living a greener life
Imagine if you could turn your home in Jakarta in a modern tropical paradise . Imagine that it was like staying in a resort. Think lush vegetation, natural materials, smart technologies and comfortable interiors. Think water features such as ponds and smart rainwater catchment systems, and productive gardens that are pleasing to the eye and soul. Think energy efficiency and the mix of smart electronics with a rustic, natural interior in place that reflect the friendly textures all around your home. Think smart lighting and imagine your home and how you live, super softly, could be an advanced model of life where you did not sacrifice to "go green'- you were home and life improvement that reflect your awareness and wisdom.
If you have thought about things and the state of our planet a little, you will realize that we need to change the way we live. As much as governments and corporations are major players, the only real way to change things is through awareness of how we live and how we spend our money, time and energy. With a massive shift in consciousness, and innovation in the way we live, we will change the world, but it takes a critical mass. And this is true in Jakarta, too. So if we can encourage our friends and their friends Jakarta to start living a little wiser and better, we can achieve this critical mass.
It begins with oneself. It expands our rooms and homes. It further extends our sphere of influence within our livelihoods, and further still in our neighborhoods. This article focuses on practical ways to change our homes. Test them and I guarantee you will improve your quality of life.
Take the upcoming weekend and spend time in the evolution of your home and therefore your life. Spend time in the garden or make plants and trees in your house or apartment. Make it more welcoming and more intelligent. If you are environmentally conscious, make the commitment to live as eco as is practical. As green as possible. And know that the results feel good. It is not difficult or confusing or complex. It's something you just do, and navigate along the way. It's funny. It is important. It is the only way that we can truly call ourselves intelligent human beings. When our homes and our lifestyle reflects our philosophy - to live in harmony with our natural, human and spiritual environments - we experience an amazing quality of life
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1. Become a Jedi Energy
Until we get a clean and abundant source of energy (how we can use the same if we want to!), it would be wise to reduce our use of fossil fuels and dirty coal. We can do this most easily by doing just a few things that have a high impact :.
- Use fans instead of AC is as often as possible A fan uses about 50 watts while an AC consumes about 1000. And the fans feel good ... If you need AC regularly, set your thermostat on the most comfortable setting (24 for me), and replace the freon with a hydrocarbon Green Star Artek (www.greenstar-artek.com).
- Use compact fluorescent or LED bulbs , if possible. The old incandescent bulbs are incredibly inefficient school and use a lot of energy, especially if you have lots of lights. Here are the facts: incandescent 75 watt CFLBs: 11 watt LED: 1 watt. Ranging from incandescent to LED 75 times more effective
- Use a bicycle or motorcycle vs car for when you go yourself or with! a friend. Seriously, you will have a great year on the bike, not to mention having a lot of fun. Or take a ojek (motorcyle taxi). You save time, you will have an adventure, and you'll reduce your carbon footprint considerably. Check www.go-jek.com for a Professional Motorcycle taxi service.
2. Befriend the plant kingdom
We could not live without trees, vegetation, and fruit. For those of us in the city, it is easy to forget how important they are to us. There is a very simple return, nice and high on investment (ROI) measures that we can take here:
- Eat a lot of vegetables and fruits local. This will not only make you feel and look great, it will have a serious impact on environmental health. Beef accounts for 18% of global warming gases, and each kilo of beef requires as much consumed 30,000 liters of water. Not to mention the existence of suffering in most chickens and cattle farm animals. Eating vegetables and fresh fruit will boost your health and to make the world better. If you buy organic and local, you get an A . In fact, if you can develop your own ... all the best. At the supermarket, look for organic products, and in some places you can find Bali Asli products for delicious jams.
- Tree planting / cultivating plants / Green your home . The simplest and most useful plant you can easily grow is Aloe Vera. It requires little water, sun or maintenance. It is an amazing supplement with a long list of benefits to amazing health. Juicing with vegetables or fruits works (try bananas, honey and peanut butter). It can also be used to treat insect and mosquito bites, sunburn, skin irritation, is fantastic for your skin and hair, can be used as freeze-dryer, shaving lotion, soap, food preservative and many other things. If you start gardening, you will feel a soothing connection to the Earth. Watching plants grow is very rewarding. And, if you plant trees, you will improve the quality of your home and significantly environment. Trees provide shade, build the soil, prevent flooding and act as carbon sinks.
3. Control your waste
This is a massive global problem. Our garbage is destroying the quality of our groundwater, poisoning our rivers and seas, killing coral reefs and animal life, and make a mess of our environment. Here are some simple steps, high ROI to this company
- Recycle : Just buy three garbage cans and put them in your kitchen or garage. A bin for organic waste (food waste, except meat and dairy products), one for recyclables (cans, bottles, plastic, paper), and one for garbage in general. This simple step will reduce the amount of waste leaving your home 70-80%. After a few months, you can even sell your recyclables! Join www.freecycle.com give the stuff you no longer want in your home to someone who does want.
- Compost: Approximately 70% of garbage is organic material. This means that the leaves of the garden, grass clippings, vegetable and fruit chips, food scraps and other organic waste. If you have a garden, just build a wooden box with a square meter, and emptying your organic waste in there. Remember to layer compost - moist organic, organic dry, soil, then repeat the layers (organic wet, organic dried, ground). Within weeks, you'll be creating your own high-quality fertilizer that you can use in your garden, which reduces waste massively, have fun, and create the precious soil!
- Use Natural soaps and cleaning products: There are many chemicals that are not good for us or the environment in soaps and household cleaners. The good news is that there are many manufacturers of soaps 'bio' and natural personal care products. The next time you go to Bali, check stores Bali Buddha or visit them online at www.balibuddha.biz.
One of the best ways to check that being green or "eco" is all about is to go and stay at a place that lives in harmony with nature. So the next time you need 