The Definition of Green Article

The word "Green" is not the omni-term for anything environmental although there is the tendency to substitute the word "Green" for "Environmental." Environmentalism is to grand topic that has several subdivisions. Under this grand topic o environmentalism, we will find Green, Sustainable, Pollution, and Conservation. Each one of these subdivisions are immense subject on their own.

In the mash-up of words and concepts, we have lost the fundamental meaning of Green. Environmental, Green, or Sustainable now blur into that ugly green color that we made in kindergarten when we slurred all the colors into one big blob. We cannot progress when confusion reigns, and every science starts out with a definition of terms.

The best definition of Green refers to the health impact of what we do on living things. So Green is primarily a health-related issue. This is seen in the fact that cleaning products were the early Green issues. In fact, indoor air quality is a big factor in Green buildings. Sick building syndrome was the result of poor indoor air quality, which is the antithesis of Green.

Sustainability is also badly morphed into many applications, but essentially deals with the management of our resources. This is a complimentary issue to Green, so it a Green and Sustainable business means that the company considers the health of the workplace as well as the material demands of the business.

The health of the workplace can be impacted by cleaning products, building materials, furniture, as well as paint and carpeting. "Outgassing" is a well documented concern. The installation of new carpet, new furniture, new paint, and new wood leave residual fumes as these items continue to dry out. Your senses will betray you because we think that anything new is clean and healthy, but that is a huge mistake. The varnishes and additives to paint, carpet glue, and wood fall under the category of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that are not good for you. If your health is comprised, these fumes can worsen your condition and hasten disease. If you are healthy, the long term exposure will wear you down in time.

Think of the dust that is recirculated that contains bacteria, virus, dust mite feces and scales, carbon from the copies, and so much more. It is a wonder that we aren't sick all the time except that we are generally healthy and able to live in hostile environments for a long time.

The people who are supposed to help clean our facilities and protect our health through sanitizing processes are the janitors, but clean does not mean healthy. The ammonia in the window spray is harmful, the zinc in the floor finish is bad for humans, the numerous chemicals in the cleansers add to a worsening situation.

Mold is a persistent problem for many buildings. The mold spores are never good for the workers, and can become a crisis concern if untreated. Latent issues remain the in the HVAC system as well. It is fair to say that the air of any building is a kind of "Ground Zero" for any office or business. If the employees are negatively impacted, productivity will fall. Afternoon headache, occasional nausea, and lethargy can be signs of an unhealthy indoor air quality. So, while your building may be energy efficient, and you may be conserving water as well as recycling your trash (sustainability issues), the building may be very un-Green because it is unhealthy.

The Green Business League believes that a Green office starts with an understanding of the healthy office and a serious look at the components that compromise indoor air quality. Consider using a Green certified janitorial service that also uses Green cleaning products, microfiber cloths, and HEPA vacuums. Do not let mold go untreated. Be mindful of all paint, carpet, and furniture used in the facility because they introduce a large volume of gases into the air.

Green is a primarily a health-related issue that blends into the other topics of sustainability, pollution control, and conservation. By dividing out the topics properly, the plan of attack seem much more clear. To attack the issue in a methodic manner, businesses should considering "Going Green" first then moving into the sustainable issues. The early disdain for the word Green comes from the anti-business attitudes of ultra-conservationists that needed a target for their vitriol. Green is not an anti-business concept when properly understood. A Green business is one that is a good place for living things in the workplace, in the community, and in the world.

By Michael Richmond

The Benefits of Gardening the Hydroponic Way

The Benefits of Gardening the Hydroponic Way

Gardening has been considered to be one of the most therapeutic rewards for North Americans. Gardening stimulates all of the senses, giving great satisfaction and pleasure. Hydroponics is the growing of plants without the use of soil. A variety of hydroponic gardening techniques exist and just about any plant can be grown with hydroponics. Hydroponic gardening is considered to be quite easy and many teachers use this method of gardening with their students when working on science projects.

There are a variety of benefits associated with hydroponic gardening. When plants are grown using hydroponics, the roots do not need to search for required nutrients. The nutrient solution is provided directly to them, which results in plant growth, which is more abundant. Incorporating hydroponics into an outdoor garden can help add interest and intrigue. The natural conditions available outdoors in the summer make it a perfect time to experiment with the various types of hydroponic cultivation. Annual flowers, fruit, herbs, and vegetables do exceptionally well with hydroponics.

With hydroponics, important growing factors such as light, temperature, and humidity can be controlled. Since there is no soil, there is less maintenance involved with hydroponics. There is no need for weeding and the worry of pests or soil borne diseases is drastically reduced. Hydroponics is always a soil less culture, but not all soil less cultures are considered to be hydroponics. Many of these cultures do not use the nutrient solutions, which are required for hydroponics. There are two main types of hydroponics, which are solution culture and medium culture. Solution culture uses a nutrient solution but does not use a solid growing medium for the roots. The medium culture has a solid growing medium for the roots such as gravel, sand or a perlite culture. Hydroponic plants are grown in a number of ways, each supplying nutrient solution to the plants one way or another.

Hydroponics can be used to grow plants anywhere, even in your own backyard. Using hydroponics can grow anything from garden crops to flowers. Hydroponic gardening is considered to be a clean and highly effective method for growing plants. There is less mess and less maintenance. Hydroponic gardening helps to eliminate the need for weeding and helps to cut down on diseases and pests. This form of gardening is also easily adapted to indoor environments, which means it can be used throughout the year to grow a gardener's favorite plants. The greatest advantage to hydroponics is the overall outcome of the plants, which will be of better quality and are much healthier. Gardeners can give nature a helping hand while enjoying the therapeutic benefits of their garden. Gardeners will be able to watch the spectacular improvements that growing hydroponically can bring to their garden.

Hydroponics has always been an ecologically sound gardening choice. It uses much less water than conventional gardening and does not erode the soil or add toxins to the environment. Soluble nutrient formulas are re-circulated and used by the plants' roots, which helps eliminate environmental waste. Plants tend to be healthier in a hydroponic system than those grown in soil, which makes them more pest resistant. Biological control agents are used as preventative measures. Harmful herbicides are simply not required because there are no weeds in a hydroponic garden. As many gardeners today are choosing to grow organically, organic crop cultivation in hydroponics has become very popular. Organic gardening is the cultivation of plants without the use of synthetic chemicals or pesticides. Gardeners are willing to invest in the extras required by organic gardening because it ensures that no harmful pesticides or fungicides will be used. There are many organic nutrients and additives designed specifically for use in hydroponic gardens.

by peters jones

Planning a Vegetable Garden

Here's all you need to know about starting your first home vegetable garden. Regardless of where one lives, growing conditions are bound to be different from the conditions described in most Gardening books. To plan a successful Garden, ask some questions. Which vegetables grow well in this area? What soil types are common? Are there unique conditions in the Garden to consider, for example, high winds, compacted soils, poor drainage and wet spots? Finally, what are the first and last frost dates and the growing season? Later as skills develop add more difficult Crops such as small fruits and perennial vegetables, and add more area to the Garden's size. When selecting plants of a first garden, keep in mind several suggestions. So before I even get started the garden is already divided into four equal quadrants that are easy to identify and keep separated. When planning the layout of the vegetable beds there are four main considerations that I keep in mind to guide my planting and growing strategy. If you plant a particular crop or family of related crops in one raised bed the previous year, it goes in a different area or garden bed the next time around. A very important consideration when planning your vegetable garden is to think about the size, height, and growth habit of the crops and to plant according to these characteristics. Getting this right will enable you to employ succession planting techniques to grow two or three separate harvests in the same space that many gardeners grow a single vegetable crop. When the bulbs are harvested in mid summer the bed can then be used to plant fall crops such as kale, mustard greens, cabbage, broccoli, and other cool weather vegetables and planning ahead the same area can be used to grow tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants can be replanted with your crop of fall garlic. In September after the tomatoes have slowed production, pull the vines, add a layer of compost to the bed and use the area to plant garlic to over-winter, or sow transplants of other fall and winter vegetables. There are many unique vegetable varieties available that are not only tasty, but can also add an ornamental flavor to the vegetable garden with their unusual shapes, textures, and colors. There are several factors to consider when planning what will be grown in the vegetable garden. Growing from seed gardeners should consider whether they are willing and able to grow any of their plants from seed under fluorescent lights. In cooler climates, starting seeds indoors helps to extend the growing season and provides the gardener with more control over what specific varieties of tomatoes, peppers, beans and other vegetables will be cultivated. When planning the vegetable garden, decide which plants will be grown from seed, and which plants will be purchased as seedlings. Gardeners who grow vegetables may also enjoy growing fruit in the garden. Planting a fruit tree such as apple, pear or cherry is also a satisfying addition to the vegetable garden. Gardeners tend to neglect the plants they don't like to eat. To avoid being wasteful, gardeners should grow only those edible plants that are regularly eaten in their household. Although most vegetable plants grow in varying shades of green, some heirloom vegetables grow in a wide variety of colors. Incorporating edible flowers such as nasturtiums or violas also adds a touch of color to the vegetable garden. When planning the next seasons vegetable patch, gardeners will also need to consider the time and energy they have available to spend working to maintain the garden, as well as any storage space required once the baskets of fruit and vegetables begin to be harvested. Sunlight full sun is the preferred exposure for growing most vegetables. Install your beds away from trees or other objects that could shade the garden. Remember that trees are plants too and locating garden beds too close to tree roots will place your vegetables in competition with trees for water and nutrients. Windbreaks trees, fences, walls, even hedges can be used to protect young plants, as long as they are far enough away from your garden not to cause shade or competition problems. The size of your garden depends on the vegetable needs and wants of you and your family, what land is available to you, water requirements, and how hard your want to work at it. Many people enthusiastically plant gardens larger than their needs and their abilities to care for them, and then realize, late into the season, that their vegetable garden has just gotten away from them. Spinach, radishes, leaf lettuce and other like vegetables need relatively little space. There are new bush varieties that are constantly being developed for these types of plants that can be used in small gardens. Placement if you are planting corn in your garden, plant it on the north side, so it wont shade other plants as it grows taller. Map your garden when your deciding what goes where, so next year, you can rotate some crops. Successful garden all deepens on you and your planning so get started on your new garden.

 by Timothy Samuel

Growing a Garden - Gardening Trends

A trend can be like fashion. This year's "in" color can be next year's charity shop special.
Trends can sometimes have more substance, like the classic litte black dress, that never goes out of style.
As folk are spending more time at home we're beginning to see the re- emergence of trends such as home baking and making our own preserves.
It's easy to see this trend has had a flow on effect into gardening. Having your own fruit and vegetable garden has become so popular even Michelle Obama is doing it! The White House now has a food garden, something that hasn't happened in more that five decades!
As people are spending more time actually "living" in their homes and sections another facet of "nurturing" has come to light - the landscape around the section. A short time ago people were very "now" driven and looked for "quick fixes" and static designs. This was probably due to the need to see immediate results since the assumption was that the house would be sold in a few years.
People were also doing a lot of travel and other away from home activities, so they wanted a ready made, plant and walk away garden. These days people are spending more time actually living in their homes and they're starting to see gardening as an activity not just a piece of art on the wall.
They're experimenting with fresh things, learning from their good and bad experiences and are coming to accept a more long-term return for their efforts. In doing so, they're coming to accept a more long term return for their efforts.
As a result of this more "nurturing gardening" approach, people are starting to see that their "quick fix" planting escapades of prior years have unfortunately been over planted and may now have to be ripped up. For instance, it may look good "right now" to plant a bunch of flaxes close together, however give it a few months and once they start to grow they will begin to look unruly and un kept. They'll eventually have to be pulled out. You should plant a garden thinking of what it will grow into, not what it looks like immediately.
The most imperative thing is designing a landscape to suit the owners style. It's also beneficial to get the owners involved in their own gardens.
If you're deciding whether to start improving your garden there's no better time to start than now. As a side note, make sure you get good advice from a reputable garden center or nursery, these people work with, care for and love plants day in day out, you won't get any more qualified advice from anywhere else.
Get stuck in today - Growing your own garden is so rewarding!
  
by Jan Love
 

Global Warming And The Effects Of Carbon Emissions

Global warming and the effects of carbon emissions seem to be the elephant in the room in our world. We are all aware of the abuses of our environment and yet we do not compromise our lifestyles. Corporations will minutely compromise their profit margin knowing even more so than us how their plants effect the world we live in negatively. Damage control would cost money, regulating carbon emissions to an effective degree would cost money, and who would want to deplete their pocketbook? So I ask, how worthwhile is the pursuit of wealth if your children's children will not benefit from it? Is wealth truly so pleasurable at the expensive of mankind?

While many Americans remain naïve and feel that by curb recycling they are proactive environmentalists, the reality is the effects of global warming have disastrous potential on the human race, and the species that inhabit this earth and it is going to take more effort on our parts. We all know this. We are confronted with it every day as the seasons become increasingly erratic, and with the ever growing endangerment and extinction of animal species due to a loss of habitat and natural resources. We have done significant damage to the earth and you can't just blame it on the big guys. You, the consumer make choices everyday by what you purchase and whom you purchase from. Your hard earned money lines the pockets of your destroyers.

At present, diplomats and leaders, corporations, scientists and environmentalists, environmental activists, and everything of the like are discussing this global threat at the 2010 Cancun Conference for Climate Change. It is hoped that some consensus will be reached in which every country takes some responsibility in the regulation of carbon emissions and deforestation.

REDD+ is being proposed which SOUNDS good at least. But is it? REDD+ stands for a unified front to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and foster conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. In a nutshell, the idea is to pay tropical countries to stop cutting down their forests and releasing the carbon they contain to the atmosphere. It seems like green lobbyists would welcome something like this that promises to conserve forests rich with wild life that will also reduce 12%-14% of global emissions that come from countries like Brazil and Indonesia simultaneously.

Here are a few of the issues that are causing a large divide. In many of the countries where there are prominent rainforests there also lies the threat of corruption and weak governing. This means there will be difficulty regulating these forested areas and there will surely be greedy hands stealing and/or misusing the funding. Another issue is the UN's loose definition of forested areas and what falls into these categories for funding. Also, there seems to be a disregard for the issue of those indigenous people that live within the rainforests. If these rainforests are supposedly safeguarded against human activity will these people be booted from their homes? What rights do they have?

Wealthy countries love this idea, because it is a seemingly cheap solution that doesn't compromise the carbon rich lifestyles of its citizens. We can go on in the US, business as usual. Problem with that is we can't go on business as usual at this rate. Our carbon footprint will surely trump these idealistic efforts. Not to mention, those corporations and all of their hefty emissions also going on with business as usual. To recap, there will be a multitude of abuses rendering the actual rainforest habitats unprotected, people that actually respect the land that they live in will be booted from their homes, and wealthy countries will continue to pump carbon dioxide into the air and destroy that which all of this fuss was about in the first place.

 by: Curt Gutierrez

Live A Clean Green Life With Eco Friendly Products

Earth has a fantastic abundance of nature that is getting depleted every day. This is primarily happening due to human influence through wastes and dangerous man made products that are detrimental to nature. With an increase of inorganic and unnatural products, your life and the nature that surrounds you is in great jeopardy. In this scenario, you can create a change in your life and take the green road that will help in making your surroundings healthier. If you wish to lead a clean and green life then there are many interesting eco friendly products out there that you can consider.

From apparels and bags to jewelry and swimwear, you can opt for eco shopping options in all these areas. One of the primary areas in which you can bring about a drastic change in your life is with the sort of clothing you sport. Man made fabrics and textures are not only harmful to the environment, they can be really bad for your skin and your health. This is where the need has arisen for green clothing that is prepared from organic and natural raw materials. Not only do they take care of your skin in the gentlest manner, they are quite attractive and original too.

If you are a person who is always updated on the fashion trends, you will be one of those people who loves to sport trendy bags. In this area too you can take the green route as there are eco fashion bags and accessories that have come around with a unique look that will appeal to one and all. In terms of alternate clothing needs for swimwear too, you can get eco friendly options. By engaging in green shopping, you can get your hands on products that are truly healthy in every possible way.

One of the primary products that are always in demand is jewelry. You can get your kind of jewelry in many stores and outlets around you but you can now get green options for your ornamental needs too. With the option of environment friendly products in jewelry, nowadays you can sport a great look without harming the environment in any way. A lot of people need to use beauty products to take care of their look, the face and the body. Chemical products can be really detrimental for your skin in the long run and disposing them will cause great environmental hazards too. This is where you can get the ideal solutions by using beauty items made from natural products.

The world is taking a turn towards the green side as mankind is beginning to witness the side effects of ignoring nature. There are many human activities that contribute steadily in the deterioration of the environment. By opting to use organic products, you can bring about a significant change and promote the benefits of these wonderful options too. Nowadays, you can get your hands on a wide range of green items in an eco friendly store. With the help of the amazing advantages offered by these green avenues, you can lead a green life that will keep you and the nature protected.

by Greenn Brown