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When going for a morning walk, there are many beautiful butterflies in the air and sunning on plants or flowers. Of course, the expectation is that these beautiful creatures will be in your yard, too. Arriving home to a butterfly-free yard can be really disappointing. What can you do to make your backyard a haven for butterflies?

First - Without a doubt, you have to stop using chemical pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides. These are deadly considering that butterflies begin their life as a caterpillar attached to a plant within a cocoon.

Second - once you’ve eliminated this threat, the next important step is to provide ‘host plants’ to support the metamorphosis process. There are specific plants that will attract specific butterflies.

The Black Swallowtail prefers carrots, dill, fennel and parsley where the Great Spangled Fritillary loves violets. The beautiful Monarchs are attracted to milkweed, but the Pearly Crescentspot goes for asters. To attract Pipevine Swallowtails try planting pipevine, of course. Several varieties are Calico Pipe, Dutchman’s Pipe, Rooster Flower and Virginia Snakeroot.

Red-Spotted Purple butterflies are attracted to wild cherry and willow trees. The Spicebush Swallowtail prefers sassafras and spicebush. For the beautiful Viceroy plant cherry, plum, poplar and willow trees.

Third - Once the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into an adult butterfly is completed, they will begin to seek nectar sources. Incorporate into your garden nectar plants that bloom from the start of the season to late summer and fall. Select native nectar plants such as wild columbine; lance leaf coreoposis; rose verbena; swamp and whorled milkweed; New England aster; button bush; butterfly weed; orange, purple Missouri and sweet coneflowers; blue lobelia; cardinal flower; prairie blazing star and Joe Pye weed.

Butterflies will also be attracted to slices of banana, which attract fruit flies. They consume the fruit flies for protein and minerals. Put out a slice of watermelon or overly ripe fruit, and you’ll be amazed at all the butterflies that stop by for a light lunch. There are also a variety of butterfly feeders that hold prepared nectar or fruit.

Fourth - Remember to provide butterflies a place to warm in the sun. One idea is to build a waterless pond. Arrange heat-absorbing rocks on their side in a sunny area. Add sand and salts and keep the rocks moist. Be sure to line the area with plastic to keep salts from leaking into the soil.

Many people enjoy having an attractive butterfly house in their garden. While there is no proof that butterflies use these, it does add a colorful accent.
These colorful houses also make wonderful decorative additions to a porch or sunroom.

The six most common butterfly families you can attract are:

Swallowtails (Papilionidae) - The most noticeable thing about swallowtails is a club-like projection extending from the hind wing. The most common swallowtails include: Easter Tiger, Giant, Spicebush, Eastern Black and Zebra.

Milkweed Butterfly (Daneidae) - These medium to large size butterflies are all power flyers, and all eat various types of milkweed. The most common is the Monarch. The Monarch imitators include: Viceroy, Fritillaries, Mourning Cloaks and Admirals.

Gossamer Wings (Lycaenidae) - Over 100 species of these small butterflies reside in North America. They include the Blues, Coppers and Hairstreaks. The gossamers hold their wings closed over their backs when at rest.

Sulphurs (Pieridae) - The Sulphurs are hard to miss because of their brilliant yellows.

Whites (Pieridae) - Whites are often the first butterflies to be noticed in the spring. Many people assume they are moths due to their lack of color. Male “Whites” and “Sulphurs” are prone to “puddling”, which is gathering in groups near moisture and/or salts.

True Skippers (Hesperiidae) - They are small butterflies that are not particularly attractive, and contain antennae with a telltale fishhook-like curve to the end section. Their flight resembles a stone skipping across the surface of a lake.

Use the tips provided to attract these most beautiful of nature’s creatures so they will become permanent visitors to your garden.

There is nothing more relaxing than sitting in a chair or swing on your patio, deck or porch and watching butterflies make a graceful trip around your yard.

Even in today’s hectic times, all seems right with the world as a butterfly pauses to sip some nectar or relax on a warm rock.

Janet Winter loves her wild birds and delights in providing helpful resources and unique products for feathered friends at WildBirdGoodies.com. She is a web designer, travel agent and writer on many topics including wild birds, babies and pampered dogs.

The earth is undergoing a terrible bout of global warming with the carbon that is emitted by the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity and when used in vehicles for transportation purposes. Moreover the sources of this fossil fuel are fast diminishing with the increased need of energy with the modernization of countries.

This is the reason scientist and researchers all over the world are thinking and looking for alternative sources of energy which are also renewable and available naturally. And such a source of energy is the energy found in areas having large tidal ranges.

France has been harnessing energy found in tides of bays and estuaries since 1966. Canada and Russia have followed suit and have also managed to generate electricity from tidal waves. Basically, it is possible to harness and generate electricity from places where there is a large tidal range.

This energy of tidal waves is harnessed by trapping the water so that it is used to turn turbines. The energy so produced is released through tidal barrages found in either direction. However, generally implementation of tidal power technology worldwide proves to have little potential because of its environmental constraints.

Another reason that is considered to be attributed to the low potential of tidal wave energy is that it would produce electricity more efficiently if it generates electricity in bursts at gaps of perhaps six hours. However this is not feasible as it is the limits of tidal energy applications that hinder the use of tidal energy.

This is why a new form of technology has been devised, to harness this tidal energy. This new technology is found in the form of tidal stream generators which tend to draw energy found in underwater currents. It could be said that the principle used here in these tidal steam generators is similar to the technology found in wind generators, which are powered by wind.

In such cases of generation of electricity by tidal power, the higher is the density of the water; the better is the potential for a single generator generating significant levels of power. However today, tidal stream technology is in its budding stages where there is much more research to be done before it can be said that tidal stream technology is an important part and contributor to the generation of energy.

There are a few prototypes that have been devised to harness tidal stream power, and show great promise in this direction. One such prototype is the 300 kW Seaflow marine current propeller type turbine that was tested off the coast of Devon of UK, in the year 2003. Another prototype is a 150 kW oscillating hydroplane device, called the Stingray that was tested off the Scottish Coast.

The Hydro Venturi is another British prototype that is slotted to be tested in San Francisco Bay pretty soon. In addition to all this, the Canadian company, Blue Energy has ideas of installing large arrays of tidal current devices on their tidal fence in various locations around the world. These devices are planned to be based following a vertical axis turbine design with which more tidal energy is produced efficiently in the world.

James Nash is a climate scientist with Greatest Planet (www.greatestplanet.org). Greatest Planet is a non-profit environmental organization specialising in carbon offset investments.

James Nash is solely responsible for the contents of this article.

Today the word at the forefront of marketing campaigns in every industry is environment. For many it is just a gimmick and the latest buzz word however in certain industries it is at the forefront of concern. This is true for industrial cleaning as many of the chemicals used in cleaning products have been harmful to the environment and the response has been significant.

A common misconception by many people is that naturally occurring chemicals are safer and less harmful to the environment and humans than synthetic ones. Artificial industrial cleaning products can be designed to be just as biodegradable as an industrial cleaning product that relies on naturally occurring chemicals.

The initial concern with industrial cleaning is to maintain safety initially then move toward making the process sustainable. This applies not only to industrial cleaning but to all cleaning. For example, the consumer demand for antibacterial cleaners that claimed to kill 99 percent of all bacteria was causing concern for health associations around the globe as they created immune super-bugs.

This issue and many others were taken into consideration by DEFRA, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in conjunction with UKCPIA, the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association. In association with AISE, the European trade association for cleaning and maintenance products they drew up a plan for sustainability of cleaning and industrial cleaning.

Initially it was essential to identify how essential cleaning is in every part of our modern lives. Our bodies, homes, cars, restaurants, streets and hospitals bask in a level of cleanliness that would have been thought of as science fiction a century ago. Much of this is due to technological advances in industrial cleaning and cleaning products, but it was accepted that many products were harmful at various stages of the life cycle.

The life cycle referred to is how cleaning products are created from base product to disposal. The life cycle includes the raw materials used which need to be safety evaluated, an assessment of natural resources consumed such as water and CO2 emitted in the process, the stages of production, the stages of distribution to the customer and then the stages of disposal.

All elements of this process needs to be evaluated and monitored on an annual basis and this scheme is called sustainable cleaning. Industrial cleaning is one of the most important areas to maintain sustainability as the standards of cleaning dictated by health and safety standards require more powerful cleaning products however there are high strength eco-friendly industrial cleaning products on the market.

DEFRA also identified the need to communicate this sustainability information to the consumer to enable them to make informed decisions when purchasing. It is a fine balance that can be tipped either way, are we willing to compromise cleanliness levels of our homes or hospitals for more sustainability? It is an ongoing debate and more information on industrial cleaning sustainability can be found on DEFRA and UKCPIA websites.

Shaun Parker is a consultant on industrial cleaning and a commentator on the sustainability debate.

Since 1970, Earth Day has inspired and challenged millions from Tokyo to Togo to Toledo. This past spring, millions were galvanized for a Call to Climate, the 2008 Earth Day global warming action theme. They gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and other cities across the country to exchange ideas, become empowered, and raise their voices to urge action on climate change, according to Earth Day organizers.

The events were not merely educational. They were entertaining as well, featuring musicians, actors, exhibits, and much more. In New York City, participants enjoyed the talents of Ricky Scaggs & Kentucky Thunder, perused arts and crafts made with recycled materials, and shopped with greenmarket vendors. Torrential rain didn’t prevent thousands from showing up at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate their environmental concerns. In Chicago, Earth Day participants celebrated at the Lincoln Park Zoo with artists Bill Kreutzmann from the Grateful Dead, Otell Burbridge of the Allman Brothers, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The event, hosted by Kyle Orton of the Chicago Bears and Jodi Murphy, host of “Wrecklamation” Planet Green (Discovery Network), featured 26 environmental non-profits and green companies. At the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, participants checked a record 1,000 bicycles at the beachside valet.

Founded by the organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network (EDN) promotes environmental citizenship and year-round progressive world action. Through Earth Day Network, activists connect, interact, and have an impact on their communities. EDN’s international network reaches more than 17,000 organizations in 174 countries, while the domestic program engages 5,000 groups and more than 25,000 educators coordinating millions of community development and environmental protection activities throughout the year. More than half a billion people participate in campaigns every year.

The idea for Earth Day evolved over seven years beginning in 1962. Senator Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day, was troubled by the fact that the environment was simply a non-issue in U.S. politics. In November 1962, Nelson came up with the idea of persuading President John F. Kennedy to give visibility to the issue by going on a national conservation tour. The President began his five-day, 11-state conservation tour in September 1963. While the tour ultimately did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately gave life to Earth Day.

Anti-Vietnam demonstrations gave Nelson the inspiration for a grassroots protest over what was happening to the environment. Once the Earth Day announcement was made, a major newspaper article covered the astonishing proliferation of environmental events being organized. The rest is history.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle has become a mantra for many Americans who have embraced the environmental concerns Nelson recognized all those year’s ago. Recycling, especially, has given new life to products or materials who have reached their useful life by turning these products into a usable raw material to make another product. Metal scrap recycling, in particular, has seen a huge surge. Overall, the scrap industry processes more than 145 million tons of recyclable material annually into raw material feedstock for industrial manufacturing around the world.

Scrap recycling helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserves energy and natural resources. The scrap metal industry diverts millions of tons of materials away from landfills. The result is cleaner air and water as potentially hazardous materials are removed.

Everyday, new strides are being made, laws are being passed and ideas are being generated in an effort to incorporate an eco-friendly lifestyle. From Earth Day participants who seek to reform policy making in Washington to the local owner of a scrap metal yard, the “going green” process requires a concentrated effort on everyone’s part.

Soave Enterprises diversified management and investment company founded by Detroit businessman Anthony Soave that provides strategic planning, financial and other management resources to its affiliated business ventures in the real estate, automotive retailing, beer distribution, scrap metal, industrial services and transportation industries, among others. For more information on Tony Soave and Soave Enterprises, please visit the website.

The beauty of flowers with their pleasant aroma, softness and multiple colors enchant the people around the world. There are numerous types of flowers found around the globe.

The flowers can be classified in many ways according to the purpose. Their beauty lies in their suppleness, their pleasant aroma and their diverse colors. Flowers have also enjoyed special place in the hearts of lovers and poets. Many different types of flowers can also be found in mythology, religious symbols and folklore of different races.

In a broader sense, the types of flowers can be classified as three groups namely, Single Flowers, Clusters and Inflorescence. Single Flowers are found at the tip of the long stalk on the branch of the plant. Magnolia and Tulip are examples of this type. Clusters are a group of flowers closely formed in branches. Pentas, mango and firethorn are some examples of this type of flowers. Inflorescence is arrangement of groups of flowers. The display has a great assortment in among different types of flowers.

Spring season is synonymous with flowers and it brings with it an array of colorful blossoms known as spring flowers. Tulips are the most well known spring flowers. Other popular spring flowers are the, crocus, dahlias, lilies daffodils and hyacinth. A fresh bouquet of spring flower arrangement can make a great floral gift and liked by one and all.

Roses are considered symbol of love and romance. Red roses are particularly celebrated as lovers exchange roses everywhere. Valentine’s days are incomplete without red roses. Usually single red roses are sued to say “I love you”. Tulips are believed to have originated from the Middle East region and enjoyed the position of the symbol of the Turkish Empire about a thousand years ago. Tulips represent dreaminess, imagination and declaration of love. Iris is named after the Greek goddess Iris. Iris also represents message along with faith, valor and wisdom by its three leaves. It is the symbol of royalty and divine protection through centuries. Daisies have white petals with yellow centers. Daisies are perfect to show that you care. The variety and beauty is spectacular in vibrant colors. They are symbols of friendship and innocence.

Flowers are loved universally for their beauty and fragrance. Flowers have been used to symbolize the human sentiments over the centuries all over the world.

Stuart Anders writes for Cheap Flowers. The Cheap Flowers site contains offers and deals on some of the UK’s leading flower delivery merchants.

Wouldn’t it be a great thing to be able to help the environment, and at the same time, earn money? One of the greatest things that is happening in this millennium is that people are creating there own personal power plants! Discover how you too can make money with renewable energy.

In most parts of the world, the electric that runs through the home, is produced from fossil fuels. The fossil fuels take 100’s of millions of years to be turned into what we have today - crude oil.

The problem with fossil fuel is that it is not practically renewable, and what’s more, it pollutes the environment, at a faster rate than the Earth would naturally do. This makes air pollution a big problem around the world. Luckily renewable energy is a solution, and you could be making money from it.

The most common ways to produce renewable energy to power your home, and make money, is with solar energy, and wind power. These 2 options don’t come cheap; however, the investment produces long term results.

There are big benefits. Energy is big, and produces a lot of money. I am sure if you take a look at your electric bill, you know how big this can be. Now, it is unlikely you will become a millionaire with this, especially if you have an average sized home, however, you could easily produce enough electric to power your home, and also be able to sell some to the electric company.

People are doing this today, and it makes sense. The electric companies are having regulations that make them have to have a portion of there electric, come from renewable energy. And home owners taking the plunge into renewable energy are benefiting.

I recently came across statistics that says that the Sun’s energy transmitted to the Earth, in an hour, is the equivalent of 1 year’s electric usage of the whole world! Now this is big, and though it is unlikely you will fill all the demand, you certainly can have a portion of the pie.

Governments are making the investment easier for eco-friendly home power stations. There are many grants available that can ease the burden on the purchase. The good news is that every day you are utilizing this method, you will be making a return, and over time, it will turn into pure profit.

Imagine keeping all the lights on, the TV on, and all your other appliances, and it doesn’t cost you a penny! This is the power of renewable energy, and your impact to the environment will be positive.

I hope you will look into this form of making money. Though it is not large, it is a way to make both a positive impact on the environment, and your pocket.

One day all homes will utilize alternative energy such as solar energy in one form or another. Take a sneak peak, and see how residential solar energy systems can even make you money.

Known previously as Town Lake, Lady Bird Lake is actually the portion of the Colorado River that runs through the center of Austin, dammed on either end to create a peaceful waterway with plenty of boating opportunities. The Town Lake Corridor, surrounding the water, is full of hike and bike trails, parklands, sports fields, music and festival locations - with views of the Austin skyline competing with the serenity of river’s vistas.

The Town Lake Corridor includes both north and south banks of Lady Bird Lake, bounded by Cesar Chavez to the north, and the appropriately named Riverside to the south, with Tom Miller Dam marking the western boundary, and the Colorado River Park to the east. Within this huge, rambling area, you will find over ten miles of some of the most popular and scenic hike and bike trails located in Austin. Wildly popular, the trails are shared by runners and walkers, bikers and strollers, dogs and people alike. The 8 miles that flank the river are wide, level, shady, and have trail markers, water fountains and benches scattered along the way.

Boating on Lady Bird Lake is perennially popular both for sporting teams and for recreational boaters. No motors are permitted, allowing visitors to enjoy a relaxing day rowing, canoeing, kayaking or peddle boating. The Rowing Dock is a Town Lake Austin Parks and Recreation concession where visitors can rent boats by the hour. They also offer camps, private lessons, classes and memberships.

No visit to Town Lake would be complete without a pilgrimage to the Steve Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue, located on the south side of the River. Mounted by the City of Austin in 1994, the homage to the late great Texas blues guitarist is directly adjacent to Auditorium Shores, not coincidentally one of Austin’s most popular periodic outdoor music venues. Vaughan played Auditorium shores during his abbreviated career, and it remains a top stage, featuring local and national acts.

Town Lake Park boasts 17 ball fields for baseball, football, soccer and rugby, and volleyball, and on its western perimeter adjoins Zilker Park, making this easily the biggest recreational area in the city. Its proximity to downtown Austin means that many dining options can be found within blocks on either side of the water, including the “restaurant row” located on Barton Springs Road. Austin’s perennial favorites such as the Shady Grove, Austin Java, Chuy’s and the Green Mesquite join relative newcomers including P.Terry’s Burger Stand, and Flip Happy Crepes - located in a shining silver Airstream trailer. The popular South Congress and South First dining and shopping areas are in walking distance as well.

On July 26, 2007, the Austin City Council passed a resolution authorizing the renaming of Town Lake to Lady Bird Lake in honor of Lady Bird Johnson, the former First Lady of the United States and a long-time resident of the Austin area. Although Johnson had declined the honor of having the lake renamed for her during her life, her legacy as a proponent of nature and beauty endures after her passing.

Ki lives and works in Austin. He runs a map based Austin MLS search on his site along with detailed information about Austin real estate. His website also has updated info on mortgage interest rates.

Tomatoes are among some of the most popular vegetables to grow in your backyard. Rightly so too, because for some reason, homegrown tomatoes taste about 500% better than store-bought ones. In fact, for a period of time when the tomato prices were unusually high, my husband and I boycotted store-bought tomatoes because they were simply a “cardboard tasting” habit for sandwiches. However, once summer started, we decided to grow our own beefsteak tomatoes. It was just too weird to have a burger without a tomato on it! If you’re interesting in growing some good-tasting juicy tomatoes as well, here are some tips to help you on your journey.

1. Starting the seeds. Tomato seeds germinate in temperatures 65F/18C or higher. They grow pretty easy from seeds. You simply get some small pots, put some potting soil in them, and bury the seeds according to the seed package directions. Keep the soil moist and keep them in a warm sunny spot where it can get at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. In a few days, you’ll see your seeds starting to sprout!

2. Starting from plants. The easiest way to start growing tomatoes is to get some tomato plants from the nearest home and garden center or nursery. Select dark green plants that look strong. Make sure it doesn’t have any tomatoes already growing on it, because that will keep the plant from growing to its fullest size. When you get home, re-pot the plant into a huge outdoor pot or simply place it in the ground where you want to grow it. It’s good to bury the plant all the way up to the top leaves so that it develops a good solid root base. Few plants can handle being planted this way, but for tomatoes, it works well. Be sure to plant your tomatoes in a place that gets full sun at least 6 hours a day throughout its growing season.

3. Watering your plants. Keep your plants moist, but don’t over water them. Over watering can do as much damage to them as under watering!

4. Fertilizing your plants. Fertilizing might be a bit of a pain, but it’s highly important. Most soil these days simply doesn’t have enough nutrients to produce nice sweet and healthy produce. You can get some good fertilizers at your local nursery or home and garden center that is made specifically for tomatoes. This works well because it’ll be sure to give your plant the most nutrients it needs.

5. Harvesting your tomatoes. The tomatoes will be ripe when they are nice and deep red. Don’t pick them green if you want the juiciest and sweetest tomatoes, however, they do last quite a long time if you need to harvest them early. Simply wrap them up in newspaper for long storage.

Enjoy! There’s nothing like home grown tomatoes!

Heather recommends a used compact tractor for easier gardening. This site lists used tractors for sale

Tips for reducing your CO2 emissions fall into a number of categories; this article focuses on what you can do at home and in the workplace to reduce your carbon footprint.

At home

Simple measures could substantially reduce the emissions from your home, and save you money as well - you could currently be paying much more than you need to in gas and electricity bills.

1. Does it need to be so hot? Turning the thermostat down by just one degree can save you up to $60 a year on your heating bill and make a real dent in your household’s emissions.

2. Set your timer efficiently. If you are working regular hours, avoid wasted heat energy by timing your heating to go off 30 minutes before you leave the house, and come on again 30 minutes before you are due to get back.

3. Insulate your loft. You can cut up to 20 per cent from your energy bill by installing good quality loft insulation; it stops heat from escaping and thus requires less energy to keep your house warm.

4. Beat draughts. They’re the most uncomfortable and obvious signs of a badly insulated house and can be fixed easily with either draught-proofing or secondary glazing. You could also fit double glazing and the most popular energy saving measure, although it actually saves less from a typical fuel bill than installing (much cheaper) cavity wall insulation. Make sure that you specify low glazing, which has a special heat-reflective coating that reduces heat loss through the window by nearly half.

5. Watch the floors. Rooms can sometimes feel cold due to strong drafts rising up from gaps between the floorboards or between the skirting board and the floor. This is easily resolved by investing in a tube sealant, such as silicon. Another way of reducing draughty floors is to insulate underneath the floorboards on the ground floor.

6. Dress your hot-water tank correctly.

7. Reflective radiator panels can fit perfectly behind radiators. They are cheap to buy, easy to install and reflect back heat that would otherwise drift through the wall. They can be bought from DIY stores (avoid those made from PVC), or you can make your own by wrapping tinfoil around cardboard.

8. Draw your curtains at dusk. Sounds obvious, but a thick pair of curtains can stop a huge amount of heat from escaping through your windows.

9. Put a lid on it. Saucepans with lids on heat much quicker, using less energy in the process.

10. Use your oven sensibly. Don’t keep opening it to check whether your food is ready as this allows heat to escape and will only make your meal take longer to cook, using more energy, And by switching it off just a few minutes before your food is ready you’ll find that it’ll stay hot enough to finish cooking the food. Don’t buy cut flowers. Because of their short shelf life, the flowers are usually flown in which gives them a massive climate change footprint because of the aviation emissions. To avoid this you can buy local grown plants; if you’re still going to buy flowers, choose those that are local grown and in season.

11. Turn lights off! For comparison, lighting an empty office overnight can waste the energy required to heat water for 1,000 cups of coffee.

12. Buy energy-saving light bulbs. Some of these can use less than a quarter of the electricity of their equivalents, and can last up to 12 times longer. Just one energy efficient light bulb can save you $20 a year on your electricity bill.

13. Make the most of nature. Light-coloured walls, ceilings and floors, as well as mirrors, reflect daylight, making maximum use of natural light and reducing the need to use artificial lighting.

14. Use infrared. If you have exterior lights, ask your electrician to fit infrared sensors so that the lights only come on when you pass in front of them.

15. Resist stand-by. If all UK households turned off their TVs at night instead of leaving them on standby. That goes for PC screens too.

16. Unplug equipment once fully charged. Mobile phones, shavers and electric toothbrushes keep drawing electricity even when the battery is full.

17. Keep fridge and freezer doors closed. Each minute a fridge door is open it can take three energy-intensive minutes for it to cool down again. Similarly, it can take as much as half an hour for a freezer to regain its temperature once a door has been opened for just sixty seconds. And remember to install the fridge or freezer away from hot appliances and direct sunlight.

18. Keep your freezer full. It takes less energy to keep a full freezer cool than it does an empty one. If you don’t have enough food to fill it, use plastic bottles filled with water or even scrunched up newspaper. If you find your freezer is often half empty, you might want to think whether you need such a large model when it is time to replace it.

19. Think how you cook. Pressure cookers and steamers both save energy; steamers are particularly easy to use and very healthy.

20. Chop finely and boil smart. The smaller you make your vegetables, the less time they’ll take to cook. Don’t forget to boil only the amount that you need, and match the size of the ring to the size of the saucepan or you’ll be paying to heat air and keep electric hobs clean so the rings can work more efficiently.

21. Only use a washing machine on full-load. Ninety percent of the energy that washing machines use goes toward heating the water, so switch to a cooler wash temperature: using 40 degrees for all clothes can use a third less electricity per wash. Today’s washing powders are just as effective on low temperature programmes, saving both energy and money.

22. Turn down your thermostat.

At Work

23. Reduce office paper consumption. A government-funded Envirowise campaign report, says that office paper consumption is rising by 20 per cent per year. On average each worker uses 50 sheets of A4 a day. If you work in an office, add the slogan “Think before you print” at the bottom of your emails. If you do have to, print double-sided.

24. Switch office equipment off at night. A photocopier left on overnight uses enough energy to make 1,500 photocopies.

25. Invest environmentally. For as little as $500 it is possible to join a co-operative which invests in wind energy projects that promote emission-free technology. Or you could adopt a local renewables project.

26. Install your own renewable energy system. Grants are currently available for up to 50 per cent of the capital costs of installing renewable energy. You might even make a profit: if you produce more than you need, you could sell the excess back to your energy supplier.

James Nash is a climate scientist with Greatest Planet (www.greatestplanet.org). Greatest Planet is a non-profit environmental organization specialising in carbon offset investments.

James Nash is solely responsible for the contents of this article.

The word “recycling” makes many think of the little blue bins where we place our old cereal boxes, empty soda cans, and unneeded paper. But recycling actually takes many other forms: for example, the form of a golf course built on a landfill; a piece of modern art made from old tin cans; or World War II-era rubber recycling which helped the war effort. Likewise, many often think of it as a development related to the environmental movement that began in the 1970s and 1980s; in fact, it’s somewhat older.

When did recycling first develop? Well, no one knows for sure, but it probably begins around the same time as permanent human civilizations do, which is, according to recent estimates, around twelve thousand years ago. Before that, for most of the history of homo sapiens (and other related humanoid species), humans lived in roving hunter-gatherer groups, and garbage wasn’t an issue. But settled societies began circa 10,000 BCE, raising the problem of trash disposal for the first time. By 400 BCE, the ancient Athenians had established a municipal dump; four hundred years later, the Romans established the first “garbage trucks” - groups of two men who walked along the streets, chucking garbage into a wagon.

Compost is one of the oldest forms of recycling. Early in the history of agriculture, humans discovered that organic matter of various kinds - downed trees, dead plants, human and animal wastes - are useful for enriching soil. The nutrients that keep these organisms healthy, while alive, can enrich other life forms even in the organism’s death. This discovery has been the backbone of agricultural life for thousands of years.

In the middle ages, recycling took an interesting form: paper was extremely rare and expensive, so ancient books and manuscripts were often reused for more contemporary purposes. Monasteries, for example, would take old books and turn them inside out, reusing them to make breviaries, catalogs, and other practical documents. In this way, researchers have uncovered portions of many once-lost works: take a medieval book apart, and you may find that it’s made from scraps of a still-more-ancient work.

Recycling formally began in the United States as early as 1690, with a mill dedicated to the recycling of paper in Philadelphia established by the Rittenhouse family. The birth of metal recycling, meanwhile, may be bound up with the birth of the patriotism that led to the American Revolution: New York City patriots melted down a statue of Britain’s King George III to make bullets, which were then used, of course, to undermine the power of that same king over the thirteen colonies. New York City provided the site of the first recycling center in the United States just over a century later, in 1897.

During the twentieth century, the aluminum can became all-but-ubiquitous. Introduced in 1935 by a Richmond, Virginia, beer company, the cans offered consumers a convenient, gulp-size serving of beverages while cutting down on the breakage and spillage of glass bottles. By 1968, however, they were producing such a disposal problem that the aluminum industry began recycling its wares. Aluminum recycling reduces the CO2 production involved in aluminum manufacture by ninety-five percent and reduces the need for the mining of virgin ore. During the 1970s, many states helped this process along by passing laws offering nickel- and dime-sized incentives to consumers for returning aluminum products.

University City, Missouri, was the first city to introduce city-wide curbside recycling in 1974. By the early 1990s, another United States city, San Francisco, had met its goal of recycling twenty-five percent of its wastes.

Other frequently recycled items include steel and glass. Bits of old buildings or cars are shredded by machines, sorted, melted down and refined again, then sold in sheets or coils. Twenty-five percent of US steel is recycled. Glass from jars and bottles (though less usually windows and lightbulbs) are also ground to bits, melted down and reformed.

Soave Enterprises diversified management and investment company founded by Detroit businessman Anthony Soave that provides strategic planning, financial and other management resources to its affiliated business ventures in the real estate, automotive retailing, beer distribution, scrap metal, industrial services and transportation industries, among others. For more information on Tony Soave and Soave Enterprises, please visit the website.