Green Living Tips & Ideas

Archive for July, 2009

Everybody wants green energy. What is the best way to achieve being able to get the power we need without damaging the environment, which is our obvious goal? Should we be opting for wind farms, hydroelectricity, or solar energy as alternative power? This guide to green living will help us decide

Resources that are regenerative, meaning they cannot be depleted are considered renewable energy. These resources are safe for our environment and produce energy without the harmful pollutants and emissions associated with fossil-fuels.

Wind farms often receive a bad press, especially when they’re situated near homes or in popular hiking areas. They can make a lot of noise and because they have to be placed on skylines for maximum efficiency they often spoil views. Offshore wind farms are less problematic in this way and can take advantage of fierce sea winds, increasing their output, but they rely on a nation having a lot of suitable coastline.

While the Netherlands does very well with its wind farms, the US is, considering the comparative size of its population, at a distinct disadvantage. For the home-owner, small wind-powered generators are available, but they’re not very efficient and often result in complaints from neighbors.

A much more effective way of generating power is using hydroelectricity that uses tidal forces and the natural energy of rivers. However, there are a limited number of suitable locations for hydroelectric generators, and often these are in areas which already provide fertile farmland, so a lot of people have to be displaced and lose their land in order for them to be built. They can also have a damaging impact on local wildlife.

The test is being easy to access, non-polluting and practical and solar power is the only alternative that truly passes that test. Modern solar panels can still function effectively even in areas where it’s frequently cloudy. They require very little maintenance and once installed do not get in any ones way. The greenest way to generate the power we need, for these reasons, is to harness the power of the sun.

Everybody wants green energy. Being able to get the power we need without damaging the environment is an obvious goal – but what’s the best way to achieve it? Should we be opting for wind farms, hydroelectricity, or solar energy as alternative power? This guide to green living will help us decide

Renewable Energy is energy created from resources that are regenerative – or renewable – meaning they cannot be depleted. Resources like these produce energy without emissions from fossil fuels and harmful pollutants and are safe for our environment.

Wind farms often receive a bad press, especially when they’re situated near homes or in popular hiking areas. They often spoil views, because they have to be placed in skylines for maximum efficiency and they make a lot of noise. Offshore wind farms are less problematic in this way and can take advantage of fierce sea winds, increasing their output, but they rely on a nation having a lot of suitable coastline.

While the Netherlands does very well with its wind farms, the US is, considering the comparative size of its population, at a distinct disadvantage. For the home-owner, small wind-powered generators are available, but they’re not very efficient and often result in complaints from neighbors.

Using the natural energy of rivers and tidal forces by hydroelectricity is a much more effective way of generating power. However, there are a limited number of suitable locations for hydroelectric generators, and often these are in areas which already provide fertile farmland, so a lot of people have to be displaced and lose their land in order for them to be built. The impact on local wildlife can also be damaging.

Solar power alone passes the test of truly being practical, easy to access and non-polluting at the same time. Modern solar panels can still function effectively even in areas where it’s frequently cloudy. They don’t get in anyones way and, once installed, they require very little maintenance. Harnessing the power of the sun is the greenest way to generate the power we need for these reasons.

While we cannot visit all of the national parks and monuments in North America that we would like, we can read about them in some of the following national parks books.  These types of books offer a look at the spectacular beauty in other areas through vivid photos highlighting the best areas of national parks and monuments, and national parks books can be the next best thing to standing right there in the wilderness.

National Parks of America published by the Graphic Arts Center of Publishing Company featuring the brilliant photographs of acclaimed photographer, David Muench, and co-authors Stewart and James Uddell should be on everyone’s coffee table. Muench captures scenes of personal and primal importance in this collage of America’s most famous national parks and monuments. From the Great Smokey Mountains of North Carolina to the Old Faithful Geyser of Yellowstone, Muench’s photos coupled with Uddell’s insightful essays will take you away on a scenic adventure across the United States so absorbing that you could swear you can smell the fresh air in the comfort of your home.

Passionate Vision: Discovering Canada’s National Parks is Canada’s answer to Muench’s national parks book. Showcasing the photography skills of space shuttle Discovery astronaut, Roberta Lynn Bondar, this book is homage to Canadian national parks and the fragile ecosystem we all live in. Bondar uses photos from space interspersed with pictures of unique scenery such as bison roaming the salt planes of Alberta, and panoramas of great ice monoliths of the north. The foreword was written by former Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, who first set the groundwork of the Canadian national parks system called Parks Canada.

Ansel Adams: Our National Parks is a collection of vintage photographs of some of the United States greatest national parks and monuments by the legendary Ansel Adams. This book contains 78 of Adams’s most memorable images of nature spanning six decades starting from 1916, and some of his most heartfelt writings of his experiences and thoughts that reverberate with environmentalists today. This national parks book is a necessary addition to anyone interested in photography, nature, or history.

The Great National Parks of the World by Angela Ilidos and Giorgio Bardelli is a look at fifty-two exceptionally beautiful national parks around the world from the first-ever national park, Yellowstone, to the expansive reserves of Africa. This global journey reminds us that our future is dependent upon humanity preserving the environment of the world’s most pristine areas. It is sobering and magnificent at the same time. There is more to the world than just what is outside our front door.

These national parks books can be found at your local bookstore or online with the exception of Ansel Adams book which is sadly out-of-print but could be found in some libraries. Even so, keep in mind that whether it is American national parks, Canadian national parks, or anywhere else in the world, there are books out there for you to see nature without leaving your armchair. Of course, what all these books repeat is that there’s no substitute for the original.