Show an interest in global warming and chat to them about the environment. Kids are very environmentally conscious these days so showing an interest in things they are interested in is always a good way to be better father. If you are father struggling to bond with your teenage daughter or son try talking them about green issues, for instance set up a project to monitor and reduce electricity consumption in the house. Work with them to investigate solar panels and other green energy measures. Also involve your kids in recycling.

Or how about take them on an eco-friendly holiday?

If you are new dad, Diaper Dude have a whole range of eco-friendly products such as eco-friendly diaper bags and bottle holders.

And if they are older and want to buy you something for Fathers Day why not encourage them to buy you some organic beer or wine.

But be warned that there is no sense talking to your kids about environmental issues if you do not take it seriously. Kids can easily recognize hypocrites. They will nod in agreement with you only to please you but then ignore all of your advice and teachings if they think you are a hypocrite.

There is an old saying that we only are renting the world for a little while from its true owners – our children. The choices we make today about our lifestyles and our consumer habits can directly impact many future generations. So you can help your children and be a better parent by not only bringing up topics to talk about in environmental issues, but by also leading by example.

The author writes a dad blog and also contributes to The Freaky an online magazine that features weird news from around the world.

We already know about the positive effects of turning off and unplugging appliances, using energy efficient light bulbs, and properly insulating our homes. Beyond these energy saving strategies though, people assume that not much more can be done unless they are willing to get rid of most of their appliances and shift to energy efficient ones or maybe even transition to using solar panels, both of which is entail spending more money than the average person can.

The good news is that there are two relatively new devices that can help you save energy in the home without busting your budget – the Nest Learning Thermostat and SafePlug Electrical Receptacles. Their approach to energy savings is quite novel, game-changing even. As testament to these, they have both been awarded the CES 2012 Best of Innovations Award in their respective categories, which is in Eco-Design and Sustainable Technologies and in Integrated Home Systems.

The CES website describes each in the following way:

Nest Learning Thermostat – “The world’s first learning thermostat learns your preferences, programs itself to keep you comfortable, and guides you to energy savings. It saves energy when you’re away and adjusts to your changing schedule.” Indeed, this is one innovative thermostat whose arrival no one really expected. The perfect example of a pleasant surprise, its actually one of my favourite newest gadget and something I can’t stop myself from raving about.

SafePlug Electrical Receptacles – “SafePlug receptacles can help reduce energy consumption by up to 30%. SafePlug electrical duplex receptacles solve the toughest problem in home automation, accurate control and energy monitoring even when appliances move to a different receptacle.” What’s great about the SafePlug receptacles is that it not only helps you save energy, but actually makes electrical outlets a lot safer even with small kids around; a feature any parent will appreciate.

These two devices will initially cost you a total of $318.95 ($249 for the Nest and $69.95 for the SafePlug Trial Kit), but will definitely save you more than that on your electric bill.

• Save on electricity bill
With the continuous crises in fuel resources, fuel inflation is also continuous, giving people with no choice but to pay their high electricity bills. You can save a lot of energy by simply switching off your lights when not necessary, by unplugging all unused electric appliances or you may use surge protector. You can also replace your light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs like fluorescent, they last longer and they are energy savers. You may also stop using hot water in the laundry. Cold water can also clean your clothes as effectively.

• Save on gas
By avoiding using your vehicle to get to short destinations, you are saving yourself from a lot of gas expense, not to mention gas emission. You may also practice carpooling. Just ask your neighbors if they need a ride located near your destination. This will be cheaper for you and for your neighbors. You may also want to try public transportation. This may not be as comfortable as having your own car but they can save you a lot of money. You may also convert your car into bio fuel or any other alternative fuel to minimize the cost. By simple looking at these examples you would be able to not just help the environment but save money too.

Enter “Eco Balls”, amazing little balls which, when thrown into your wash, do all the work your regular soap does (and claim to kill bacteria too) without any chemicals, detergents and the like. When you work out what you save on soap, the savings are enormous, with something like 6 cents a load with the balls, to approx. 80 cents with detergent, more depending on what brand you buy. You can buy kits which come with refills, stain remover (it doesn’t do that great with heavy stains) as well as dryer balls for “fabric softer” role.

So does it really work? While I wait for my order to arrive, I found a good review worth checking out. The verdict? Some liked it, others were disappointed with its cleaning power. There was also one complaint about how the ball came apart and broke her washing machine. Either way, its a product I think worth trying out for yourself -because I think eliminating detergents would be a great thing.

Better to wire for more: that is, if you’re building a new house or remodeling your current one, you should make contingency measures in terms of wiring. You’ll end up saving more (in all aspects) if you make plans for the future.

Look for entire systems: a perfect example would be a system that integrates lighting and heating control. This spells convenience, obviously, but it also is good for the environment. Most systems of this sort are more efficient and leave a smaller carbon footprint.

Ask for help: we have to admit it – we’re not all experts in this field. We may want to make some initial savings by not hiring the pros but this increases the risk of problems later on, which may end up costing us more. In addition to this, if you really want to go green in terms of your energy consumption, professionals might be able to find the most efficient solutions for your home. At the very least, if you are not willing to hire external help, do some research and don’t get hooked on the latest trend that may not be the best solution anyway. Gather information from credible sources before you make any decisions.

The night after her baby brother’s birthday party, my 6-year-old daughter came into our bedroom at around midnight saying “Mom I feel si….” and promptly projectile vomited in the middle of our doorway. The next 24 hours were awful, she couldn’t hold anything down, had a fever, and felt absolutely terrible. Classic symptoms of gastroenteritis. And what I find most annoying is that earlier in the week I had received a letter from her school saying that there were multiple cases of gastro going around the school, and it gave necessary measures on how to avoid it – washing hands, keeping clean, etc. Obviously not easy to do for 6-year-olds in the playground or school canteen.

So now that she had indeed caught the bug, the only thing I could do was to protect the rest of the family, especially her two little brothers. Aside from issuing a strict handwashing policy at home, I took on the task of disinfecting crucial areas like the kitchen, toilets and places my daughter used. I resisted the urge to buy the heavy-duty Lysol, and instead found a website which had some great information on how to make your own less-toxic disinfectants – so you save money, save the earth, keep healthier and hopefully kill a few germs while you’re at it.

Home-made Alternatives

Disinfecting/Deodorizing Cleaner
Add 1/2 cup of borax to 4 litres of warm water.

One hospital used this formulation for cleaning for a year. The monitoring bacteriologist reported that the solution satisfied the hospital’s germicidal requirements. (Dadd)

Disinfectant
Mix 2 teaspoons borax, 4 tablespoons vinegar and 3 cups hot water. For stronger cleaning power add 1/4 teaspoon liquid castile soap. Wipe on with dampened cloth or use non-aerosol spray bottle.

Tea Tree Disinfectant
20 drops tea tree oil (approx. 1/5 tsp. or 1 ml)
20 drops emulsifier
1 cup water or vinegar
Put emulsifier in container. Add oil and blend. Add 1cup water or vinegar.

Cinnamon Disinfectant
12 drops cinnamon oil (approx. 1/8 tsp. or 0.6 ml)
12 drops emulsifier
1 cup water or vinegar
Put emulsifier in container. Add oil and blend. Add 1cup water or vinegar. Shake before using.

Do you have living plants inside your home? Just the other day I realized that while I made sure my garden was in good condition, I hardly had any living plants inside. When we first moved into this house a year and a half ago, I had two large houseplants inside, one very tall, reaching my double height living room ceiling, and the other one of those spider plants, like the one above. I’m not sure why, but both languished for the next few months, and when I found a nasty termite hole under the pot of the large one, I moved both plants outside.

This I now regret, because I have since learned that the amounts of chemicals inside our homes were huge – and this is just from ordinary, everyday living. And one way to combat its ill effects (like cancer) are non-other than the humble houseplant. Here are some examples of the big baddies which are most probably in your home as we speak.

Formaldehyde
This nasty one causes cancer and is shockingly found in pretty much everything (if you bought your furniture/clothes etc. etc. at regular stores) – your dining table, your carpet, your pad of paper – even the gas for your stove! In the past I always associated it with preserving the dead, so it’s an even scarier idea, for me especially, that this stuff is actually on the tabletop my family eat off on, and maybe even my makeup.

Benzene
This is another bad one, and a known carcinogen found in a huge assortment of everyday stuff like ink, plastic, glue, solvents, rubber, oils, paints, detergents, and even some meds. It can affect you even with low levels, from milder maladies like headaches to anemia and blood diseases like Leukemia. There are actually lawyers who are dedicated in litigating against the environmental effects of Benzine, and their website has a concise list on what products have Benzine in it.

Trichloroethylene
Exposure to this (in high doses) affects your nervous system, heart, lung and can seriously cause severe damage to your liver. It is found in dry cleaning materials, paint and adhesives.

Carbon Monoxide
We all know this one, which is found cigarette smoke, gas ranges, fire places, car exhausts, wood stoves and other gasoline-powered equipment. You cant see or smell it, but high levels can kill you FAST.

So aside from being more careful the next time you purchase a piece of furniture, decide to do some dry cleaning, or have the house painted, you can also protect yourself and your family by surrounding your home with chemical-fighting houseplants – more on that in my next post!

Candles do not use electric power. This means you save yourself on electric bills. It also means that you do not contribute to the using up of the world’s store of fossil fuels. But did you also know that there are kinds of candles which are friendlier to the environment as compared to “normal” candles?

Here are some really nice scented candles which will not harm the environment (and you!).

Vermont Soy Candles
These candles are perfect for aromatherapy. They have various scents – lavender, lemon, cedar, cinnamon, and others. They also have special Clean Air candles which can get rid of smoke and other unpleasant odors. Get them here.

Aveda Plant Pure-Fume Aroma Candles
These candles do not have petroleum or other synthetic materials, and also have various scents. The candles are available in small tins (perfect for travel) and big pillars in glass holders. You can get them here.

Beeswax Candles
These are much easier to find – you would probably find beeswax candles in your local market. You can also find a lot of these in various online stores.

Just a note: do make sure that you also check the wicks of the candles that you buy. Ask the manufacturer and make sure that the wicks do not contain lead and other similar compounds.

Have you every considered the impact of your clothes washing on the environment? The electrical power that you consume, the water that you use, and the chemicals found in your laundry detergent and fabric softener have negative effects on the earth! There are ways by which you can soften this impact though.

Let’s start with the laundry detergent and the fabric softener. What should you look for? Go beyond the tags “natural,” “environment-friendly,” and the like. They are convenient labels but sometimes, they are mere interpretations of the manufacturer – they may not be a guarantee that the product is indeed environment-friendly. Instead, look for ingredients – or the lack thereof – such as phosphate. Go for products without phosphate as they stimulate algal growth and mess with the biology of aquatic life.

Now on to the machines. Unless you have the time and patience to do your laundry manually, you will have to rely on electric washing machines. The key is in making sure your machine is efficient, both in terms of electricity and water. If you bought your machine before 1994, you might want to get a new one – it will save you more in the long run. Another tip: if you can do away with using the dryer for certain articles of clothing, then do so. Next to refrigerators, dryers consumer the most power.

I came across this idea at Green America, where listed down things that one should NOT buy again. Ever. You can see the full list by clicking on that link, but here’s a quick rundown.

1. Styrofoam cups. That includes other things made of styrofoam.
2. Paper towels. It might be difficult to adjust without paper towels in the kitchen, but you’ll get used to rags after a while.
3. Bleached coffee filters. White may seem nicer, but you don’t really need coffee filters to be bleached anyway.
4. Teak and mahogany. Furniture made from these trees are highly prized, but the impact on the world’s rainforests is horrific. Do not encourage these practices, buy wood that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
5. Conventional household cleansers. It may be easier to just grab whatever you can at the supermarket, but do try to look for vegetable-based cleansers and other similar products that are biodegrable.
6. Gas with too high an octane rating. You don’t really need a high octane rating for you car. Not only does this kind of gasoline emit more pollutants, but your car may even suffer for it.
7. Plastic eating utensils. It is tempting, especially if you are going on a picnic or you have tons of people coming to your house. But then again, it you can avoid using these non-biodegradable items, you will be doing your share in helping the environment.

Think of something else that should be in your unshopping list?

Photo credit: Jordanhill School D&T Dept