Being "eco" today is a real challenge, because many of the rules that are believed essential for every environmentalist "pure and hard" at risk of being only the clichés, all to be discredited. Maybe with the help of the book " Shades of Green: A (Mostly) Practical AZ for the reluctant Enviromentalist " writer Paul Waddington, that human activities, for measuring the shades of green (which, of course "shades of green"), has discovered how many of the behaviors (and products) that are believed to be ethically correct, in fact, exactly the opposite or nearly so. These the most surprising, according to the same Waddington from the columns of the Times, which has divided them for chrome, ranging from green (environmentally highest score) to dark green (a middle course, not acceptable) coming up to "not even a hint of green, which is the worst choice of eco-friendly as possible.
BANANAS
green: fair trade
The economies of many nations now depend on the banana trade associations and support fair trade is certainly an ecological investment.
Dark green: fair trade or organic farming
Both options are good, why cover low levels of agro-chemicals used for the storage of fruits and production of which can also benefit small farmers.
Not even a hint of green: the old bananas.
are full of pesticides (five of the chemicals used for bananas are classified as highly toxic and three of them are even banned in England) and the 4 companies that manage 80% of the world market bananas spend more on chemicals for which the wages of laborers.
TOMATOES
Green: tomatoes grown alone .
not need much space and no special precautions, although only last from August to October (forecast obviously referring to the English climate).
enough green tomatoes imported from the Mediterranean . English
Tomatoes come mainly from Spain, where there is extensive use of pesticides, but compared to those grown in greenhouses farther north, they produce three times less carbon dioxide because do not come with the truck but by sea.
Light green: the greenhouse tomatoes.
The elimination of pesticides has encouraged the production, albeit with the drawback mentioned above.
pale green: organic greenhouse tomatoes from
They need twice as much energy and 20% more water.
Not a bit 'green: the Dutch greenhouse tomatoes.
The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of tomatoes in the UK, but having similar climates, do not provide any advantage.
MEDIA
green: live unplugged.
A person truly "eco" comes the news from other members of the community and even the weather forecast is made as once, or watch nature and guessing.
Dark green: the radio
The perfect option of true environmentalist, because it consumes little electricity.
Green: the newspapers.
According to a study by the Carbon Trust, for each copy of the newspaper will produce 174 grams of carbon dioxide, which is more than three times a half-hour news on TV but better than having 30 minutes on Internet. Not only that. 70% of newspapers is now made with recycled paper.
Light green: the Internet.
Research has established that the power needed for servers on the Web is about 170 billion kilowatts per year. That is, 234.7 grams of carbon per day. Hence, the preference for the paper.
ANIMALS
green: animal fauna of the garden and pond. Just a strategic
disorder in the garden filled with invertebrates, birds and small mammals.
Equally Green honeybees.
nell'impollinazione recite an essential role of plants and flowers, without forgetting that are derived from a single hive more than 40 pounds of honey a year.
Light green: rabbits
In fact, their ability to destroy seeds and vegetables makes them a magnet for any farmer, but are edible, they deserve the label "eco".
Not a bit 'green dogs and cats.
The English dogs consume 765,000 tons of food a year, which are transformed into 365,000 tons of solid manure and in a billion liters of urine. And even with the cats should not be much better, with 425,000 tons of food consumed. Not only that. Cats also have the consciousness of 220 million small animals and 55 million birds.
BATHROOMS
green: bathing in a river . For
the real environmentalists, the bathroom is the epitome of a waste of vital substance. Having done without the daily bath for millennia, why bother now as washing? A big jump in the river and the ecosystem is safe.
Dark green: Use a solar or bio-compatible for the collection of rainwater
If you really want a bathroom with bathtub, at least that is heated using renewable energy sources and using rainwater.
enough green to share. Two showers
medium using the same water for a bath tub (80 liters). Not only that, if the shower is heated electrically, produces more harmful emissions and use more water at the end of a traditional bath. Therefore, get in the shower together or in rapid succession is a great way to save water and energy.
WASH DISHES
Dark Green: dishwasher Class AAA, to be used only when full
Modern dishwashers are truly eco-friendly "(beats only the rainwater filtered) because using less than 15 liters of water per wash cycle, or only a quarter of what they need if lavassimo hand. Spread over a decade, means a saving of 100,000 liters in the UK alone.
Not at Green elbow grease, or wash by hand.
To get the same result as a dishwasher, especially after a gargantuan meal, we risk to use at least 150 liters of water and four times more energy, not to mention the tremendous hard work.