whenever you water your plant, visualize that you are investing in your future and caring for your financial needs.

We hope you enjoy your newly energized space.

by Ian and Jo Ludlow
About the Authors: Ian and Jo Ludlow have worked in the home improvement industry for many years. They can be contacted through any of the following websites. http://www.design-ideas-for-kitchens.com
http://www.home-and-garden-ideas.com
http://www.sales-and-management-training.com
Ian Ludlow’s background is in sales training and coaching with a specialization in supporting companies that sell direct to the public.

Buy the Book: The Feng Shui Kitchen
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