Please reuse your plastic bottles and containers and also recycle drink containers

You remember those times when you order in food and it comes in plastic tubs-esp the miso soup and what not.
Or prolly the time when you buy energy drink(not that i suggest that you buy energy drinks-coz i think the concept of energy drinks itself is very gimmicky) , but yeah, remember the thick tough plastic bottle that the drink comes in?
I think that it would be very wise firstly to choose drinks that come in biodegradable tetrapaper packs rather than those that come in plastic bottles.. Yeah,the drinks that come in glass or metal cans are okay too, coz most of these cans and glass bottles are recyclable too..but the plan works only if you care to segregate your garbage and then go and drop off your empty tins at the recycle place.
Meanwhile, reusing plastic bottles is a great way of recycling.These boxes and bottles are tough and last a long time , if you refill these bottles with water and take them along when you go out everyday.That lil bit of trouble of taking tap water in your plastic bottle would ensure that you don't end up buying a new waterbottle while you are out.
I do this a lot.. Ofcourse, i boil my tapwater coz i am quite suspicious of it now(time to get it analyzed) and then cool it and then fill up my empty plastic bottles and then when i go out to work the next day, I take 2 bottles with me.
The aim is to drink up the two bottles by the time i am back home.This not only makes sure that i drink adequate water while i am out and thus am adequately hydrated, it also ensures that i don't buy additional bottles of plastic and thus increase the garbage burden on the environment.
Try these tips and tell me what you think.

What is with the Local grown food craze?Does it work or matter at all?

well, sometimes, people continue doing things that actually damage the ecology in a bigger way and then pretend that they are saving the ecology by trying and doing less useful things like this recent , Locally grown food , craze.
I call it craze, because first off,,it would not make much of a difference to the ecology if you eat locally grown food and yet burn gasoline like hell in your cars and eat animals.
Let me tell you why the Locally grown food craze is a fad.
The very reason why importing of foods started was to meet food shortages and to make nutritious vegetables available in regions which wont be able to grow vegetables year round.esp in snow wridden areas..So, yeah,, did a great job of making sure, we can sustain ourselves and have access to fruits and vegetables even in the winters in snowy regions..So, i don't see the point when people suddenly want to eat only locally grown food..Seriously, the very fact that for fifty years or so, we have already imported and used green revolution practices and this has already introduced newer plants to our region which were not native to our region anyways.Including potatoes and tomatoes which were not native to any of the regions where it is being extensively used in the cuisine in this century.I mean, will you stop eating potatoes and tomatoes, and aubergines and peppers to go back the ecology that was there in north america a good 300yrs ago?OH, no,,right?
So, i would really appreciate if people concentrate on real methods to deal with not altering the ecology rather than pretend to do something by eating locally grown food..For all you know, we will have to starve if we eat only locally grown food in the 6inches of snow..So, please, start doing the basics first and then think about the locally grown food.Would you stop using the car as much?no..oh , no..that would be inconvenient ..so you won't do that , will ya? well,,, first try doing that,,try using the bicycle more...do real things that will make an impact..then you can allow yourself to go crazy over the organic food and locally grown foods..k?

Misinterpretation of the term 'BIOFUEL' and problems thereof

I am NOT really for BIOFUEL that is manufactured from edible foods..converting good to eat food into fuel when there is so much of population explosion and the ensuing increase in food needs.
The term BIOFUEL has in the recent day and time come to include various varieties of fuel.Some of them make sense and stay true to the concept of them being environmentally friendly while some others are totally defying the basic principle.
The word Biofuel was initially coined to denote any fuel that is organically derived from organic sources.
To be very technical, Petroleum by itself is also derived from Plant matter or organic material.The only difference is that it has taken that organic matter thousands of years to convert into crude oil..So, technically, Most fuel is biofuel including coal and crudeoil.
But then, the term by itself was coined to denote alternative organic sources of fuel that don't take as long to be formed and are renewable in a certain way.
I had to write this blog entry coz a lot of people wanting to be environmentally conscious are mistaking Biofuel to be a fool- proof green option.Well..it has its own pitfalls.
Let me broadly classify the various Biofuel options available to use
1/ COMPOST OR WASTE DERIVED BIOFUEL-By far the best and ideal source to create biofuel would be waste---that can be composted to produce cooking fuel-- Everyone who has a garden or backyard can try doing this. .All the kitchen waste/farm animal waste/human fecal waste and other biodegradable matter could be buried in a deep trench like enclosure to produce compost.This then can be further degraded in specially constructed tanks(which are fairly easy to construct) to produce very very efficient cooking fuel or gas based heating for the home.
This option is a WIN-WIN SITUATION, All you are using is waste-You are recyling the stuff-the compost can be as such used as organic garden manure..The cooking gas takes care of kitchen cooking energy needs.The same gas can work for heating needs too.Very good , dontcha think?

2/Using already used cooking oil to produce biofuel for vehicles--I am very skeptical about this option.
I hear that MC donald's uses the already used oil-(the oil that was used to fry the various things they make and sell ) to make biofuel and then run their transportation trucks...
Well..for one, the oil they are using has already been used and if it is not used to make biofuel would perhaps just be discarded by then..Keeping that in mind..the option that such oil instead of being dumped in garbage dumps is actually being put to use..That is AN ATTEMPT AT SENSIBLE RECYCLING.
But having said that, all i am wondering is "HOW MUCH OF OIL DOES MC DONALD'S OTHER FAST FOOD CHAINS USE IN A DAY TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE THAT MUCH OF WASTE OIL" cough cough..that much of oil fried stuffs are being consumed by people each day and that pretty much explains the obesity and diabetes and coronary artery diseases amongst the fast food chain patrons..But that is going be a whole other blog entry on unhealthy food patterns.

3/MAKING BIOFUEL OUT OF FOOD THAT HAS BEEN SPECIFICALLY GROWN FOR the PURPOSE of producing biodiesel-
One must remember that such crops are grown on farmland and that crop of food is actually edible and i consider this kind of biofuel absolutely defeating the purpose of environmentally sensible...Food is precious..
The human population is ever exploding and so are food needs which grow each year..If one is going to go ahead and use good farm land to produce food that is not going to be eaten and is used instead to power vehicles..that is absolutely undesirable....
There is already not enough land to produce enough food to feed everyone..By using more farm land to produce fuel to run the vehicles of some elitist pseudo environmentally conscious group while a whole other group are going to bear the brunt of this act by going without food is NOT ACCEPTABLE.It doesn't make sense.
Using good to eat food to make fuel defeats the purpose of minimizing vehicle usage and saving the environment .unless you are using already used vegetable oil to make your fuel...you are not doing justice to the purpose of environmental conservation .
4/FIREWOOD etc-wood is by itself biofuel too(technically speaking since it doesnt take thousand years to grow a tree-but mind you it does take years and years to grow a big enough tree to yield firewood)..but firewood produces more smoke than energy..not really a great trait for an ideal fuel..there ya go...worst possible option .If you are using wood chips to burn your barbeque..think twice..you are doing no good .

Now for the summation :
An energy source is considered to be efficient only if it can produce large amounts of energy with minimum wastage....and In lieu of recent developments where the production of biofuel from edible foods has been more or less banned , i would like to explain more about why they had to do it...
BIOFUEL PRODUCED FROM VEGETABLE OILS IS NOT ENERGY EFFICIENT.It doesn't provide enough energy that qualifies it to be deemed efficient.We are all attempting to find fuels that produce a lot of energy with complete combustion ...and gasoline definitely is highly energy efficient which is why we use it to run vehicles..Our attempt all along has been to find enviromentally efficient fuels that are comparable to gasoline and yet somehow are more enviromentally friendly .Also..I am sure all of you are aware of the food shortage situation too...it is senseless to let some people starve while some others get to use that food as biofuel..ya know..get my point?

CONCLUSION:
Compost derived methane gas is a great biofuel while vegetable oil derived Biodiesel is not such a good idea. Solar powered vehicles are definitely better than biodiesel.Ofcourse , Solar power has its own pitfalls..but that is a whole other blog entry.
Take care everyone..ride a bike for short distance solo commutes.hugs !

The bicycle.A very environmentally friendly mode of transport

Firstly,It amazes me how we all are able to balance ourselves on just two wheels.
Coming back to the topic on hand as to the bicycle is such a lovely choice.
When it comes to choosing a mode of transport, The bicyle is a great choice for a variety of reasons
1/Firstly,It won't use any gasoline.Saves money.Saves non renewable energy source.
2/Also, just coz it won't use any gasoline..there are no exhausts either..Very enviromentally friendly.No air pollution whatsoever.
3/A bicycle needs very little maitanence.Yet again, saves more money.
4/It is a great workout too.Makes one thinner and stronger.Great cardio and a work out all in one go.
5/Now that it is such a work out, You can save on your Gym membership too.
6/For all those people who don't have time to go to the gym , riding a bicycle to work is a great way to intersperse a work out in your travel time to work.
7/A bike helps you unwind in more ways that one
8/Yeah, btw, riding a bike is a great way to not get stuck up in traffic jams..Afterall,,a bike needs very little space on the road unlike a car.One could easily snake their way forward, while all the car owners are honking and complaining about how much of a time they spend being stuck in traffic jams
There ya go..so many reasons...
Go for it !
Ride a bicycle for all your short distance commutes..
It works out great in more ways than one